Environment Layers Tab
Environment layers are created in the Environment Layers tab.
The name of the product in the active viewport is displayed at the top of this tab. The rest of the tab is composed of the Environment Layers, Environments, and Surfaces using environment boxes.
Environment Layers Box
This box contains a list of the existing environment layers. Each layer has a toggle button to activate or deactivate its visibility. The symbol 
means that the layer is visible. When a layer is hidden, this symbol is barred. The 
icon is used to pinpoint the active layer, which will receive all the new environment allocations.
The following operations can be performed on the environment layers:
Icon | Function | Description |
|---|---|---|
| New Environment Layer | A new environment layer is created and added to the list of existing layers. |
| Duplicate Environment Layer | Creates a copy of the selected environment layer. The mention "Copy" is added to the name of the created layer. |
| Rename Environment Layer | This operation opens a dialog box which allows the selected layer to be renamed. |
| Solo Environment Layer | This operation displays the surfaces affected by an environment contained in the selected layer only. |
| Delete Environment Layer | The selected environment layer is deleted. The minimum number of environment layers is one. |
When the Product Environments editor is opened, it already contains a layer called Default. When opening a database created with a version of Patchwork 3D prior to version 5.5, the environments assigned to the product are automatically imported in this layer.
Note
When no environment layer is selected, the name of the default environment is displayed in the Environments box. When all environment layers are hidden, the default environment is used.
As with aspect and position layers, the position of environment layers in the layer list is taken into account when displaying environments on the product. The layer hierarchy is assessed from the top to the bottom of the list:
The first allocation of a global environment found in a layer is displayed in the product.
If, for a given surface, any environments are specifically assigned, the highest-ranking of these environments is applied, even if a higher-ranking global environment is defined.
Environments Box
This box displays the list of environments contained in the selected layer of the Environment layers box. A global and several surface-specific environments can be present in the same layer.
Selecting an environment in this box displays the list of Surfaces affected by this environment in the Surfaces using environment box.
The following actions can be performed on a selected environment:
Icon | Function | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Solo Environment | Restricts the rendering to the surfaces affected by the environment selected in the list. |
| Set Active Environment | Defines the selected environment as the one considered active in the Matter sidebar's environment library. |
| Find Environment | Selects the corresponding environment in the Matter sidebar's environment library. |
| Remove Environment | Removes the assignment of the selected environment from the surfaces using it in the current layer. |
To set an environment as a global environment in the active layer, drag and drop it onto the product.
To assign a local environment, drag and drop it onto the targeted surfaces by holding down Shift key and by selecting Apply To Surface in the opening context menu.
To replace an environment in the active layer, drag and drop the desired environment from the Matter sidebar's environment library onto the name of the environment to be replaced in the list of the Environments box. It is also possible to drag and drop the desired environment onto a selection of surfaces in the Surfaces using environment box to assign it to the selection.
Surfaces Using Environment Box
This box lists the surfaces affected by the environment selected in the Environments box.
The following actions can be performed on the selected environment(s):
Icon | Function | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Solo Surfaces | Restricts rendering to the selected surfaces. |
| Reset Orientation | Resets the orientation of the environment affecting the selected surfaces. This feature applies only to surfaces for which the environment has been specifically reoriented. These surfaces are tagged with the icon |
| Remove Environment | Removes the assignment of the environment specific to the selected surfaces. |
Surface names displayed in italics and crossed out correspond to surfaces which possess an unused environment allocation. For a global environment allocation this occurs either when another global environment allocation is listed higher in the layer hierarchy, or when a surface-specific environment exists. For a surface-specific environment, this occurs when another surface-specific environment allocation is listed higher in the layer hierarchy.