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KIT · May 7th, 2008

Over the las few months I´ve been working on a very extensive macroscript called MatManager. What the script does is create a Tree of custom material libraries. The user can then add as many libraries and materials to the tree as he wants. The materials will be automatically stored on exit and when the MatManager is opened again they will still be there, ready for use. This makes recycling of old materials A LOT faster and easier.

However that is not all that it can do, here are some feature highlights:

-Besides user-created libraries there are two extra libraries, one holding all the materials in the scene and one holding all the materials in the material editor. These facilitate the saving of materials in the MatManager and the browsing of the already created materials. Both of these libraries are updated automatically.

-When saving a material that uses bitmap files, MatManager will automatically copy the bitmaps to a pre-configured location. With this feature you will never have problems with missing bitmaps!

-MatManager will not only display your materials but also all the sub-maps that those materials use. It will also automatically generate and display previews for your materials and maps.

-Besides the material itself, you can also store the UVW modifier that material is using. This way you won´t have to waist time re-creating the UVW coordinates for your architectural materials.

-All the materials are stored in .mat files in your hard drive, this makes sharing of materials and libraries really easy even with people who do not have MatManager installed.

WARNING:
MatManager is still in beta stages and so it should be used at your own risk. Right now most of the features are working, however it is still not complete. For example the options panel is still incomplete and some of the options in the right-click menus don´t do anything yet. The reason I´m releasing this beta here is to find as many bugs as possible now that about 80% of the code is done.
Since I have still not decided if I will try to sell the final version the script is encrypted and the number of materials you can store has been capped.

There is still no help-file for MatManager but most of the interface should be pretty easy to understand. Here are a few pointers however:

-Nodes can be drag and dropped between libraries and dragging a node from the Material Editor library or the Scene Materials library to a custom library will store it (the panning while dragging a node is still kinda of freaky I know).

-Pressing the Delete key will delete the selected material/library. MatManager does not delete the bitmaps when deleting a library, instead they are moved to a "deleted libraries" folder (just in case you want to use them on another material later).

-Double clicking a material in the custom libraries or the material editor library will assign that material to the current selection (this is undoable). Double clicking a material in the Scene Materials library will select all the objects in the scene that use that material.

-Materials that have a UVW modifier associated will have an orange icon (see screen grab above) and it will be indicated next to the material preview at the bottom. Also at the bottom you will see a filed that reads "Compatible:" this indicates if the selected material is compatible with the current renderer.

If you come across any bugs or have an requests or comments please let me know here or at mbrunetta@gmail.com

http://maxupload.com/1E229095

May 7th, 2008	#1 (permalink)
KIT Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Buenos Aires Posts: 20 Name: Marco Brunetta	MatManagerBETA Over the las few months I´ve been working on a very extensive macroscript called MatManager. What the script does is create a Tree of custom material libraries. The user can then add as many libraries and materials to the tree as he wants. The materials will be automatically stored on exit and when the MatManager is opened again they will still be there, ready for use. This makes recycling of old materials A LOT faster and easier. However that is not all that it can do, here are some feature highlights: -Besides user-created libraries there are two extra libraries, one holding all the materials in the scene and one holding all the materials in the material editor. These facilitate the saving of materials in the MatManager and the browsing of the already created materials. Both of these libraries are updated automatically. -When saving a material that uses bitmap files, MatManager will automatically copy the bitmaps to a pre-configured location. With this feature you will never have problems with missing bitmaps! -MatManager will not only display your materials but also all the sub-maps that those materials use. It will also automatically generate and display previews for your materials and maps. -Besides the material itself, you can also store the UVW modifier that material is using. This way you won´t have to waist time re-creating the UVW coordinates for your architectural materials. -All the materials are stored in .mat files in your hard drive, this makes sharing of materials and libraries really easy even with people who do not have MatManager installed. WARNING: MatManager is still in beta stages and so it should be used at your own risk. Right now most of the features are working, however it is still not complete. For example the options panel is still incomplete and some of the options in the right-click menus don´t do anything yet. The reason I´m releasing this beta here is to find as many bugs as possible now that about 80% of the code is done. Since I have still not decided if I will try to sell the final version the script is encrypted and the number of materials you can store has been capped. There is still no help-file for MatManager but most of the interface should be pretty easy to understand. Here are a few pointers however: -Nodes can be drag and dropped between libraries and dragging a node from the Material Editor library or the Scene Materials library to a custom library will store it (the panning while dragging a node is still kinda of freaky I know). -Pressing the Delete key will delete the selected material/library. MatManager does not delete the bitmaps when deleting a library, instead they are moved to a "deleted libraries" folder (just in case you want to use them on another material later). -Double clicking a material in the custom libraries or the material editor library will assign that material to the current selection (this is undoable). Double clicking a material in the Scene Materials library will select all the objects in the scene that use that material. -Materials that have a UVW modifier associated will have an orange icon (see screen grab above) and it will be indicated next to the material preview at the bottom. Also at the bottom you will see a filed that reads "Compatible:" this indicates if the selected material is compatible with the current renderer. If you come across any bugs or have an requests or comments please let me know here or at mbrunetta@gmail.com http://maxupload.com/1E229095 Last edited by KIT; May 8th, 2008 at 10:36 AM.