After you have had a play round with Matrix then a first important task is to personalize your Local Materials file.

The Local Materials database contains copies only of materials stored in other databases in the Raw Materials folder.

These materials are collected into the Local Materials database for convenience so that you have your most used materials all together for easy access.

Matrix is delivered with a Local Materials database but it may not contain the materials you personally would like it to contain. It is likely that you would only need to change some or all of the feldspars and the clays to personalize Matrix's Local Materials.

Personalizing Your Local Materials Database

In this example you will replace Australian Potash Feldspar in the Local Materials database with Custer Feldspar. This process involves:

• checking the contents of the database
• deleting the materials you do not want
• locating the materials you do want in other databases in the Raw Materials folder
• coping each material you do want into the Local Materials Database.
• this process should be repeated until all of the materials in the Local Materials database are ones you would commonly want access to for building or changing your recipes.

After booting Matrix go to the Raw Materials environment by clicking on the Raw Materials tab.

Fig 1 The Raw Materials Environment

The Local Materials file is always open when Matrix is booted so the list of materials shown is the contents of that file.

You can scroll through the list by either clicking on the material name or using the up/down arrow buttons on your keyboard.

Each materials formula and other details will be displayed as you scroll thorough the database giving you the opportunity to determine whether you want that material in the list.

Remember the materials in the " Local Materials.rmt" database are copies only of materials also stored in other databases in your raw materials folder.

Deleting a materials from this list does not remove the material from other databases.

Deleting a Material From the List

• select the material by clicking on it's name in the list or scrolling to it.
• click the Delete Material button.

Fig 2 Delete Material Warning Dialog

This warning is not strictly accurate for the Local Materials database as the materials in the list are also stored in other databases. When a recipe is loaded from disc Matrix will search all databases to locate data for each of the materials in the recipe starting with Local Materials.

The above warning appears.

• Select Yes to remove the material.

Fig 3 Confirm Material Deletion Dialog

• Select Yes again to delete the material from the Local Materials databases.

Placing Your Own Materials Into the Local Materials Database

You now have to find the materials you want in other databases in the Raw Materials folder and copy them into the Local Materials list. We want to locate Custer Feldspar so it is likely to be contained in the file called Feldspars-A-Z.rmt

Among the 80 materials in this database of feldspars you can locate Custer Feldspar.

Note there are three references to Custer Feldspar. This is not unusual with such materials which are mined. In the past such materials may have varied in their analysis. These days the mined material may be blended with other materials in order to maintain consistency.

You may have a recent analysis of a material such as Custer Feldspar in which case the data entered in Matrix could be adjusted (edited) to update it.

Keeping material files up-to-date is an important task for users of any glaze calculation software.

• find and click the Feldspars-A-Z.rmt database in the Databases panel of the Raw Materials environment (see Fig.4 below)

• find and click the Custer Feldspar in the list of materials.
  
  
• click the Copy to Local Materials button

Fig 4 Copying Custer Feldspar to the Local Materials database

Custer Feldspar should now be in the Local Materials database.

This information window confirms that Custer Feldspar has been copied into the Local Materials database. If you reopen the Local Materials database in the Raw Materials environment you will see it listed there.

You should repeat this process replacing all unwanted materials with materials you would commonly use in your glaze practice.

A second method for copying materials from one database to another is described in Using the File Manager