116 lines
4.5 KiB
ReStructuredText
116 lines
4.5 KiB
ReStructuredText
User interface
|
|
==============
|
|
|
|
Overview
|
|
--------
|
|
|
|
Material Maker mainly consists of 3 panes:
|
|
|
|
* The top left pane is the library, that contains all available nodes that can be used
|
|
to create materials. Library items are shown in a tree view
|
|
|
|
* The bottom left pane is the preview, that shows at the same time the currecnt material
|
|
applied to a sample mesh in a sample environment, and the texture generated by the
|
|
currently selected node
|
|
|
|
* The right pane contains the graph editors where materials are described for current
|
|
projects
|
|
|
|
First steps with the user interface
|
|
-----------------------------------
|
|
|
|
When opening Material Maker, a new empty project is created and shown in the right pane.
|
|
An empty project simply consists of a material node where textures for all elements of
|
|
the material should be connected.
|
|
|
|
To create a new node, simply choose one (for example "bricks") from the library (the
|
|
top left pane) and drag it into the graph editor. Depending on the selected library
|
|
item, a preview or a simple description will be displayed while dragging.
|
|
|
|
.. image:: images/create_node.gif
|
|
|
|
Selecting this new node (by clicking on it) shows it in the preview pane. The very small
|
|
2d preview of the preview pane can be maximized by double cliking on it. This will hide
|
|
the 3d preview but is useful when working on the different textures of the material.
|
|
|
|
To connect a node output to an input of another node, simply drag one to the other.
|
|
For example we can drag the first output of the Bricks node to the albedo input of
|
|
the Materials node. This will automatically assign the simple Bricks texture to the
|
|
albedo element of the material, and the 3d preview will immediately be updated (if
|
|
you maximized the 2d preview it can be minimized by double-clicking on it again).
|
|
|
|
.. image:: images/connect_nodes.gif
|
|
|
|
Nodes can easily be configured by modifying their parameters, and previews are updated
|
|
automatically.
|
|
|
|
Since each input can be connected to a single output, reconnecting an input will
|
|
automatically remove the previous connection.
|
|
|
|
Main menu
|
|
---------
|
|
|
|
The main menu is organized in 4 sections:
|
|
|
|
* the *File* menu contains actions to create, load, save and export materials
|
|
* the *Edit* menu has common edit actions cut, copy and paste
|
|
* the *Tools* menu has actions to add items to the user library
|
|
* the *Help* menu can be used to find more information and submit feedback about the software
|
|
|
|
File menu
|
|
^^^^^^^^^
|
|
|
|
* *New material* creates a new material and opens a tab in the right pane to edit it
|
|
|
|
* *Load material* opens a file dialog to select a procedural material (.ptex) file. If
|
|
a material file is selected, it will be open in a new tab in the right pane. If the current
|
|
tab contains an empty material (about material that only consists of a Material node), the
|
|
material will be loaded into this tab.
|
|
|
|
* *Save material* saves the current material. If it was not previously saved, a file dialog
|
|
will be displayed to select a location and file name.
|
|
|
|
* *Save material as* prompts for a location and file name and saves the current material.
|
|
|
|
* *Save all materials* saves all currently open materials. Materials that were not already
|
|
saved ae ignored.
|
|
|
|
* *Export material* generates PNG image files for all elements of the material. File names are
|
|
defined using the path of the material and their role (albedo, metallic...) in the material.
|
|
|
|
* *Close material* closes the current material.
|
|
|
|
* *Quit* closes the software.
|
|
|
|
Edit menu
|
|
^^^^^^^^^
|
|
|
|
* *Cut* Copies the selected nodes to the clipboard and removes them from the current material.
|
|
|
|
* *Copy* Copies the selected nodes to the clipboard
|
|
|
|
* *Paste* Copies the clipboard into the current material. Note that the nodes will be added to
|
|
the center of the view, so it is advised to scroll to the correct location before pasting.
|
|
Pasting also unselects all previously selected nodes and selects all newly created nodes,
|
|
so they can easily be moved around.
|
|
|
|
Tools menu
|
|
^^^^^^^^^^
|
|
|
|
* *Add selected node to user library* first prompts for an item name. If a name is entered and
|
|
confirmed, the selected nodes in the current material will be added to the user library under
|
|
that name. Don't forget to use the *Save user library* item, otherwise the newly created library
|
|
not be available anymore when the software is restarted.
|
|
|
|
* *Save user library* saves the user library.
|
|
|
|
Help menu
|
|
^^^^^^^^^
|
|
|
|
* *Report a bug* opens a web browser on the Issues page of Material Maker's GitHub project. Please
|
|
do not hesitate to use it to suggest improvements for Material Maker.
|
|
|
|
* *About* Shows the about dialog.
|
|
|
|
|