Apply material without visual properties?

[BiPolarMoment]

I'm nigh certain this was answered before but I didn't find it in a brief search.

I have an assembly with multiple components and I want to assign material properties (more specifically densities) so that I can estimate the mass of the whole part. Previously I've assigned different colors to parts (I don't always do this but I'm trying to differentiate parts without too much difficulty) but as soon as I assign a material the associate visual property overrides the selected appearance.

Now if I had selected the material first it would have probably been fine but it's too late now (and

Any [easy] way to assign material properties without overriding the previously assigned color/visual properties?

I don't use the materials or visual properties really often so I'm not versed in all the intricacies.

 

[BiPolarMoment]

Er, I just found an answer.

There's a check box in the edit material dialogue if you edit the material entry. You can toggle whether the visual properties are propagated. Not perfect but it'll do.

 

[SteveMartin]

SW2008 here (you don't specify your version, but I'm guessing a similar workflow can be found in whatever release you're using):

This requires going in to the 'edit material' dialog instead of picking from the list of recent materials used, but there's a check box under Appearance in the materials editor, that says 'use material color'. This is checked by default - uncheck it to keep your current appearance.

 

[BiPolarMoment]

Yep, thanks Steve. I hadn't thought to go there because I'm used to assigning from the favorite materials list (right click list). Seemed like that should be independent of the material entry.