Using the Texture Layer Editor

The texture layer editor is a grid-style editor from which you can view and edit all of a shader or material's texture layers. Rows in the grid represent layers while columns represent the selected shader's inputs, or ports. Individual cells are where you add ports to texture layers.

Each layer contains controls that allow you to edit the layer's properties, and every connected port's cell contains additional controls from refining the corresponding layer's effect on the port.

The advantage of using the texture layer editor is that it packs a tremendous amount of information into a relatively compact interface. At a glance, you can see which shaders are directly connected to a shader's port, how many texture layers have been added to the shader, how many ports those layers affect, and how and in which order the layers are blended together. Add to this the ability to modify the majority of each layer's properties, and the texture layer editor makes for quite a powerful tool.

A	The texture layer editor command bar provides quick access to commonly used texture layer editor commands.
B	The Selected shader's ports can be added to texture layers and base layers.
C	The shader list displays all of the shaders connected to the current selectionÔs material. Select a shader to update the editor with its layers.
D	The texture controls allow you to control the texture projections assigned to selected layers' Color and Mask inputs.
E	The Base Colors layer displays a color box for any unconnected ports
F	Base layers represent shaders that are directly connected to the current shader's ports.
G	Texture layers are blended with the base layer and with each other.

Layers are separated into two distinct groups: base layers and texture layers.

Base layers represent the underlying colors, or connected shaders, of the selected shader/material's ports. Texture layers are added on top of and blended with the base layers.

Base layers are displayed either at the very top or the very bottom of the texture layer editor workspace, depending on whether your layers are displayed in list mode or in stack mode (see Choosing the Layer Display Order: List View vs. Stack View).
Texture layers are displayed in the order in which they're blended together. The first texture layer is blended with the shader's base layers, the second texture layer is blended with the result, and so on.

The layer mixing order goes from bottom to top when layers are displayed in stack mode, or from top to bottom when layers are displayed in list mode. See Choosing the Layer Display Order: List View vs. Stack View for details.

The texture layer editor allows you to add and remove texture layers, control the order in which they are blended together, specify which ports each layer affects (and to what degree), and edit most layer properties (see Setting Texture Layer Properties).

Note

Although you can edit most of a texture layer's properties from the texture layer editor, some properties are only accessible from the layer's property editor. Also, you can only animate layer properties from layer property editors.

For complete information about editing layer properties, see Setting Texture Layer Properties.

Opening the Texture Layer Editor

When you first open the texture layer editor, what you see depends largely on what, if anything, was selected before you opened it.

If nothing was selected, the texture layer editor is blank. You'll need to select an object, shader, or material and update the workspace.
If you selected a shader, its layers are displayed.
If you selected an object or material, the texture layer editor displays the layers of the shader connected to the Surface port of the Material node.
If you selected multiple objects or materials, the texture layer editor displays the layers of the shaders connected to the Surface port of each Material node. Ports belonging to one shader are dimmed in layers belonging to the other shaders.

To open the texture layer editor

Do one of the following:
- Choose Views Rendering/Texturing Texture Layer Editor from the main menu, or press Shift+7 to open the texture layer editor in a floating window.
  
  or
- From any viewport's Views menu, choose Texture Layer Editor.
If necessary, select an object, material, or shader and update the texture layer editor.

Accessing the Selection's Shaders

Once you update the texture layer editor for a given selection, the selection's entire material, including the material node and all shaders connected to it, are accessible from the selection list in the texture layer editor command bar.

Selecting a shader (or material node) from the list automatically updates the texture layer editor for that shader. When you add layers to the current shader, the shaders connected to those layer's ports are added to the selection list.

The selection list displays all the current selection's shaders and materials. Select one to update the texture layer editor with its layers.

This allows you add texture layers to several of an object/material's shaders without having to locate and select the shaders in the explorer, or add the layers using the render tree.

Setting Texture Layer Editor Preferences

The texture layer editor's preferences allow you to control the default look and behavior of rows and columns, as well as the layers and ports that they represent.

To set texture layer editor preferences

Do one of the Following:
- Open the texture layer editor and choose Views Preferences from the menu.
  
  or
- Open the Preferences view (choose File Preferences from the main menu) and select Editors Texture Layer Editor in the explorer pane.
  
  The Texture Layer Editor Preferences property editor opens in the right pane.
Set the preferences as needed. See Texture Layer Editor Preferences.

Choosing the Layer Display Order: List View vs. Stack View

The texture layer editor displays a shader or material's texture layers either top-to-bottom as a list, or bottom-to-top as a stack. You can see the difference in the following image:


List View: The base layer appears at the top of the list and the topmost texture layer appears at the bottom. In other words, the lower a layer sits in the list, the later it is in the mixing order.	Stack View: The base layer sits at the bottom of the stack and the topmost texture layer appears at the top. In other words, the higher a layer sits in the list, the later it is in the mixing order.

TipYou may prefer stack mode if you're used to working with layered images in 2D image editing programs.

To switch between list view and stack view

Open the texture layer editor and choose Views Preferences from the menu bar.
Activate the Show Last Layer First (Stack View) option to display texture layers in stack view, or deactivate it to display them in list view.

