Quote - Python guys have lots of little scripts that do this stuff :)   can you state exactly what you need to happen , both ways ? 

Its probably easiest to save the original as a mat file to restore later.

Exactly what I'm trying to do is make a mat that only effect the transparancy, without effecting the rest, such as diffuse, ambient, etc...  to turn off and on a part of a hair in the material zone. I'll try to explain again my idea... Say, I have my hair set with brown textures, I want to turn part of the tails off (turn it transparent), then I change my mind and turn it back on, which will then be brown again.  Ok, so I change my mind and change it to blonde, then I turn the tail part off, then turn it on again, which will be blonde again.

...wolfie