How to use ADJUST MATERIAL DEFINITION

[cag505]

I have Home Designer 9.0
I have a soffit with material: Roofing/Metal/Ribbed/Green Corrugated Metal
It has vertical ribs, i want them to be Horizontal.
in Camera view:
I select the Adjust Material Definition tool (rainbow icon on button)
I click on the soffit
In the Adjust Material Definition dialog:
. Texture is selected, I leave that as is
. I change the name to Green horiz Metal
. I change the Rotate Angle to 90, the image looks just like I want
BUT
I get a WARNING box ENDLESSLY, even if i say OK or X it out it comes back changing White2 to White 3,4,5,6,7
The material "Birch (honey)--PAINTED: Color - White was duplicated,
it was changed to "Birch (honey)--PAINTED: Color - White2 to avoid confusion"
Question 1:
What am I doing wrong, can i do this and make this "new material", even temporarily ?
Question 2:
Have i permanently changed some material definitions based on the Warning message ?
Question 3:
Assuming I am finally able to do this, is the "Green horiz Metal" material saved somewhere, can i use it again?
Thanks
PS the warning box persists even after i close Home designer, i must use Task Manager to end the process.

[David J. Potter]

For reasons best known to the software's creators this phenomena occurs when customizing materials, it is built in behavior and is completely "stimulus - response" (machine) behavior, it has nothing to do with "wrong-ness". The message mainly inventories all the material changes you have made using the Materials Eye-Dropper tool on the plan.
I find it annoying but I assure you it is non threatening and you have done nothing "wrong", it is just something mechanical being mechanical.

DJP

[cag505]

i forgot to mention that even tho in the dialog box the rib direction image changes like i want
it does not "take". the object i was trying to change does not change to the horizontal rib.
the program is basically stuck on the "duplicate" message/warning , i cannot do anything else until i end Home Designer and the process.
can i delete all the "birch duplicates" it seems to find? I've looked but do not see them anywhere.
i respond to the warning box maybe a dozen times then give up, are you saying to just keep clicking OK and it will eventually get to an end?

[David J. Potter]

i forgot to mention that even tho in the dialog box the rib direction image changes like i wantit does not "take". the object i was trying to change does not change to the horizontal rib.
the program is basically stuck on the "duplicate" message/warning , i cannot do anything else until i end Home Designer and the process.
can i delete all the "birch duplicates" it seems to find? I've looked but do not see them anywhere.
i respond to the warning box maybe a dozen times then give up, are you saying to just keep clicking OK and it will eventually get to an end?

Well, that is totally unwanted, I agree. I have also, in all my years of using Home Designer and Chief Premier, never seen this occur, so if you had the latest version of Home Designer I would have recommended that you call Tech Support, but with your older version that is not really an option.
Please send your plan file to me so I can see if I get the same behavior as you describe and perhaps having it I can figure out what to do about it, it is your call.

DJP

[cag505]

thanks for your offer.
I did finally get what i wanted in the User Libraries,
I admit i can't remember the exact steps i used, i was just exploring that avenue and it worked and i wasn't paying attention to what i did.
basically i created a new material in User Libraries (copying?) the original vertical ribbed metal, maybe pasting into User Libraries, then using the Adjust Material Definition
it did not generate the Warnings.

One last thing, you said that Warning/message is an inventory of how many times the Eye-Dropper tool was used, i use that a LOT !
changing colors/texture on cabinets, walls, from existing colors in 3D view, experimenting, etc

[David J. Potter]

I use the Materials Eye Dropper sparingly, as if you use the wrong mode (easy to do) you then create variations of materials on the fly. You should thoroughly study its four modes and practice those modes in a simple model until you get a through understanding of exactly what is occurring when you are using it.
The only thing "wrong" is doing something that is not fully understood which then results in confusing "communications from the software, when actually the software is merely telling you what you have already done, unknowingly. It is just a bad habit to get into and if done too often can actually corrupt a plan file (I have seen others do this but incessant guessing instead of careful study followed by practice).
We are all guilty of this but it is worth not doing.

DJP

[cag505]

Here are the steps:
Library Browser
Find the Material you want to alter in Chief Architect Libraries, ie Roofing/Metal/Ribbed/Green Corrugated Metal
Right Click on the material, COPY
Right Click on User Libraries, PASTE
Find the new item in User Libraries, Right Click, OPEN
The Define Material dialog opens, Change the name, rotate or whatever, OK
it's done, select from User Libraries fro the altered material

[cag505]

I use the Eye Dropper and resulting Spray-Can mode only... because i do not know what those other modes do, but i have wondered:
Material Painter Component Mode, Object Mode, Room Mode, Floor Mode, Plan Mode.
Is there a tutorial on the use of those modes or a one sentence explanation of each? i have no idea what they provide.

[David J. Potter]

It is in the Reference Manual-User Guide found under the "Help" menu and it is searchable.

DJP

[cag505]

Last resort, read the manual.