How to use A23D PBR Textures in AutoCAD

This guide explains how to create and configure A23D PBR textures as materials in AutoCAD's Materials Editor for use with the Realistic visual style and the RENDER command.

A23D automatically delivers baked textures for AutoCAD. When you select AutoCAD in the Software dropdown on the asset page, A23D bakes the Ambient Occlusion into the Albedo map (since AutoCAD has no standalone AO slot). You receive a Color (baked diffuse), Bump (Normal), Reflectivity (Roughness), and Cutout (Opacity) map set in PNG.

1. Download the Texture Set

Sign in to your A23D account.
Browse to the texture you want to use.
In the Software dropdown on the asset page, select AutoCAD. A23D automatically delivers a baked texture set in the format best suited to AutoCAD (PNG maps) - no manual format selection required.
Click Download, save the .zip, and extract it to access the texture files.

2. Open the Materials Browser

Type MATBROWSEROPEN in the command line and press Enter, or go to Visualize tab > Materials > Materials Browser.
The Materials Browser panel opens on the right side of the screen, listing all materials in the current drawing.

3. Create a New Material

At the bottom of the Materials Browser, click the Create New Material button (small document icon with a plus sign).
A new material is added to the list with a default name. Rename it to match the A23D asset (e.g., "A23D_OakParquet").
The material's properties now appear in the Material Editor section below (or in a floating editor if using an older AutoCAD version).

4. Open the Material Editor

With the new material selected in the browser, click the Edit icon (pencil) or double-click the material thumbnail.
The Material Editor opens, showing categories: Generic, Color, Reflectivity, Transparency, Cutout, Self-Illumination, and Bump.

5. Load A23D PBR Texture Maps

Click the Image slot next to each parameter to open the texture file browser and load the corresponding A23D map.

AutoCAD Material Parameter	A23D Map to Use	Notes
Color (Diffuse Image)	`A23DTEX_Albedo.png`	Click the Image slot under Color and load the Albedo map. This is the base color of the material surface.
Reflectivity / Glossiness	`A23DTEX_Roughness.png`	AutoCAD's reflective controls are gloss-oriented. Invert the Roughness map if needed: roughness white = matte, while gloss/reflectivity white = shiny.
Bump (Image)	`A23DTEX_Normal.png`	Click Image under Bump and load the Normal map. Set the Bump Pattern type to Normal Map when available. Adjust the Bump Amount between 0.5 and 1.0 for realistic detail.
Transparency (Color / Image)	`A23DTEX_Opacity.png`	Only needed for transparent or cutout materials such as glass, foliage, or mesh. Load the Opacity map into the Transparency slot.
Self-Illumination	(not applicable to most A23D assets)	Leave at default unless the material is emissive (e.g., LED panels).

Note on Metallic: AutoCAD's standard Material Editor does not have a dedicated Metalness slot matching the PBR metalness model directly. To approximate a metallic material, increase the Reflectivity values to high levels and reduce the Color intensity to near-black for conductive metals. For a full PBR metalness workflow, use AutoCAD with a connected renderer such as V-Ray for AutoCAD or export to a PBR-capable renderer.

Note on Ambient Occlusion: AutoCAD does not have a standalone AO texture slot. The AO map can be multiplied into the Albedo map externally (in Photoshop or similar) before loading it as the Color image, which bakes the contact shadows into the diffuse layer.

6. Adjust Texture Scale

Inside the Material Editor, under Color, click the Texture Editor link below the image thumbnail.
In the Texture Editor, adjust the Scale (U and V tile settings) to match the real-world size of the material:

For a 1m x 1m tile, set both U and V scale to 1.0 (assuming your drawing unit is meters).
For a 0.5m x 0.5m tile, set both to 0.5.

You can also set Offset values to shift the texture if needed.

7. Assign the Material to Objects

Select the object(s) in your drawing viewport.
In the Materials Browser, right-click the configured A23D material and choose Assign to Selection.
Alternatively, drag the material thumbnail from the browser directly onto the object in the viewport.

Additional Resources

AutoCAD Help - Work with Materials