Rhino Materials Keep Disappearing – Even in Main File

[dongju.han]

Hi,
I’m an architecture student currently using Rhino 8 Educational Version and D5 Render Educational Version, both updated to their latest versions

I’ve been experiencing a recurring issue where materials I assign in Rhino keep disappearing after re-opening the file or reconnecting with D5 Render. Initially, I suspected that the issue was related to Rhino’s Worksession function, since the materials assigned to referenced (attached) models were resetting to the default material. However, I later realized that even the materials assigned in the original Rhino model file itself are being lost and assigned as default material of Rhino modeling, regardless of whether Worksession is used or not.

This problem occurs particularly after I:

Reconnect Live Sync between Rhino and D5
Make changes to layers in Rhino (especially turning them on/off)
Occasionally just reopen the D5 project file

However, it’s important to note that the materials don’t always reset immediately after these actions. Sometimes, everything seems fine—until I do something unrelated, like rendering a single still image, and suddenly all the materials are gone. So although I listed those actions above, I have to admit I don’t fully understand the exact trigger behind the material reset. It’s unpredictable and frustrating.

It’s become extremely tiring and time-consuming to constantly reapply all the materials, especially in a large architectural scene with many unique surfaces and settings.

One suspicion I have is whether the problem could be related to the file name or Windows user name being written in Korean characters. I wonder if non-English characters are interfering with how D5 handles material assignments or file paths.

I would really appreciate it if the development team could:

Confirm whether this issue is known
Let me know if there’s a recommended workflow or a workaround to preserve materials reliably
Clarify if Korean file/user names may cause data loss

Thank you for your help and support. I’m relying on D5 for important presentation work, and I’d love to keep using it without these issues.

[Clov]

Hi @dongju.han

I apologize for the inconvenience. A korean file name should not be causing any problems, I doubt this is the root cause of this.

Anyway, please check the following:

• Are you perhaps using a Cloud Storage to store these files? (One Drive, Google Drive, etc.) If so, please download them locally first before working on it.
• Does this occur to objects that are not part of the layer that was hidden?

[dongju.han]

Hi, thank you for your reply.

1. No, I am not using any cloud storage. All files are stored and opened directly from my local hard drive.
2. Yes, the material reset also happens to objects that are not part of hidden layers. Even objects from layers that remain visible sometimes lose their materials after actions like rendering, reconnecting Live Sync, or other situations that I may not be fully aware of.

Please let me know if there’s any other information I can provide. Thank you again for your support.

[Clov]

Hi there

Alright, basically all of these files were stored in either C or D folders, and the material still resets.

• Can you please check the settings where these files were stored? You should have full permission in the folder’s properties.
  
  
• Are there any extra process on your end specifically with Rhino that you did?
• Have you perhaps tried testing it on a simple file?

[dongju.han]

Sorry for the late reply, and thank you for your continued support.

1. Yes, I have full permissions for the folders where the files are stored. All files are saved on my local hard drive, and I’m using an administrator account.
2. I am using the Worksession function in Rhino, but I’ve confirmed that the material reset issue is not limited to the attached files. The same problem also occurs in the original Rhino model file, even when Worksession is not involved.
3. I’ve already tested this on a very simple file, and so far, the issue has not appeared in those cases. However, the file I was originally working on was also relatively simple — it had around 10 materials and the Rhino file size was only about 200MB. Despite that, the material reset issue still occurred in that project.

Please let me know if there’s anything else I can check or provide. Thanks again!

[Clov]

Hi @dongju.han

Can you send us your file? According to your tests, it seems that this issue is file-specific. Usually, materials reverting back to their default appearance is caused by either:

• Stored in Cloud Storage
• The material was renamed and modified in Rhino

Based on your description, neither of these possibilities was observed on your end. Hence, we would like to test your file too. Please send us your D5 File and Rhino File, you may send it to support@d5techs.com and have it titled ‘Clov-Forum Rhino Materials Keep Disappearing’

If there’s anything out of the ordinary on your workflow, please share the process to us. And it would be much better to also include a video recording of the whole process and the issue occurring. Thank you.

[dongju.han]

Hello,

As you mentioned, I really wanted to capture the moment when this issue occurred. However, since it happens so randomly and suddenly, it’s practically impossible to keep recording at all times. So unfortunately, I wasn’t able to record it.

In this recent case, the issue happened after I used the Scatter function. The D5 Render interface started lagging heavily, so I closed the program. When I reconnected to D5 Render from Rhino, I found that all materials had been reset to Rhino’s default material.

Please note that I had been working on the file for several hours before using Scatter, and I saved my work frequently throughout the process. I even saved right before using Scatter, so this is definitely not a matter of unsaved progress.

Also, this file is not the same one I was working on when I first posted in this forum. It is a completely new file, yet the exact same issue occurred again. I’ve sent the file and screenshots to you via email. As shown in the images, every material has been reset to the default Rhino material.

At this point, preventing the issue is one thing—but is there any way to recover the materials after it happens? That’s my most urgent concern.
This problem is honestly very disappointing and frustrating. Every time it happens, I lose trust in using D5 Render. The reason I chose D5 was because of its speed and visual quality, but these unexpected resets end up costing me more time than other rendering tools.

After doing some research on Google and browsing the forums, it seems that this kind of bug has been reported years ago as well. If a fundamental fix is not yet available, I would really appreciate if you could at least explain:

• Where exactly material data is stored
• Whether there’s a way to reconnect or restore the lost materials manually

Thank you for your time and support.

[Clov]

Hi @dongju.han

Indeed, this problem has already been reported, but is mostly caused by the files being stored in a cloud storage, being renamed, or being relocated, which broke the link between D5 and the model. But as for your case, it is neither, which is different.

• It seems that you have already sent us your file but we can’t access it due to permission restriction please grant us access so we can test it immediately.

Additionally, were you able to check your file’s version history?