Editing textures and shaders

All textures, whether created by you, selected from a library, or imported from the resources included with the Vectorworks program, can be edited by changing the parameters of the shaders that make up the texture. Edit the texture from the Object Info palette to see the changes reflected immediately in the selected object. Alternatively, edit the texture from the Resource Manager.

Editing textures and shaders of selected objects

The textures and shaders of a selected object can be edited directly through the Texture menu on the Render tab of the Object Info palette. Changes display immediately in the drawing. The texture mapping can also be edited from the Object Info palette; see Applying a texture to an object.

Editing the texture resource

2. On the Render tab of the Object Info palette, click the arrow next to the texture name to open the Texture menu.

● Select Duplicate (Texture Name) Resource and Edit to make a copy of the resource for editing. This can be useful to prevent unwanted changes to several objects that use the same texture. Changes made to a copy of the texture only apply to the current selection.

The Edit (Texture Name) dialog box opens, and a preview window is created around the selected object.

Some parameters are not available when you edit a resource from the Object Info palette; to edit those parameters you must access the texture directly from the Resource Manager.

The parameters are the same as those used to create the texture; any changes are reflected directly in the drawing.

Parameter	Description
Shaders	Select a different or additional shader, or edit the shader parameters, as described in Creating a new texture
Size	Sets the real-world size for each repetition of the texture
Set By Image	For image-based shaders, click to set the real-world size in relation to a segment of the image (if several image-based shaders are used, select the shader in the Choose Image dialog box first). In the Set Image Size dialog box, specify the texture length to use for sizing by dragging the ends of the line segment. Then, specify the real-world size for the line segment in Feature Size. The size should reflect the file setup. For example, if the layer scale is 1/4” and feet and inches are being used, the size should be in feet, not inches.
Shadows
Cast	Allows objects with this texture to cast shadows (for rendering modes that display shadows)
Receive	Allows objects with this texture to receive shadows (for rendering modes that display shadows)
Indirect Lighting Options	Opens the Indirect Lighting Texture Options dialog box, to set any overrides for the texture when rendering with indirect lighting (see Creating a new texture)
Preview Options
Render Mode	Select a rendering mode for the preview window; this does not change the drawing rendering mode
Update When Values Change	Select to render the preview with the selected Render Mode as parameters change; if deselected, the drawing is not updated until the dialog box is closed
Render Selected Object Only	Select to render only the selected object as parameters change; deselect to render objects within the preview window as parameters change
(Texture Name) is Used by	Indicates the number of objects in the file with the current texture applied

Editing the shader

If only the shader parameters require editing, access them quickly from the Texture menu rather than editing the texture first.

2. On the Render tab of the Object Info palette, click the arrow next to the texture name to open the Texture menu.

3. Select Edit (Shader Name) Shader to directly edit one of the shaders that makes up the applied texture.

The Edit (Shader Name) Shader dialog box opens, and a preview window is created around the selected object.

The parameters are the same as those used to create the shader; any changes are reflected directly in the drawing.

Editing textures and shaders from the Resource Manager

A texture and its shader properties can be edited from the Resource Manager. The texture does not have to be applied to any objects to be edited in this way; changes are displayed in a preview window rather than directly in the drawing.

Imported textures, such as those imported from Cinema 4D, display Imported as their color, reflectivity, transparency, and bump shader types, and Edit is disabled. However, you can select a different shader type and edit that, if desired. Other texture parameters are editable. Due to licensing restrictions, the texture reflectance of some Cinema 4D imported textures may not be an exact match to the original.

1. From the Resource Manager, right-click on the resource, and select Edit from the context menu.

2. Click Edit to edit one of the shaders that make up the texture. The dialog box that opens depends on the shader. Descriptions of all the possible parameters are presented in alphabetical order in Renderworks shader parameters.

4. Edit the texture properties as described in Creating a new texture. The texture can also be renamed.

5. Click OK to exit the Edit Texture dialog box. Textures applied to any objects are updated to reflect the changes.

A Renderworks texture can be deleted from a drawing and/or replaced with another existing Renderworks texture; see Deleting or replacing resources.