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Appearances

An appearance defines the visual properties of a model, including color and texture. Appearances do not affect physical properties, which are defined by materials.

Every material is assigned a default appearance that emulates the look of the material.

Appearance Hierarchy

In a part, you can add appearances to faces, features, bodies, and the part itself. In an assembly, you can add appearances to components. A hierarchy applies to appearances, based on where they are assigned on the model.


  • A face's appearance is visible even if its parent feature has an assigned appearance.
  • A feature's appearance is visible even if its parent body has an assigned appearance.
  • A body's appearance is visible even if its parent part has an assigned appearance.
  • A component appearance (assemblies only) overrides all appearance assignments in the component's faces, features, bodies, or parts.

The following example describes the appearance hierarchy.

In the Task Pane, browse to the Appearances folder and drag an appearance to the model. A preview of the appearance is displayed.
When you release the mouse, a pop-up toolbar appears. As you hover over each item on the toolbar, you see a preview of the appearance applied to that area of the model.
Apply an appearance to a face.

Apply an appearance to a feature.

Result: The feature assumes the new appearance except where overridden by face assignments.
Apply an appearance to a body.

Result: the body assumes the new appearance except where overridden by feature or face assignments.
Apply an appearance to an entire part.

Result: The part assumes the new appearance except where overridden by body, feature, or face assignments.
If an assembly contains two identical components, assign an appearance to the right-most component.

Result: The component assumes the new appearance. A part without an assigned component appearance displays the appearance assigned at the part level or below.
Parent topic: Model Display


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