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Single library for BOTH Material and Appearance

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Message 1 of 16
karthur1
1075 Views, 15 Replies

Single library for BOTH Material and Appearance

I was trying to add a new appearance to our libray this morning,  got confused and started searching here and ran across an old thread of mine.  In this post, ChrisMitchell said:

 

".... Note that you can have a single custom library that contains both physical materials as well as appearances, or keep them separate if you prefer...."

 

I had always thought that these were two seperate things. After I read this, I noticed in my .ipj that the Inventor Materials Library is listed under both Appearance and Materials.

 

2012-10-02_0913.jpg

 

I tried copying the "InventorMaterialLibrary.adsklib" but that did not work when I tried to add it under my materials library in the ipj.... It said "No Materials are available".  Can someone explain HOW to go about creating a single library that contains both materials and appearances?

 

Windows 7 x64 -12 GB Ram
Intel i7-930 @ 2.80ghz
nVidia GTS 250 -1GB (Driver 301.42)
INV Pro R2013, SP1 (before it was pulled)
Vault 2013

 

15 REPLIES 15
Message 2 of 16
ChrisMitchell01
in reply to: karthur1

Hi Kirk,

 

The Inventor Material/Appearance library contains definitions for both physical materials & appearances - by default it resolves to C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Inventor 2013\Design Data\Materials\InventorMaterialLibrary.adsklib

 

Looking at your ipj settings, you should be able to define you Franklin library in both places & then it will be populated with both materials & appearances. The "No materials found" message appears occasionally when making changes to your project definition & really depends which libraries have already been loaded in to memory. Usually an exit/restart will allow you to add it again. or you could just rt click your .ipj file & use that edit workflow.

 

Another way to create a single library that contains both materials & appearances is to use the "Migrate inventor Styles" command from the bottom left of the Appearance or Material browser - point this to the materials/colors.xml files from 2011 or 2012 & that will create you a new library, which you can subsequently define in the your ipj file.

 

I know of several companies who have removed the Autodesk & Inventor libraries from the project definition & only use their company specific library.

 

if you are making changes to existing materials/appearances I would suggest saving the resultant information in a custom library as opposed to editing the as-shipped Inventor library.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Thanks
Chris



Chris Mitchell
PDMS Customer Engagment Team
Autodesk, Inc.

Message 3 of 16
karthur1
in reply to: ChrisMitchell01

Chris,

I found the InventorMaterialLibrary.adsklib.  I copied it and added it to my project.  Now I am moving (copying) the materials that I have in my "Franklin Materials" library to the copy of the InventorMaterialsLibrary.  One think I noticed about the Autodesk Apperance library versus the InventorMaterialLibrary.  In the Autodesk library, it has the little seperators that I can click and expand and see the sub listings under that category. 

 

2012-10-03_1609.jpg

 

Why does the InventorMaterialLibrary not have that too?  Any way I can add them in my "Custom" library?

 

Message 4 of 16
karthur1
in reply to: ChrisMitchell01

Chris,

I copied the C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Inventor 2013\Design Data\Materials\InventorMaterialLibrary.adsklib and added it to my project.

 

2012-10-04_1003.jpg

 

Also in the project, I set the "Use Style Library" =Read-Write. Now I edited a few of the appearances and saved them back to the library.  When I did that, it asked said that "An appearance with the same name already exists"... of course, I choose "Replace". Then I closed the editor.

 

From windows explorer, when I browse to the copied file I am using (InventorMaterialLibrary - Copy.adsklib), the date (or the filesize) on the file has not changed.  It should, right.  If I restart Inventor and go the the appearance editor, my changes are there.  I just cant tell what file they are being written to.  I want to rename the file that I am editing before I release it to all my users.

