[purCAB]

JD --

It appears that if you have a part with multiple configurations and if you apply a material that contains a texture, then the other configuration(s) seem to "loose" the material when you switch back and forth from config to config. It actually isn't lost because if you render that config the material is still there. Rather you loose the display of that material in SW.

Take or create a part with multiple configurations and apply a textured material (e.g. arroway_v2-->boards-01) to the solid body. Now go to another configuration. First you will find that it appears that there is no material applied (this isn't actually the case, but it appears so). Now apply the material to this configuration -- we have now explicitly set the material for both configs. Go back to the first config and it appears to have no material. Again if you render it the material is there.

This does not occur with a non-textured material (e.g. carpaint-cherry). Applying a non-textured material to one configuration of a multi-configuration part, has the effect of having that material set both apparently and actually in all configurations.

Ken

[JDHill]

Hi Ken,

Yes, configurations don't behave very well. Whenever the plugin changes anything, it always uses the 'this configuration' option. The logic of doing that has to do with a situation where you would want to have a maxwell-specific configuration, and another one that uses your own colors & textures. As such, SW is only working correctly in the case of textures - you are insinuating that the textures should not be 'lost', but that is in fact how I intend it to work. It is the case where the plugin sets the entity color that the functionality is failing, so you see the color displayed regardless of the active configuration.

Obviously, this is contrary to how you assumed it should work - if you care to give any rationale that might shed some light on why display properties ought to ignore configurations, I'd be glad to hear it.

Cheers,

JD

[purCAB]

JD --

I think I agree with the stated approach; however, I don't think that's how it's working or at least there is some inconsistency going on.

Short of supporting the This Config / All Configs / Specify Configs notion, I would agree that a Maxwell material (not just a textured material, but any material) applied via the plugin should be for This Configuration only. Four points:

1) A non-textured material APPEARS to be applied to ALL configurations, not just the active configuration. That is, when I apply carpaint-cherry, to one config, all configurations appear to be in the cherry color.

2) When rendering a configuration that was not directly set with a non-textured material, the render does not use any material. But the configuration appears to be using the material, because in SW it appears as if the material has been applied. From the rendering perspective this is as you have described it; but it gives a false impression from within SW.

3) A textured material does not APPEAR to be applied to all configurations as the material for the other configurations shows as default plastic. Yet if you render that configuration (the one that appears to have no Maxwell material applied), it does indeed have the material that was applied to the other configuration (or at least it renders that way). This then does not work as you described, because it has a material associated with the other configuration. Yet like number 1 above, it is misleading (although in the opposite way) as it appears not to have any material associated with that config, but if you render it, it uses the textured material applied to the other configuration.

4) In my testing (which is certainly not through nor I have not really explored 3, 4, 5, etc. configuration parts), it is not possible to have two different textured materials applied to two different configurations simultaneously. Because applying Material-B to Config-2 overwrites the Material-A applied to Config-1.

On the other hand, perhaps I am doing something wrong in the way that I am applying the materials, etc. Sorry for the length of this post.

Ken

[JDHill]

Thanks, I'll respond point-by-point:

1. Yes - but I am only applying to this configuration; SW is not paying attention.
2. I use whatever SW reports for this configuration to generate materials.
3. Yes and no - everything I am describing here applies to display only.
4. Yes, as with point 3, this is only in regards to display. I am not even attempting to allow per-configuration material assignments.

The reason why I do not support per-configuration materials should be obvious by now: SW behaves much too erratically in this area to even consider doing so.

I don't think that's how it's working or at least there is some inconsistency going on.

I agree completely, however, all of my testing shows that this is out of my control. I do not foresee good things here either, as SW itself has tacitly admitted, through the phasing-out of PhotoWorks, that building an integrated rendering solution is not worth the work. We will continue to do so, whatever it takes.

JD