Using the Different Scoping Modes for the Material Painter and Adjust Material Tools

QUESTION

What do the different scoping modes do when working with the Material Painter or Adjust Materials tools, such as Adjust Material Definition or Interactive Material Editor?

ANSWER

When using the Material Painter tool, the various scoping modes help you specify how broadly or narrowly a selected material will be applied to surfaces in your current plan. When using the Adjust Material Definition or Interactive Material Editor* tools, these modes allow you to control how extensively your changes to a given material are applied. 

*Applies to X17 and newer versions.

Scoping Modes

To access the list of modes, access a compatible view, such as a 3D camera view, then select your desired tool by navigating to 3D> Material Painter> Material Painter , 3D> Adjust Materials> Adjust Material Definition , or 3D> Adjust Materials> Interactive Material Editor . When accessing 3D> Material Painter or 3D> Adjust Materials, you will see the various scoping modes that can be selected once one of the tools above has been selected and enabled. Additionally, these modes are available for you to switch between using the Edit toolbar when one of these tools are selected. 

Component Mode 

• Material Painter - This is the default mode and applies the selected material to a single component on the target object. For most object types, using this tool is the same as opening an object’s specification dialog and changing the material of one of its components on the Materials panel.
  
  
• Adjust Material Definition & Interactive Material Editor - This mode allows you to edit the material applied to a single component on a target object. If any other instances of the original material are present in the current plan, including on other components of the same object, you will be presented with the option of editing a copy of the original material on that component so those other instances can remain unchanged.

Object Mode 

Room Mode 

Floor Mode 

• Material Painter - Replaces all instances of a material on the floor where the target object is located.
  
  
• Adjust Material Definition & Interactive Material Editor - Allows you to edit all instances of the material located on the same floor level as the target object. If any other instances of the original material are present on other floors in the current plan, you will be presented with the option of editing a copy of the original material so those other instances can remain unchanged.

Plan Mode 

• Material Painter - Replaces all instances of a material in the entire plan.
  
  
• Adjust Material Definition & Interactive Material Editor - This is the default mode and allows you to edit all instances of the material in the current plan. When Plan Mode is selected, the original material is modified and creating a copy of it is not an option.