Provides display adjustment for the sample windows.
The Material Editor Options dialog contains the following controls:
Manual Update: When this is on, the sample windows don’t update their display until you click them. This option affects only the updating of the sample windows; it doesn’t affect the icon displays in the Browser.
Don’t Animate: When this is on, animated maps are not updated in the sample windows while you play an animation or drag the time slider. However, the animation is updated to the current frame when you stop the animation or release the time slider.
Anti-alias: Turns on antialiasing in the sample windows.
Progressive Refinement: Turns on progressive refinement in the sample windows. When on, samples are rendered quickly, with large pixels, then rendered a second time in greater detail.
Simple Multi Display Below Top Level – When on (the default), the sample sphere for a multi/sub-object material displays the multiple patches only at the top level of the multi/sub-object material. The submaterials themselves are displayed over the entire sphere. When you use nested multi/sub-object materials, the multiple patches again appear at the top level of the nested multi/sub-object material, but the sample sphere is again whole when displaying any of the submaterials.
Custom Background – Lets you specify a custom background for the sample windows, to be used instead of the default checkers background. Click the file-assignment button to display a file dialog from which you can select the custom background. This can be any bitmap format supported by 3DS MAX. Check the Custom Background checkbox to use the new background in place of the checkered background. The specified background is stored in the 3dsmax.ini file, so it is available from session to session.
This area lets you specify which renderer the sample windows will use.
Scanline: (Default.) Renders the samples with the full scanline renderer.
Current: Renders samples with the production renderer currently specified for 3DS MAX. The name of the current renderer appears in the text field. You assign the current renderer using the File/Preferences dialog. If you want to use the scanline renderer for samples, no matter which renderer is currently assigned for the scene, use the Scanline option.
Light #1 Color and Light #2 Color: These controls let you adjust the two lights used in the sample windows. Light #1 is the top light and Light #2 is the back light. Click the color swatch to alter the color of either light. Adjust the Multiplier spinners to multiply the values (intensity) of the lights.
Use the Default buttons to return to the initial settings.
Ambient Light Intensity: Sets the ambient light intensity in the sample windows. The range is from 0 to 1.
Use the Default button to return to the initial settings.
Background Intensity: Sets the background intensity in the sample windows. The range is from 0 (black) to 1 (white).
Use the Default button to return to the initial settings.
3D Map Sample Scale: Sets the scale of the sample sphere to any size, in order to make it consistent with the object(s) in the scene that have the texture on them. (This option changes the scale of all six sample windows.) It allows you to correctly preview the scale of 3D procedural maps such as noise without having to render. For example, if you have an object that is about 50 units across, set this parameter to 50 to see the noise map correctly scaled on the sample sphere.
Use the Default button to return to the initial settings.
This area lets you specify a custom sample object to use in the sample windows.
File Name: Use this button to select the 3DS MAX scene.
The 3DS MAX scene should contain a single unlinked object that fits in an imaginary cube 100 units on a side. The object must either be a primitive with a Generate Mapping Coords toggle, or have a UVW Map modifier applied to it. The 3DS MAX scene can contain a camera and lights.
Load Camera and/or Lights: Turn on to have sample windows use the camera and lights in the scene, instead of the default sample window lighting.
These controls affect the way the second UVW mapping channel appears in the sample windows. They have no effect on the way mapping appears in the rendered scene.
Generated by Object: (The default.) The second mapping channel is mapped using the coordinates of the sample-window object: spherical for the sphere, cylindrical for the cylinder, and Box mapping for the box. In this case, both the first and the second mapping channel use the same coordinate system.
Custom sample objects must have their own mapping coordinates supplied in the scene (unless the object has a Generate Mapping Coords toggle and no UVW Map modifier applied, in which case the Material Editor uses the default mapping coordinates whether the toggle is turned on, or not).
Planar: When this is chosen, the second mapping channel uses planar mapping regardless of the mapping coordinates. Use this when you want to use the second mapping channel for decals and such.
These options let you choose how many sample windows to display.
3 X 2: Specifies a 3 x 2 array of sample windows. (The default: 6 windows.)
5 X 3: Specifies a 5 X 3 array of sample windows. (15 windows.)
6 X 4: Specifies a 6 X 4 array of sample windows. (24 windows.)
Apply: This button lets you apply the current settings without leaving the Material Editor Options dialog. This is useful when you adjust lighting values for the sample windows.
OK: Closes the dialog and applies any changes you made.
Cancel: Closes the dialog and cancels any changes you made: including changes you applied with the Apply button.