material linking method improved?

[andy.engelkemier]

Apparently where I work is some unique place that works differently than the rest of the world, because we are all consistently frustrated with the way materials are handles in Keyshot. I'm wondering why it is the way it is, and if it's getting fixed.

I'll just explain what happens here:
I import model 1. Assign a few materials. Lets say "dark gray rubber" "Stainless Steel" "Satin metal" "Dark satin metal" and I'm done with that one.
Now I import another object. I assign a few of those same materials. If I change "Dark gray rubber" I want that to be the same color on any object with that material.
Now, I import another object. I assign some of those in the same manner. But I assigned Stainless Steel to something that I decided would look better with Satin metal, so I switch it.
Now I import another object, and I go to put Stainless Steel on it. But wait.....it's Gone!

So the reason?.,.... it's because I assigned the material by applying it to the part in the viewport. That doesn't happen if you assign it by dragging the material to the part in the scene tree.

Anyone else feel like two people at Keyshot just didn't agree?

[Will Gibbons]

Sorry to hear you're frustrated at the moment. Despite your in-depth explanation of your process, it's quite hard to follow.

I have a feeling there are 2 potential causes for your frustration.

1. You may be accidentally linking and or unlinking materials and parts. Are you 100% certain you are aware of how material linking works in KeyShot?
2. Your import settings and how you're importing geometry can affect how materials are linked. You don't mention which version of KeyShot you're using and between 5 and 6, there was a change in the default import settings that automatically linked parts that were the same color. Also, you don't mention if you're using a plugin or what program you're bringing data in from.

Since each case is fairly unique, I can't offer anything but general suggestions for now.

I might recommend you email support@luxion.com so they can determine if you're experiencing a bug or not.

[andy.engelkemier]

You are correct. I am frequently accidentally linked materials. That's the issue. In a software that is meant to be easy, it shouldn't be that easy to screw up your entire scene.
I am 100% sure that I don't know how a bunch of things in Keyshot work. Every time I use it,  I wonder why I have to do a workaround for pretty much everything I want to do.
Example: Rotate an object. I Really hope you've fixed that in Keyshot 7. I feel like that's just something that needs to be fixed. If you rotate using numbers it uses world. If you rotate with the move tool, you can use a specific pivot point. But the numbers end up being the same. Rotating an object 90deg using the move gizmo, and rotating by entering a number in the same rotation field should end up with the same result. That's just one example why I'm 100% certain that I'm not aware of how something works in keyshot. I'm Never surprised anymore when someone just doesn't seem to work as expected.

Basically, we just decided to never use the viewport to assign materials. That's what messes everything up.

Also, I noted that the experience is different depending on what software you are coming from, like you just mentioned. This data is from Rhino. Data from SolidWorks is handled differently. Yay for keeping the user experience complicated as we use Creo, Fusion, Rhino, SolidWorks, 3dsMax, and a few other software. So keeping track of how that data is going to act in KeyShot is fun.

We use Keyshot 6. This data is from Rhino.

[DriesV]

Hi Andy,

There is in fact a difference between the realtime view and the Scene Tree for material drag and drop.
Say, you have an assembly with just one material that is linked across all parts.

• If you drag and drop a material from the Library onto any part in the realtime view, then it will replace the material across all parts with the same linked material.
• If you drag and drop a material from the Library onto a part/group in the Scene Tree, then it will replace and link the material only for the part/group where the material is dropped.

I can see how this behavior is a bit inconsistent and maybe confusing.

If you rotate using numbers it uses world. If you rotate with the move tool, you can use a specific pivot point. But the numbers end up being the same. Rotating an object 90deg using the move gizmo, and rotating by entering a number in the same rotation field should end up with the same result.

Rotating using numbers in the Position tab, uses the origin (as imported from the modeling software) of the selected part/group as the pivot point.
Rotating using the Move Tool, uses the geometrical center (as figured out by KeyShot) of the selected part(s) and/or group(s) as the pivot point.
Between both methods the pivot point can be the same if the origin coincides with the center. In many models (most), this will not be the case. Since the Move Tool operates by default from the geometrical center, and since you can choose between local and global axes (option in the Move Tool), you cannot expect rotations with the Move Tool to result in "clean numbers" in the Position tab.
I hope that makes sense.

Dries

[DriesV]

As for material linking...

In KeyShot 7 there is also a new 'Isolate Materials to Selection' command when right clicking on a selection of objects.
It will make the materials of those parts independent from the rest of your models, while keeping materials linked within the selection.
It is useful when you intend to apply materials to some geometry and want to make sure that they do not affect other geometry, or to break links you previously made.

Dries