You can move materials from the Material Editor to objects using a drag-and-drop operation. You can also drag to and from map and material buttons.
When dragging materials, use the Undo command to cancel material assignments.
See the following lists to determine where in the interface you can drag from and drag to.
The content you drag from a sample slot is always at the top level of the sample slot, regardless of which level is currently displayed. If the sample slot contains a material, you can’t drag from the sample slot to a map button, even if you’re at a map level of the material.
Drag from a material node’s output socket to an object or selection in the scene. See To apply a material to objects in a scene.
You can't drag from the modal version of the Browser (when OK and Cancel buttons are present).
The material and map buttons you can drag from include:
Drag from a material button or Browser listing into the viewport and over an object. When you release the mouse, the material is applied.
If you drag a material over two or more selected objects, an alert message asks if you want to apply the material to the object or to the selection. Choose the option you want, and click OK.
You can drag to the Type button only from the Browser. If the Type button shows a standalone map, you can drag only a map to it. If it shows a material type, you can drag only a material to it.
The Copy (Instance) Map dialog opens when you copy a map by dragging and dropping a map button. It gives you the choice of copying the map, making the newly assigned map an instance of the one you dragged, or swapping maps.
The Copy or Swap Colors dialog is displayed when you copy a color by dragging and dropping a color swatch. It gives you the choice of copying the color or swapping the colors, trading one for the other.
