Replace materials

When you import a model, you can first replace its imported materials with the Autodesk Showcase materials for better visual quality.

You can replace each material individually or run an automatic algorithm that replaces materials with obvious matches. You can also define your own material replacement mapping algorithm that replaces materials strategically and precisely, based on base color (RGB), layer names, or material names. To define your own material replacement mapping algorithm, see Define a material replacement mapping algorithm.

Replace imported materials

Select Materials > Replace Imported Materials.
The Replace Imported Materials window appears:
Do one of the following:
- To run an algorithm that replaces materials for obvious matches, click Auto.
  The algorithm replaces imported materials with Scene materials if they share similar names. It removes spaces, colons and other special characters so that a name like "CarPaintBlueMetallic" is matched to "Car Paint::Blue Metallic."
- To run a custom mapping algorithm, click Mapped. If the button is grayed out, no mapping algorithm has been defined; see Define a material replacement mapping algorithm. As files are found, the algorithm replaces imported materials.
Replace the less obvious matches or individual materials by mapping each one:
Select an item from the Imported Materials column, click on its matching item in the Scene Materials column, and then click Replace to map them.

Replace Alias 2011 library materials

Autodesk Alias 2011 products (Design, Surface, and Automotive) share a common library of materials with Showcase. A material replacement mapping algorithm is included with the Showcase materials.

To replace Alias 2011 library materials:

Select Materials > Replace Imported Materials.
The Replace Imported Materials window appears:
Press the Mapped button.
All shared library materials will be mapped to the correct objects. Visually, the materials will appear almost identical to what is seen in Alias 2011. Because this mapping algorithm is included with Showcase 2011, no other work needs to be done.

NoteIf any of the shared library materials were edited in Alias 2011 prior to saving the .wire file, but the name remains the same, the replacement will not include those edits. In these cases, rename the material in Alias 2011 first so it is ignored by the mapping algorithm.

Workflow tips

To replace imported materials quickly, rename the shaders in your Autodesk Alias or other CAD software so that they match the Autodesk Showcase material names.
You can leave special characters (which are ignored), but must match up the alphabetic characters exactly. It does not matter if you use upper- or lower-case letters.
For example, to match CAD shaders to the Autodesk Showcase material Car Paint::Red Metallic, you can give the CAD shaders names like the following:
```
Car_Paint_Red_Metallic
```
```
CarPaintRedMetallic
```
```
carpaint#redmetallic
```
```
Carpaint_Red_Metallic
```

Define a material replacement mapping algorithm

Material replacement mapping algorithms are external text files that you create to define precisely how materials are replaced in Showcase. Placed in the correct locations, you can use this file to tell Showcase to replace materials based on the color values of the original materials, object layer membership, and original material names. Showcase looks in all materials locations (e.g., the Materials folder under your preferences location, usually "My Documents\Autodesk Showcase 2011\Materials") for the mapping files named ReplacementMap*.txt.

NoteYou can create more than one of these files. If Showcase finds more than one file, the contents of the files are combined then sorted to be executed in the following order: base color, layers, and material names.

To define a mapping algorithm for material replacement:

Create a new folder within the folder that contains your userprefs.xml file (usually in My Documents\Autodesk Showcase 2011), and rename the folder to Materials. This is where the mapping files will reside.
Copy the file TemplateReplacementMap.txt(located in the installation's support/Materials folder) to the Materials folder.
Rename the file so that it starts with the words “ReplacementMap” (for example ReplacementMap.txt, ReplacementMapLayers.txt, ReplacementMapABC.txt, and so on).

Edit the following sections of this file, and then save the file:

NoteMultiple sections of the same type can be in the same file.

For color-based mapping (see RGB examples):

[The name of the color based mapping] Type: RGB256 RedValue0to255 GreenValue0to255BlueValue0to255: ShowcaseMaterialSection::ShowcaseMaterialName RedValue0to255GreenValue0to255 BlueValue0to255: ShowcaseMaterialSection::ShowcaseMaterialName

For layer-based mapping (see Layer examples):

[The name of the layerbased mapping] Type: Layers LayerName: ShowcaseMaterialSection::ShowcaseMaterialNameLayerName: ShowcaseMaterialSection::ShowcaseMaterialName

For original name-based mapping (see Names examples):

[Thenameof the original material name based mapping] Type: Names OriginalMaterialName:ShowcaseMaterialSection::ShowcaseMaterialName OriginalMaterialName:ShowcaseMaterialSection::ShowcaseMaterialName ...

RGB examples

All objects with original materials with the diffuse color 120 120 120 turn to hi gloss maple, as do those with original diffuse color 5 35 35. All colors are in the 0 to 255 range.

[RGBExample]

Type: RGB256

120 120 120 255: Wood::Maple-Hi Gloss

5 35 35: Wood::Maple-Hi Gloss

More examples for colors; there can be multiple entries in the file, or multiple files.

[RGB Example2]

Type: RGB256

24 124 124 255: Metal::Gold

20 0 255: Metal::Gold

Layer examples

All objects from layer 07.Logos turn to Showcase gold. All objects from layer 09.Logos turn Showcase chrome.

[LayerExample]

Type: Layers

07.Logos: Metal::Gold

09.Logos: Metal::Chrome

Some more examples for layers; there can be multiple entries in the file, or multiple files.

[Layer Example2]

Type: Layers

08.Interior.Floor: Wood::Maple-Hi Gloss

10.Interior.Floor: Wood::Maple-Satin Finish

Names examples

All objects with the original material named Chrome turn to Showcase chrome; all objects with the original material PlasticSatin turn to Showcase hi gloss maple wood.

[NamesExample]

Type: Names

Chrome: Metal::Chrome

PlasticSatin: Wood::Maple-Hi Gloss

More examples for material names; there can be multiple entries in the file, or multiple files.

[Names Example2]

Type: Names

Something: Metal::Gold

OrOther: Wood::Maple-Hi Gloss