GMS:Materials

Many of the objects in GMS (ex., elements, solids, borehole regions) have an associated material. Materials typically represent a type of soil or rock. A global list of materials is maintained and can be edited using the Materials command in the Edit menu.

Materials Dialog

Insert, delete, move up, move down buttons

The Materials are listed in a spreadsheet. Materials have an ID, name, color and pattern. New materials can be created by typing in the last row, or by copying and pasting from a spreadsheet, or by selecting the Insert button. The dialog also has tabs showing model specific properties for each numerical model in use.

An example of the Materials dialog.

Materials Display Options

• Material pattern scale – Adjusts the scale for the material pattern display making it more or less detailed. This setting only has a noticeable affect when a material is represented with a pattern. These patterns are set up in the Materials dialog using the button in the Color/Pattern column.
• Display material legend – Displays a legend in the Graphics Window showing all the materials.

Materials File

The material names, colors, patterns, and transparencies can be exported by selecting the Export button. This will save out a "material" file with a *.mat extension. This file can be imported into GMS using the File | Open command.

Related Topics

• Edit Menu