Functional Material Names and Material Styles

The normal SketchUp user sets materials on object by selecting a material from the library and then placing in on a object. When you select materials from a library and drop them onto objects in your SketchUp model, then often the name refers to the material - such as Red Brick - rather than the use of the material - such as Outside Wall.

If you create objects whose materials have functional names, such as Ceiling, Table Top, Floor, etc. Then you can assign materials from a library to these materials - without changing the material name - using Replace Material or you can replace all the materials at once using Material Styles.

Example

 Here is a SketchUp Kitchen model with material names which  are functional. ('Base Cabinets', 'Lower Cabinet Doors'), instead of descriptive ('Red', 'Wood_Floor'), and one set of material defined.



A different Material Style is then selected from the Wizard, and when Load Selected Style is clicked, the materials in the model are re-mapped to the materials in the saved style.



Want to learn more?

See: Material Styles

And try the latest version of  IRender nXt to see it in action.