Cannot apply appearance to body to Step file

[andy.nias]

When I try to apply a material to the parts of an imported step model I get the following error:

"1 warning(s)

This component has appearances assigned to bodies or faces, they cannot be removed because they are in a referenced component. The appearance you are applying will not have any effect to them.

I can't see any way to remove or unlink the material or appearance which is just a default from the exporting package. Any assistance greatfully received, my pupils will thank me.

Cheers

[jeff_strater · Accepted solution]

the error message, in this case, is pretty accurate.  By default, the Appearance command tries to apply an appearance to a body.  If that body exists in an external design (one referenced by the active design), it is blocked.  Body-level appearance cannot be overridden in a referencing design.  So, you can either:

• open the referenced design (in another tab, or if, you have a commercial license, in context), and change it
• apply the appearance to the component.  You can do this by dragging the appearance onto the component object in the browser.