NoteMoving layers up and down works the same way, regardless of whether texture layers are displayed in list view or stack view. For details, see Reordering Texture Layers.

Working in the Texture Layer Editor

The following sections describe the basics of selecting layers and ports, as well as working in the texture layer editor interface.

Selecting Layers and Ports

You can select rows (layers) and columns (ports) using the keyboard or the mouse. Use the arrow keys to move the cursor through the row titles or column headings.


Selected layers are highlighted in green.	Selected ports are highlighted in red.

You can select rows and columns using a variety of methods:

Clicking a column heading selects a single port.
Clicking a row title selects a single layer.
Holding the Shift key while using the arrow keys extends the selection of layers or ports.
Dragging the mouse across multiple row titles or column headings selects multiple layers or ports.

Selecting Layer/ Port Cells

You can select texture layer editor cells using the keyboard or the mouse. Use the arrow keys to move the cursor within the grid, or click on a cell to select it.

Selected cells are highlighted in purple.

You can also select multiple cells using a variety of methods:

Holding the Shift key while using the arrow keys extends the selected area as a rectangular region.
Shift-clicking creates a rectangular region of selected cells spanning from the first selected cell to the cell that was Shift+clicked. You can also select a rectangular region by dragging the mouse from one cell to another.
Ctrl+clicking adds a single cell to the selection.
Ctrl+dragging adds a rectangular region to the selection.
Clicking the upper-left corner of the texture layer editor selects all of the cells.

Getting Information About Layer Inputs

You can get information about the textures and shaders connected to texture layers and base layers by hovering the mouse pointer over the any of a layer's thumbnails (or color boxes). The information is displayed in the tooltip that pops up.

The tooltip for a base color box, or a layer's unconnected Color input show the color's RGBA values.

When connected to an image clip, the tooltip of a Color input, Mask Input, or base layer's thumbnail shows the name of the shader that uses the clip, the name of the clip, and the path to the clip's source.

When connected to a shader preset, the tooltip of a Color input, Mask Input or base layer's thumbnail shows the name of the shader.

Hiding and Showing Layers and Ports

The easiest way to hide layers and ports is to select one or more of either and press H. Of course, there are several other options.

To hide and show layers

Select one or more layers.
Right-click one of the selected layers and choose Hide Selected to hide all selected layers or choose Show All to show all hidden layers.

Alternatively, you can choose Hide Selection or Show All Layers from the texture layer editor View menu.

To hide and show ports

Select one or more ports.

Right-click one of the selected ports and choose one of the following commands from the menu:

Choose this...	To do this...
Hide Selected	Hides all selected ports.
Hide Unselected	Hides all unselected ports.
Hide Unused	Hides all ports that have not been added to at least one base layer or texture layer.
Show Used	Shows all ports that have been added to one or more base layers or texture layers.
Show Colors	Shows all of the current shader's ports that accept color inputs.
Show Scalars	Shows all of the current shader's ports that accept scalar inputs.
Show All	Shows all of the current shader's ports that can be added to texture layers.
Various Ports	Lists an assortment of the current shader's ports. Select a port, or hold down Shift and select multiple ports, to display them. Visible ports are marked with a dot in the menu.

Collapsing and Expanding Layers and Ports

As you add layers and display ports in the texture layer editor, you may want to collapse some of the rows and columns to regain some space in the work area.

A	Collapsed layers display miniature versions of their Color input thumbnails, as well as their weight sliders.
B	When a layer or a port is collapsed, the layer/port controls in the cell where they intersect are replaced by a dot.

TipYou can set the texture layer editor's preferences to display layers and ports in their collapsed state by default. From the texture layer editor command bar, choose Edit

Preferences and activate Default Collapsed in the preferences property editor.

To collapse/expand a single layer

Click the layer's collapse (triangle) icon.

To collapse/expand one or more layers/ports

Select one or more layers, or ports.
Right-click one of the selected rows/columns and choose Toggle Collapsed State or press C to toggle the collapsed state.

If the selected layers/ports were expanded, they are collapsed, and vice-versa. If some of the layers/ports were expanded and others were collapsed, they are all collapsed.

To collapse/expand a selection of cells

Select one or more cells in the texture layer editor.
Press C to toggle the collapsed state.

Each cell's corresponding layer and port is collapsed or expanded.

To collapse/expand all cells

Click the upper-left cell of the texture layer editor to select all of the currently displayed cells.
Press C to toggle the collapsed state. All of the rows and columns are collapsed or expanded.

Resizing Layers and Ports

If necessary, you can increase or reduce the size of any port's column or any layer's row.

To resize a column, click and drag the right border of any cell in the column.
To resize a row, click and drag the bottom border of any cell in the row.

TipTo revert a column or row back to its default size, select the entire column or row and press C twice to toggle the collapsed state. The column or row reverts to its default size in the collapsed or expanded state.

Updating the Texture Layer Editor

Clicking the Update button in the texture layer editor command bar updates the editor to display the texture layers of the current selection. It also rests all resized rows and columns to their default sizes.

Clearing the Texture Layer Editor

You can quickly clear the texture layer editor work area by clicking the Clear button on the texture layer editor command bar. The Clear command clears only the workspace. It does not remove any layers or undo any of changes that were made to them.