Preview

Contains controls displaying a preview of the material being defined/edited.

You can change the image file used for the material preview background for this dialog box, and for the Apply Material tool, by setting the configuration variable MS_MATERIAL_PREVIEW_BACKGROUND. If the full path to the image file is not specified, then it is expected to be in one of the locations defined by the configuration variable MS_IMAGE. The file “checker.tif” is used by default, or if that is not found, “mslogo.tif”.

Size

Disabled if no maps are associated with the material, or if Units for the pattern/bump map is set to Surface in the Map Editor dialog box.

If on, lets you define the size, in master units, of the example object in the material preview window. This setting is disabled if the Units

If off, the system selects an element size that is suitable for maps associated with the material.

Mode

Sets the manner in which the sample material is rendered in the preview window.

• Constant

• Smooth

• Phong

• Ray trace

Display

Sets the shape used to display the material in the preview window — Sphere, Rectangle, Cylinder, or Cube.

• Sphere

• Rectangle

• Cylinder

• Cube

Refresh

Lets you control the frequency of updating the material preview.

• Automatic
— Updates the preview after a value has been entered, or after a slider has been released.

• Continuous
— Updates the preview as material values are being modified (for example, when a slider is in motion.) This setting provides the maximum feedback and is the default.

• Manual
— Updates the preview only when the mouse is clicked within the preview area. This setting is useful when defining complex materials, or when bulk changes are being made.

Channel

(Advance Model only) Controls the channels that are displayed in the rendered preview.

• All
— All channels are displayed.

• Diffuse
— Only the diffuse channel displays in the preview.

• Specular
— Only the specular channel displays in the preview.

• Reflect
— Only the reflect channel displays in the preview.

• Transparency
— Only the transparency channel displays in the preview.

• Translucency
— Only the translucency channel displays in the preview.