2012

Materials Libraries
The Autodesk library, with over 700 materials and over 1000 textures, is
included with the product. The library is read-only, but you can copy Autodesk
materials into the drawing, edit them, and save them to your own library.
There are three types of libraries:
■ Autodesk Library. Contains predefined materials provided by Autodesk for
use by all applications that support materials. It contains material-related
resources, such as textures, thumbnails, and so on. You cannot edit the
Autodesk library. All user-defined or modified materials are placed in user
libraries.
■ User Library. Contains all materials, except those in the Autodesk library,
that you intend to share between drawings. You can copy, move, rename,
or delete user libraries.
■ Embedded Library. Contains a cache of materials used or defined in a
drawing and available only to that drawing. This library is created
automatically when the first Autodesk application using Autodesk materials
is installed. You cannot rename this type of library. It is stored in the
drawing.
Open a Library
You can access and open existing user libraries created locally or on a network
and add them to your defined libraries in the Materials Browser. You can
preview and select materials from multiple libraries.
The libraries are stored in a single document and can be shared with other
users. However, any custom texture files used by the materials in a user library
must be manually bundled with the user library.
Once connected to a library, you can browse and view its contents. Materials
are categorized by type.
Create and Modify a Library
Add your materials to one of your libraries. To modify Autodesk materials,
first copy them to your drawing.
Use the Manage drop-down list in the Materials Browser to add, rename, or
remove libraries. You can also add categories and regroup library materials in
the Materials Browser. Locked libraries cannot be edited and only unlocked
libraries can be removed.
2206 | Chapter 45 Materials and Textures