Propagation of changes in the style library

Greetings!

I'm quite new to the style library concept, having started to research it only recently. The following seemed strange to me. When I create a file and save it on disk, and later add a material to the style library, I can open that file and see new material added automatically to the list in the style manager. But if I make a change to the existing material, and open that file, the change is not consumed - I have to manually update the style to see the change.

Is it really working that way, or am I doing something wrong?

That's correct behaviour. It could very well be that someone changed the material locally (in the part file itself) for a good reason, and doesn't want these values set back to what's specified in the library upon opening the file. However, it is easy for anyone to 'sync' with the style library any time you want, and be in line with the style library again.

The moment you change a material it becomes a local material style. Someone with the proper rights can write this change back to the style library.

The moment you change a material it becomes a local material style. - Yes, if I change it in file. But when I change it in the library itself, shouldn't this change be consumed by all files - as it does when I add a material?

I see your point, but that's not what happens. As far as I know you need to sync manually to consume any changes by hitting the Update button. (Manage Tab, Styles and Standards, Update).

From Help:

Update styles

Updates styles in the current document, and optionally, in referenced files (child documents), to match the styles in the style library.

Access:

Ribbon: Manage tab Styles and Standards panel Update

Click a column heading to sort contents. All columns resort to correspond with the new order.

Document Name

Shows file name in which the style is used.

Style Name

Lists styles in the current document.

Type

Identifies the style type.

Changed

Indicates if a style was changed in the document or library. If the style does not match the library, it is marked Not in Library.

Update?

Switches individual styles to update. If Yes, the style in the document is updated to match the version in the style library. If No, the current document style definition remains in effect.

Click the Update Styles in all Child Documents check box to update styles in referenced files. Child document file names are listed in the document name column. Clear the check box to update styles in the parent document only. Not available in part documents.

Click Yes to All to update all document styles to the library version or No to All to preserve the changed styles in the current document.