Material Editor Dialog (Basic Mode)

Contains controls for setting material parameters in Basic Mode.

Setting	Description
Constrain efficiency to <Value>	If on, the efficiency of the material is constrained to the value shown. The efficiency of a material is defined as the total percentage of incoming light that is re-transmitted back into the environment. This includes diffuse and specular reflections, as well as the light transmitted through opacity and translucency. When the efficiency is 100% or greater, it displays in red, warning that the material is unrealistic. Typical materials in the real world generally range in efficiency from 30% to 70%. With the efficiency constrained, changing any of the Dark/Bright, Dull/Shiny, or Opaque/Clear material parameters can automatically cause changes to the other two parameters in order to maintain the displayed efficiency value. If, however, a setting is completely off (set to the leftmost setting of the slider), then it will not be adjusted automatically when other settings are modified. If off, each of the Dark/Bright, Dull/Shiny, and Opaque/Clear material parameters may be edited individually. Such changes will affect the efficiency value of the material, but will not automatically change the values of the other two parameters.
Color icon	Opens the Base Color dialog which lets you define the color used for the material when rendered. Clicking the arrow icon opens a menu with the following options: Custom — Uses the custom color. You can define the custom color by clicking the color button to open the Base Color dialog, which lets you define the color. When Custom is selected, the color button displays the selected Base Color. Use element color — Uses the color of the element in the model.
Pattern map icon	Lets you define whether or not a pattern map is used by the material. Click the arrow icon to open a menu with the following options: On — A pattern map, if defined, will be used in the material. When you pause the pointer over the pattern icon, you can see the name of the current pattern map. Click the icon to open the Open Image file dialog, which lets you select an image file for use as a pattern map. After selecting the image file, the Map Editor dialog opens, which lets you edit the settings for the pattern map. This includes options for selecting an image file, a procedure, or a gradient. Off — No pattern map will be used by the material.
Solid/Pattern slider	Specifies the amount of solid color versus pattern map that is used in the material.
Dark/Bright slider	Specifies the brightness of the material under direct illumination (Diffuse in Advanced settings > General tab).
Dull/Shiny slider	Specifies how shiny the surface appears with respect to reflected light (Specular, Reflect, Finish in Advanced settings > General tab).
Reflective	If on, reflections can be seen in the surface (Reflect in the Advanced settings > General tab).
Metallic	Specifies the color of reflected light (Specular color). If the check box is greyed out, then the material currently uses a Custom color, which is defined in the Advanced Mode settings. If on, the reflected color is the same as the base material color. If off, the material is considered to be plastic, reflecting white.
Blur Reflections	When on, items visible through the material are blurred. Roughness of the blurry refraction is controlled by the refraction roughness value.
Glow	Defines the amount of light the material appears to emit. This value adds to the overall reflectance of the material, independent of the amount of incoming light. Click the option menu button to the right to select from a range of values for common light emitting objects.
Opaque/Clear slider	Specifies how much you can see through the surface (Opacity in Advanced settings > Transparency tab).
Refract	Refract is only available when Opacity has a value less than 100. Sets the index of refraction, which controls how much the light changes direction as it passes through a transparent material. Values range from 0.1 to 3.0. A value of 1.0 causes no change of direction. Values can be typed in the text field or selected from the option menu which opens when you click the arrow icon. This menu provides standard values for refraction, such as Air, Water, Plastic, Glass, Crystal, Diamond.
Blur Refractions	(Reflect greater than zero only) If enabled, reflections visible in the material are blurred.
Shaded/Bumpy slider	Specifies how bumpy the surface appears when used with a bump map (Bump scale in Advanced settings > General tab).
Bump map icon	Lets you define whether or not a bump map is used by the material. Click the arrow icon to open a menu with the following options: On — A bump map, if defined, is used. Click the Bump icon to open the Open Image file dialog, which lets you select an image file for use as a pattern map. After selecting the image file, the Map Editor dialog opens, which lets you edit the settings for the bump map. Off — No bump map will be used by the material. Link to pattern — Uses whatever is defined for the pattern map — Nothing, Image, Gradient, or Procedure. Unlink — (Available only if the bump map currently is linked to the pattern map) Lets you unlink the bump map from the pattern map.
Displacement (mm)	(Displacement map applied only) Sets the maximum distance that a displacement map is displaced.
Displacement map icon	Where no displacement map has been defined previously, opens the Open Image File dialog, which lets you select an image file to use as a displacement map. Click the arrow icon to open a menu with the following options: On — Turns on the displacement map (where one has been defined). Off — Turns off a previously defined displacement map. Link to pattern \| bump \| specular \| reflect \| opacity \| translucency \| finish \| diffuse \| glow \| clearcoat \| anisotropy — Uses whatever is defined for the pattern map — Nothing, Image, Gradient, or Procedure. Unlink — (Available only if the displacement map currently is linked to the pattern map) Lets you unlink the bump map from the pattern map.
Preview	Displays a preview of the material being defined or edited.