Working with Parts

To experiment with different colors, textures and effects, you first need to select the specific parts on .dci or .svg items you want to change.

Parts of a Colorway asset are displayed in the Items Tree. Click the arrow in front of the name of an item to reveal the list of parts.

The menu lists the available parts of the project that you are able to select and change. These were defined with the original asset in a 3D or 2D application. If a part was not specified in the 3D or 2D application, it does not appear in the Items Tree.

Selecting Parts

You can either select a part in the Items Tree, or by clicking on it directly in the sheet. When you hover over a part in the sheet, it is highlighted in blue to make selection easier.

This video shows that hovering over parts of an asset makes it easier for you to navigate in your workspace and apply colors as it highlights the asset and its linked items.

You can select multiple parts by using Shift and/or Ctrl/Cmd+click.

Grouping Parts

Colorway allows you to group selected .dci parts. You can then apply changes to a group, which updates all the parts within the group simultaneously.

Note:  .dci parts are grouped per variation. .svg parts cannot currently be grouped.

1.   In the Items Tree, select multiple parts by either using Shift or Ctrl/Cmd and clicking on the parts.
2.   Click the Group button in the bottom-left of the Items Tree.

A group is created and is named New Group by default. There are also a few controls on the group name.

• Click the arrow on the left of the group name to expand or collapse the view of the group contents.

• Click the padlock on the right of the group name to lock or unlock the group of parts.

• Click the visibility icon on the right to hide/reveal the group in the Dynamic Table.

• Double-click the default group name to rename it.

Merging Parts

Parts can be merged per variation on .dci and .svg items.

To merge parts that are grouped:

1.   Select the Group layer in the Items Tree.
2.   Right click the Group layer, and select Merge Part Group.

The group layer is merged in the currently selected variation.

To merge parts that are ungrouped:

1.   Drag one part on top of another part in the Items Tree.
2.   Drag other parts you want to merge into the same group on top of the part merge layer in the Items Tree.

Ungrouping Parts

Selecting the group(s) you want to remove and then clicking the Ungroup button in the bottom-left of the Items Tree.

Note:  The parts are ungrouped in the current variation.

Reordering Parts

Reorder parts by dragging and dropping the parts in the Items Tree. Once you are happy with your ordering, the part order is stored to the current variation.

Tip:  To copy an item's part order from one variation to another, right click the item in the Items Tree and select Copy Part Subtree. Select the variation you want to share the part tree to, right click the item and select Paste Part Subtree.

Linking Parts

Link parts together using the Linked Items dialog. See Linking Items for more information.

Locking Parts and Groups

Colorway allows you to lock parts or whole groups of parts. This allows you to maintain control over what can be changed in your project to create different looks. To lock a part or group, click the Padlock icon next to the part or group name. When a part or a group has been locked, the icon appears like a closed padlock and highlights dark gray.

Hiding SVG Parts on the Sheet

You can hide specific parts on .svg items from the sheet. The part is hidden across all variations. Click the Visibility icon next to the .svg part in the Items Tree to hide the part on the sheet. Click the Visibility icon again to unhide the part.

Hiding Parts in Dynamic Tables

You can hide parts on Colorway .dci and .svg items from the Dynamic Table. This can be helpful if you have parts on your item which aren't available on some variations and you don't need to include that part information during export of the table.

To hide a part on a dynamic table:

1.   In the Variations panel, select the variation you would like to hide the part on.
2.   In the Items Tree panel, click the Hide on Table icon next to the part you would like to hide from the table.
3.   To store this change to the selected variation, open the Variations panel and click the Update Selected Variation icon on the variation.
4.   To unhide the part on your dynamic table, click the Unhide on Table icon next to the part in the Items Tree.

Editing Part Metadata

You can add metadata to a part on a .dci or .svg in its properties panel. The data added here can then be displayed using dynamic text or tables.

Note:  Metadata can be added per variation. Click the Update Variation button to update amended metadata for that variation only.

To add metadata:

1.   Select the part in the Items Tree or sheet.
2.   Expand the Metadata properties.

3.   Enter a title in the first field, then enter a description or value in the second field. To add additional data, click the + (plus) icon on the right.

Tip:  You can also access the metadata of parts of a Colorway asset through tables.

Renaming Parts

To rename an .svg or .dci part, double click the part in the Items Tree and type the new name.

Note:  When a part is renamed, the connection between the original source file and the renamed part is lost. You can rename the part in the original source file to ensure the LiveSource connection is retained.

Adjusting the Color of a Part

To adjust the Hue, Saturation and other specific color values of individual parts:

1.   Click on the part of your .dci or .svg you want to adjust.

The part is highlighted to show you it is selected.

2.   Click on the Color Picker menu or on the Palettes menu, if you have predefined color palettes.
3.   Select a color from the color picker or from a palette.

The color is applied to the selected part .

4.   Adjust the Hue, Saturation and Value data or enter R, G and B data from 0 to 255 to specify RGB color values. If you already know the You can click and drag the mouse left or right to slide up and down the scale of values.

The selected part updates with each color value change.

5.   Click anywhere on the sheet to deselect the part.

Adjusting the Color of a Part With Multiple Texture Layers

The part context menu is useful when materials are assigned to the part with multiple texture layers, and you need to apply a swatch to a specific texture layer.

1.   Drag and hold a color swatch over a part on the sheet.

A context menu appears after a second.

2.   Drop the color swatch on the layer you want to tint.

Hovering a color swatch over a part.

Adjusting the Diffuse Amount of a Part

You can adjust the output color brightness of specific parts using the Diffuse property inside the Materials & Textures tab. This can help you visualize colors more realistically, as the same color can appear different depending on the materials used.

1.   Select a part.
2.   Click the Materials & Textures tab.
3.   Click the Materials sub-menu.
4.   Click and drag the Diffuse slider.

Note:  Enable the button next to the Diffuse slider to share the brightness output across all linked items. Disable the button to only display the brightness output on the selected item.

Adjusting the Specularity of a Part

1.   Select a part.
2.   Click the Materials & Textures tab.
3.   Click the Materials submenu.
4.   At the bottom of the Materials submenu panel, adjust the Blur, Glow, and Intensity sliders.

Note:  Once the Intensity slider goes above 0%, a specular color slot will appear on the selected part. You can assign any color swatch to this slot to change the specular color of the part.

Tip:  You can use textures to mask the blur, transparency, and specularity effects. See Masking Using Textures and Decals for more information.

Each slider affects the part differently. See the table below for information on each slider.

Property Description Effect
Blur Adjusts the amount of blur applied to the selected part or its masked region.

30% Blur, 0% Glow, 0% Intensity
Glow Adjusts the roughness finish of the selected part or its masked region. Requires an intensity of 0%> for adjustments to be visible.

0% Blur, 50% Intensity, 99% Glow
Intensity Adjusts the intensity of the reflection on the selected part or its masked region.

0% Blur, 70% Intensity, 20% Glow