The Materials section of the Element Options dialog controls how materials are assigned to elements using the following options:
Set default material. This defines the material assigned to elements as they are created.
Assign default material. If this option is selected, the material selected as the "default" material is assigned to selected elements when the assign material command is issued.
Prompt for material when assigning. If this option is selected, the user must select from a list of existing materials to assign to the selected elements when the assign material command is issued.