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Chapter 15: Using the Slate Material Editor

Whenever a material is applied to an object in the scene, the material is added to a special library of materi-
als that get saved with the scene. Materials do not need to be seen in the Material Node View panel to be in
the scene library. You can see all the materials included in the scene library in the Material/Map Browser by
selecting the Scene Materials rollout.

FIGURE 15.3
Material previews can be opened in a floating window.
Show End Result

Selecting objects by material
If you want to select all the objects in your scene with a specific material applied (like the shiny, gold mate-
rial), then select the material in the sample slots and click on the Select by Material button in the toolbar.
This command opens the Select Objects dialog box with all the objects that have the selected material
applied. Clicking the Select button selects these objects in the viewport.

Setting Slate Material Editor preferences
You open the Slate Material Editor Options dialog box, shown in Figure 15.4, by selecting the
Options ➪ Preferences menu. The top option lets you choose how the nodes are oriented. You also can
select to hide the Additional Parameters and mr Connection set of parameters, use anti-aliased fonts, and set
the number of default materials in a multi-subobject material and the grid spacing. The Bitmap Path Editor
lets you set where to look for maps. By default, this is set to the maps directory where Max is installed, but
you can change it to your current project folder.
Removing materials and maps
If you accidentally apply an unwanted material to an object, you can replace the material with another
material by applying a new material onto the object. If you want to view the object color within the view-
port, then open the Display panel, and in the Display Color rollout, select the Object color option for
Wireframe and Shaded. The Material Color options display the material color in the viewports.

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