Message 5 of 16
ChrisMitchell01
in reply to: karthur1

 

Hi Kirk,

 

Some good questions which I'm sure many others will be interested in too:

 

  • You cannot add the those separators to your own library - these were added programmatically in the Autodesk library; right now, I don’t know why they only appear for that library.
  • The filesize of your adsklib file might not change on an edit since you are only changing parameters; the filesize would change if you add new materials/appearances though. The date stamp should change on every write action though.
  • If you rename your library file on disk then you will need to update your project definition too.
  • One way to ensure you’re only working in your copy/company library is to remove the Autodesk & Inventor libraries from your project definition & then you should only have one library available to write to.
    • Note: Sometimes when a custom material/appearance has a dependency on an asset in either the Autodesk or Inventor library then that library will still be loaded automatically even if you remove them from the ipj definition.
  • The project setting for “Use Style library = Read/Write” only applies to the Save Style command – interactions through the material/appearance browsers do not honor that setting. If you want to lock down a networked adsklib file then it’s easiest to use OS file permissions.
  • If you work with custom libraries & need to share data with another company using Pack'n'Go then you will need to ensure that you have copied your adsklib file to your PnG dataset; the receivers of the data will need to add the library to the ipj file since PnG doesn't currently do that.
  • I would recommend reading this Blog posting before doing any library admin work - http://beinginventive.typepad.com/being-inventive/2012/10/material-asset-missing.html
    • ie. Do not use the SP1 build 170 if you need to replace library information - this will be addressed in the SP1.1 release. Also do not delete library asset categories that still contain assets that may be referenced by other instances in the library.

 

Hope this helps,

Chris



Chris Mitchell
PDMS Customer Engagment Team
Autodesk, Inc.

Message 6 of 16
karthur1
in reply to: ChrisMitchell01


@ChrisMitchell01 wrote:

....

  • The filesize of your adsklib file might not change on an edit since you are only changing parameters; the filesize would change if you add new materials/appearances though. The date stamp should change on every write action though.

.......

  • One way to ensure you’re only working in your copy/company library is to remove the Autodesk & Inventor libraries from your project definition & then you should only have one library available to write to.

Chris,

I unloaded SP1 and am using SP1 Beta now.

 

I only have the one library listed in my .ipj (D:\Designs\Standard Styles\Materials\InventorMaterialLibrary - Copy.adsklib).  I started a new part, then went to Tools>Appearances. Then I deleted a few of the appearances from the list. Closed Inventor then browsed to the D:\Designs\Standard Styles\Materials\InventorMaterialLibrary - Copy.adsklib file.  Niether the date or the filesize has changed.  When I restarted Inventor the appearances that I deleted are gone.  Don't understand why the filesize/date did not change on the .adsklib file.

 

Another thing that I am seeing is the preview is missing on the appearances that I add to the library. I can add the appearance to the document, delete it from the library, then add it back to the library and the preview works fine.  If I close Invetnor and reopen it, then the preview is gone again.  This is what I see...  Notice the grey box. 

 

2012-10-08_0811_001.jpg

 

 

Message 7 of 16
karthur1
in reply to: karthur1

I am also seeing this when I try to check in my file.

 

2012-10-08_0850.jpg

 

I had not been seeing that before and I'm not sure why its added the texture under 3rd Party. I have never seen it do this before. I can copy the knurl_3.bmp and get it inside the search path so it can be added to vault.  Just never had to do this before. The knurl_3.bmp is a relief pattern that is for one of the appearances.

 

I just figured out that it does not add the 3rd Party node until I have placed the texture on a second surface...i.e., it does not add it if I place the texture to one surface, but as soon as I place it on a second surface, that is when it adds this node in the browser.... Seems like a real mess.

Message 8 of 16
karthur1
in reply to: karthur1

Here is what I see when I apply a texture to a surface.  Notice that when I add it to the first surface, there is not a node added to the tree.  When I add it to the second surface, then the node is added to the tree.

Message 9 of 16
michael_marx
in reply to: karthur1

Did you get any solution for this problem?

