Icon

Icon File / ID

Sometimes, when working with numerous icons that look the same, you want to have a better overview of it all. This is what this function does. Objects and tags can be assigned their own icons or existing icons can be re-assigned or colored:

Note the Show Custom Icons command in the Object Manager’s View menu, which lets you switch to the Cinema 4D icons.

There are a few objects and tags (e.g., Material tags) that can’t be colored because they are controlled by Cinema 4D directly.

Here, you can either

• load a bitmap - whereby an alpha channel will be evaluated, if present. Internally, this bitmap will be scaled and distorted accordingly if it has a different size than 64*64 pixels (which is used internally by Cinema 4D).
  or
• enter an existing command ID for corresponding icons. These IDs can be found in the Command Manager.

Color

This function can be used to color an existing or a custom icon. You can select from the following options:

• None: No coloring will take place
• Display Color: Each object can be assigned a Display Color in the Basic tab. This will be used here. Since the Display Color can also assume a layer color objects can also be colored according to the layer to which they are assigned. Please note that some objects have their own option here, such as the legacy light objects, which can adopt their set light color also for their icon color by using the Light Color option.
• Custom: Lets you select a custom color.

Tags have no Display Color and can therefore only be colored using a custom color. To do so, activate the Icon Color option.

Load/Save Presets

These commands can be used to save icons as a preset or to load an icon.

General details regarding the Preset System in Cinema 4D can be found there.

Name

When tags are created, they are automatically given a name according to their function. For example, a Vertex Map tag is appropriately called a "Vertex Map".

However, you can also give all objects and elements (e.g. shaders) any name you like. The object or element appears under this name, e.g. in the XPresso Editor or in the Timeline or link fields.

So far, so good. However, there are tags that can be assigned as often as required (e.g. Selection tags, Vertex Color tags, etc.). If they all had identical names, this could lead to problems. Imagine 2 Polygon Selection tags with the same name and you want to restrict a material to one of the selections: this becomes difficult with identical names, as only the Selection tag furthest to the left is used.

This is why Cinema 4D numbers them consecutively where it makes sense. For example, 3 Polygon Selection tags on the same object:

• Polygon Selection
• Polygon Selection.1
• Polygon Selection.2

This automatic numbering occurs when creating tags using the menu/command, when duplicating with the ctrl key and with some tag-creating tools such as the Paint Tool, MoGraph Selection, Bind Tool, etc.

Layer

If the element (object, tag, track, etc.) has been assigned to a layer, you will find the layer name and color here. Layers can be dragged here directly from the Layer Bowser or from other similar fields. You can also use the menu behind the small triangle button on the right to assign layers or remove the element from the current layer. Show in Manager opens the Layer Manager.

Click on the small triangle to the left of Layer to show the layer properties. This gives you access to all properties that are otherwise only accessible via the Layer Manager.

Expose on Object

Cinema 4D normally displays the settings of assigned tags (e.g., the Phong tag) when an object is selected in the Attribute Manager as if it were an object's own setting - however, tag tabs are marked with a small icon to the left.

Disable this option if you don't want the tag settings to be shown for the object.