Inventor Materials Migration

Material and Color Style migration to the new definitions are contrasted in the following table:

Color and Styles vs Appearances

Inventor 2012 & prior - Color and Styles

1. Maintained in an Inventor specific style library.
2. Defined by 4 color properties, opacity, and shininess properties.
3. Texture and bump maps can be scaled and rotated.
4. Assigned a Realistic Appearance.
5. Not shared with other products
6. Modified using Inventor's unique Styles Editor

Releases after Inventor 2012 - Appearances

1. Appearance definitions replace color styles and are maintained in a common, shared library.
2. Are defined by broader group of properties.
3. Have texture, bump, and cutout maps with increased property definition and control.
4. Are Realistic Appearances that work in connection with Ray Tracing.
5. Shared with AutoCAD, Revit, and Showcase.
6. Use the same interface in multiple products.

Material Styles vs Materials

Inventor 2012 & prior - Material Styles

1. Maintained in an Inventor specific style library.
2. Defined by 8 physical properties.
3. Have a Color style assignment.
4. Have a Units setting.
5. Not shared with other products.
6. Modified using Inventor's unique Styles Editor.

Releases after Inventor 2012 - Materials

1. Material definitions replace material styles and are maintained in a common, shared library.
2. Defined by a broader group of properties.
3. Have an Appearance assignment.
4. Use a Global units setting.
5. Shared with AutoCAD, Revit, & Showcase.
6. Use the same interface in multiple products.