---
alias: tutorials-name-generator-manualsplit
timetoread: true
hide:
- toc
description: "Manual splitting of materials utilizes a name generator to ensure unique, related names are created automatically"
---

# Material Entity - Manual Split

As with other entities, it is useful to use the **Name Generator** feature with **Materials** to ensure there are no typos or any similar mistakes when creating a new **Material**. This is, names will always be unique regardless of any interaction with the **Material** by different users or operators, or changes in shifts.

The reasoning behind this example is that you may need to split a **Material** in two or more parts. Why, because your **Resource** may not be able to process the full quantity of the **Material** you have.

As the system does not allow **Materials** with the same name, when a **Material** is split a new name will be created. Moreover, the new name of the **Material** that was split, should have some relation, at the name level, and other as needed, with the **Material** it was split from.

When you manually split a **Material**, the system does allow you to provide a new name, but this is not good practice as it may create confusion in future. Hence, you should use a **Name Generator** via the **DEE Action** called `ResolveNameGenerator`.

To see or apply the **Name Generator** that you want to use, follow these steps:

1. In the `ResolveNameGenerator` **DEE Action**, go to **Views** and select to see the **Code**.
2. Scroll down in the code or find `SplitMaterialInput`.
3. In that section of the code you will find the name of the generator being used for the manual split:

    ![Screenshot showing a manual split process with a highlighted code section containing the name of the generator being used.](../images/manual_split_01.png)

!!! note
    The default Name Generator for this case is `MaterialNameGenerator`, but you can manually copy/paste the name of the generator you want to use, or created, into the code (as seen above). If you do so, you must set the code effective for the desired Name Generator to be available.

For this particular use case, where the **Material** will be split manually, the `SplitLotNameGenerator` was created, and the tokens were configured so that the relation of the split **Material** is close to the **Material** it was split from:

![Screenshot showing a manual material entity splitting process with a highlighted field for entering a custom name generator.](../images/manual_split_02.png)

In the **Tokens** section of the **Name Generator** page above, you can see its structure, and immediately perceive that the split **Material** will take the Name of the Parent, plus a `.`, and will use a Rollover Counter for its Calculation Mode. What follows is an image of the Parent **Material**:

![Screenshot showing a manual material entity split process with an unclear input field containing "oc ef @ am > 4 HO 3 O FF B@ & Ee H a:".](../images/manual_split_03.png)

Therefore, on splitting the Parent **Material**, using the given tokens, and not providing a name, the split **Material** will be named accordingly and the split quantity will be shown in the Primary Quantity field:

![Screenshot showing a manual material entity splitting process with an unclear input field containing "oc ef @ am > 4 HO 3 O FF B@ & Ee H a:".](../images/manual_split_04.png)

You can see that the **Name Generator** convention was followed and you have a unique name for the **Material** that was split.

!!! note
    For more information, see [[user-guide-name-generator]].

!!! info
    DEE Actions are available for older Name Generator features. For the most recent features, you will use Configurations as shown in [[tutorials-name-generator-automaticsplit]].

Next you should read [[tutorials-name-generator-automaticsplit]].