I want to know how to prevent unity from generating default materials (and in the process generating a material folder) when models are imported.
I’m particular about my file structure. I don’t want a materials folder in the middle of my model folder… I’d rather have it beside the model folder.
Well you don’t have to leave them where Unity creates them. It’s surely quicker to drag them and drop them to the folder you do want them in than it is to create them from scratch, isn’t it?
I don’t really like anything about the automatic material assignment. It’s a nice idea, but I think it’s just clutter, in practice. Turn off the automatic generation*, and create materials where you like, or, use what is automatically generated as a starting point. Once you move the material, it should stay linked.
Agreed. We should really have more control over the process, or at least some options. As a workaround, it would probably be possible to create an editor script that moves/deletes them automatically.
And really, who likes it when some rogue material runs off and causes havoc? How many times has a group of violent Speculars devastated the neighborhood? How many times has a Lightmapped blinded some innocent passerby? How much longer do we have to endure this?
No, this has to stop. I propose we establish an Anti - Default Material Group. Defend yourself! Raise awareness! Stop the default materials!
( Im sorry, when i saw the title i just couldnt resist it 
)
I found this Editor class, it should work for what you want:
If there was some way to know when an asset is “new”, that might work. Is there?
As in, when you first import a model, I don’t want anything done to it. I don’t want materials, normals calculated, colliders created, or animations imported. It might be easy for new users, but all of that stuff is just a pain to me. I’d prefer to turn on each of those options manually as needed.
Btw: This theme is now also discussed on Unity Answers: Can I disable automatic creation of materials on model import?
Still looking for a way to completely disable this as requested by Jessy (I think it should be possible with editor scripting but haven’t had time to really dig into this, yet).
thanks for the replies guys. more than anything, it’s the folder that bugs me.
anti-automaterialgereration-ists unite!
Agree, this is the most HATED feature for our team of artists. So many accidental checki-ns and development bloat. GOD I HATE IT!!! UNITY MAKE THIS A TOGGLE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!
Holy zombies batman! Judging by the forum date and using my bat calculator, this thread has been dead for 14 years!
When importing an asset, in the inspector tab, there is model, rig, animation and materials. Set those to what you would like to be as default import settings. Material creation mode can be turned to “None”.
Clearly you all already know this, but what you are missing is after you import with just the way, you like it, there is a little pair of sliders icon to the left of the three dots, under the lock, upper right.
Click on it, select “create new preset”. Name your preset “neomega is god” or something similar, and from then on, if you want to import a fbx obj what-have-you, click on the little sliders icon and select your preset. This is also available (but different preset list), for texture imports.