I´ve got this Problem now in Inventor 2014 SP1 Update3 

Message 10 of 16
karthur1
in reply to: michael_marx

Michael,

I am still using 2013 (SP2, update4). I don't have that problem now.  It has been awhile since I worked on our libraries and I dont remember if it was something that I did to fix that issue or if it was corrected in a SP.  I do remember working with the materials and apperances library was an experience.

 

For the texture that I was having trouble with, here is how I have it defined now.

 

2014-04-03_0748.png

 

A couple things to point out.  In the apperance editor, under Relief Pattern -Type, I use a custom image for the knurl.  I do not use the "Knurl" in the Type drop-down.  Also the image for the knurl pattern is stored in c:\users\Public\Document\Autodesk\Inventor 2013..... I think that is a stock pattern that shipped with Inventor 2013.

 

Kirk A.

Windows 7 x64 -12 GB Ram
Intel i7-930 @ 3.60ghz
nVidia GTS 250 -1GB (Driver 301.42)
INV Pro R2014, SP2 (update 4)
Vault Basic 2014, Update 2

 

Message 11 of 16
michael_marx
in reply to: karthur1

Hi Kirk

 

this problem happens recently. I thought that this problems are all gone with the SP2 of 2013 but i have learned that nothing is over 🙂

My tip is a microsoft update which does the trick but which one? 🙂 Every week a ton of updates

 

thank you for your answer

hope someone from ADESK is watching this and the other thread with the same problem

 

Michael

Message 12 of 16

Hi Michael,

 

Which exact problem are you also seeing & with which version of the software ? If it's the vault check-in issue where you get the 3rd party files, then can you ensure that the referenced bitmap file resides under the 2014 folder structure if you are using 2014 ?

 

Eg if the texture is from “C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Inventor 2013\Textures\surfaces\Knurl_3.bmp”, but you are using Inventor 2014, then the texture should come from “C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Inventor 2014\Textures\surfaces\Knurl_3.bmp”. The default directories for Inventor 2014 textures are as below:

C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Inventor 2014\Textures\bumpmaps

C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Inventor 2014\Textures\surfaces

C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\Materials\Textures\1\Mats

C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\Materials\Textures\2\Mats

C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\Materials\Textures\3\Mats

 

If you are using a custom bitmap file, then it should also reside in one of these folders.

 

You can also check to see if your part file has external references which will cause a potential 3rd party file on vault check-in, by going to the Tools, Links command.

 

Thanks,

Chris



Chris Mitchell
PDMS Customer Engagment Team
Autodesk, Inc.

Message 13 of 16

Hi Chris,

 

i have the one with greyed out thumbnail after restart. With the R2014 SP1 Update3

Message 14 of 16

Hi Michael,


From your other post it seems you are using the adsklib file from C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Inventor 2013\Design Data\Materials\ with Inventor 2014. That will explain what you are seeing. 2014 expects default texture files to be in the 2014 related folders. 2013 ponted to the 2013 folders.


Are you using a 2013 library because you customized it with 2013 & now want to maintain thsoe changes when using 2014 ? If that's the case, then it's better to put your customizations in to your own specific library as opposed to modifying the as-shipped Inventor library. Then you can carry your custom library forward & we can update the Inventor library as/when required.

 

Thanks
Chris



Chris Mitchell
PDMS Customer Engagment Team
Autodesk, Inc.

Message 15 of 16

Hi Chris,

But as i mentioned 

i did a mistake in copy the path. I really use the original material library from 2014 untasted after installation. 

But as i mentioned the problem does only exists if i create a new generic appearance, not a duplicate! And it is existing if i copy an old appearance from a 2013 library. This problem does exists in R2015 RC. I´ve added a FotoStory Smiley Happy

 

Message 16 of 16

Michael,

 

If you're creating your own materials/appearances then I would recommend you put them in your own library & not the Inventor one. That should ensure that your custom thumbnails are created properly.

 

Thanks,
Chris



Chris Mitchell
PDMS Customer Engagment Team
Autodesk, Inc.

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