Aspect Layers (Editor)

Aspect Layers is an editor that organizes the aspect of a product in layers. Different materials and their UV mapping projections can be assigned to the same surface in different layers. Using aspect layers will allow you to create configurations for the materials used to dress your product.

This editor consists of three tabs that can be used to manage the aspect layers, the visibility bookmarks and the material assignment method.

The Layer tab is for configuring the aspect layers.

The Bookmark tab is for creating bookmarks associated with the aspect layers.

The Assignment tab is for defining the method for assigning materials, specifying which aspect layer and affectation mode should be used when materials are applied.

The Product field identifies the active product.

Layer Tab

Layers: List of aspect layers that have been created.

: The visibility toggle button is for enabling/disabling visibility of the aspect layer.
When the visibility button is disabled for a group of aspect layers, none of the layers in the group are visible, but layers keep their own state.

: This icon indicates the active aspect layer.

Icon	Function	Description
	Pick active aspect layer	Select the aspect layer associated with the material of the surface you click in the viewport.
	New aspect layer	Create a new aspect layer in the list of layers.
	Duplicate the selected item	Create a copy of the selected item: aspect layer(s) or a group of aspect layers.
	New group	Create a new group of aspect layers.
	Merge selected layers	Combine the selected layers into a single layer.
	Flatten all layers	Combine all layers into a single layer.
	Delete aspect layer	Delete the selected layer.
	Split layer by picked material	Assign a new aspect layer to the picked material.
	Split layer by labels	Assign a new aspect layer to the picked label.
	Split layer by visibility	Create an aspect layer, skipping the surfaces hidden in Shaper. Only the surfaces that are visible will be taken into account. (Switch to Evaluate active layer only to enable this function.)
	Explode layer selection by assignment	Partition products in layers that have common material assignments.
	Explode layer selection by material	Divide an aspect layer by the number of materials constituting it. The names assigned by default to these new layers are those of the materials.
	Import aspect layer	Import aspect layers from another product.
	Flatten all layers in new product	Create a new product using all aspect layers.
	Evaluate all layers in stack	View the product by taking all aspect layers into account.
	Evaluate layers stack until active layer	View the product by taking into account the lowest level of aspect layers up through the active layer only. A red border around the viewport indicates that the view is restricted to a limited selection of layers.
	Evaluate active layer only	View the active aspect layer only.
	Highlight active layer assignments	Enable/disable highlighting of surfaces with a material in the active aspect layer.
	Hide surfaces without assignment	Hide/show surfaces that have no material assigned to them.
	Mask labels with materials	This button allows you to enable or disable the display of aspect layers containing labels on top of all layers containing materials in the list. When a list of aspect layers is displayed on a product, the layers are applied above those located under them in the list. Thus, when a layer containing a material is applied above a layer containing a label, the label should probably be hidden. However, you can choose to force the label to be visible on the material. The icon indicates that labels are currently visible even if materials were applied above them. Clicking this icon disables label visibility. The icon indicates that labels are currently hidden by materials applied above them. Clicking the icon makes labels visible.
	Replace String	Rename a selection of layers and assign a prefix and/or suffix to them.

The Layer field is for renaming the active aspect layer.

Bookmark Tab

The Bookmark tab is for creating bookmarks according to the visibility state of the aspect layers.

Layer Visibility Bookmarks: Lists the bookmarks of layer visibility configurations that have been created. double-click on a bookmark to enable it.

Icon	Function	Description
	New aspect layer bookmark	Create a new bookmark in the list of aspect layer visibility bookmarks. A bookmark is a saved set of the elements visible in the current configuration of layers.
	Store aspect layer bookmark	Update the active bookmark by storing the current aspect layer configuration.
	Restore aspect layer bookmark	Display the configuration saved in the active bookmark. his function can also be accessed by double-clicking on the bookmark in the list.
	Delete aspect layer bookmark	Delete a bookmark from the list of visibility bookmarks.

The Bookmark field is for renaming the active visibility bookmark.

Assignment Tab

The Assignment tab is for configuring the mode of assignment of the aspect layers.

Parameter	Description
Target	Set whether a material being assigned should be applied to the active aspect layer or to the layer to which the current visible material belongs.
Assign as	Sets the default assignment mode for the layer. This determines whether a material should be assigned by default as a material or as a label. For an aspect layer dedicated to labels, setting the default assignment mode to Label will prevent you from applying material types (matte, mirror) that cannot be used as labels.
UV reset	Indicate whether the UVs should be reset to 0.0 (yes) or used as-is (no) during assignment.
Affectation mode	Choose whether to use the assignment mode Assign or the mode Replace.

The Reset to default button is used to restore the default parameters.