9

Materials and Linked AutoCAD Architecture Objects 445
3ds Max, or geometr y m ay move from one object
to another. In either case, some scene properties
are changed, such as assigned material or scene
layer.
3dsMaxorganizesandnamesfilelinkedobjectsto
reflect their structure in AutoCAD Architecture,
using a parent-child hierarchy. The parent object
will be a VIZBlock named object class <style>,and
thisVIZBlockwillhaveoneormorechildobjects
named object class <style name> component1,
object class <style name> component2, and so
forth. Objects that orig inate in an xref drawing
in AutoCAD Architecture are grouped together
under a VIZBlock t hat is named for the xref
drawing.
The following table lists some examples of the
naming conventions of AutoCAD Archit ecture
objectsthatarefilelinkedin3dsMax.
Name in 3 ds M ax R emar k s
Xref:Drawing1XRef:
5701
A VIZBlock containing one or more
objects found in drawing1.dwg,
whichisanxrefinthelinked
AutoCAD Architecture drawing.
Window <Picture-
Arched>
A VIZBlo ck for an object
of class=Window and
style=Picture-Arched.There
will one or more components that
belong to this object instance,
which will be c hild objects with
the VIZBlock as their parent.
Window <Picture-
Arched> Frame
A component to the object,
named Frame.
Note: It is possible for instances of the same
AutoCAD Architecture object to subdivide
differently into 3ds Max objects. AutoCAD
Architecture objects are considered instances of
thesameobjectiftheirtype,stylename,and
component name are exact matches, and this
will affect thei r instancing behavior for 3ds Max
functionssuchassubstitutionaswellasmaterial
propagation.
See also
InstancedObjects,Elements,BlocksandStyles(page
3–456)
Styles (page 3–461)
Materials and Linked
AutoCAD Ar chi tectur e
Obj ect s
Materials in 3ds Max are vital to making your
visualizations compelling and realistic. The native
material attributes that 3ds Max relies on are those
that tell it how to render the surface of an object
given certain lighting conditions. Those materia l
properties that are so central to architec tur al
visualization (that convey surface coloring, surface
texture, transparency, and so forth) are only one
of man y sets of properties covered in an AutoCAD
Architecture (formerly Architectural Desktop or
ADT) material definition. To make your work
more efficient, the rendering material properties
stored and assigned in AutoCAD Architecture are
designed to flow transparently to 3ds Max through
the File Link Manager (page 3–422).
See also
Propagate Materials to Instances (page 2–1432)
Assigning M aterials to Link ed
AutoCAD Architecture Objects
Material assignments exhibit special behavior on
linked AutoCAD Architecture objects and blocks,
and the behavior is controlled by the Propagate
Materials To Instances toggle (page 2–1432).
In the default state, assigning a material to any
component of any linked AutoCAD Architecture