2008

See also:
■ Instanced Objects on page 6843
■ Blocks on page 6844
Making Changes to AutoCAD Architecture
Materials
AutoCAD Architecture (formerly Architectural Desktop) object components
frequently appear in 3ds Max carrying rendering material assignments that
were made in AutoCAD Architecture. You can use these materials, adjust them,
or replace them with new rendering materials for use in 3ds Max. If you modify
or replace the materials in 3ds Max, or if they change in the linked AutoCAD
Architecture drawing, you can choose either to retain the current material in
3ds Max or else to revise the material assigned in 3ds Max with the current
material in AutoCAD Architecture when you use the
File Link Manager on
page 6783 to reload the linked drawing.
NOTE When 3ds Max encounters additional material references among xref files
that use a material name that is already in use, it compares the properties of the
two material definitions in an attempt to determine whether they really represent
identical materials. If the two materials appear to be the same material being used
in different drawings, 3ds Max will use only one of the material definitions for all
objects assigned either material. But if 3ds Max determines that this is merely a
naming conflict between two different materials, it will slightly modify the name
of one of the materials and keep the materials and their assignments distinct.
Legacy Materials in AutoCAD Architecture
Longtime users of AutoCAD may be familiar with an older form of material
creation and assignment associated with the RMAT command in AutoCAD
that is still present in AutoCAD Architecture. Materials developed in this way
can be viewed in AutoCAD Architecture and rendered with the legacy AutoCAD
renderer. Any assignments of these materials to geometry in AutoCAD
Architecture that is made through the RMAT command or its Material dialog
in AutoCAD Architecture will be ignored in 3ds Max.
In theory, RMAT materials could be assigned to AutoCAD Architecture objects
(not AutoCAD objects) by incorporating them into AutoCAD Architecture
material definitions, and using these material definitions in edits to AutoCAD
Architecture styles or object overrides. Materials created and assigned in this
6826 | Chapter 21 Managing Scenes and Projects