Material Dropdown box

Is there any way we can get a Material dropdown box widget in the Object Properties, so we can choose to assign an existing material without having to open the MaterialEditor? A dropdown box like, for example, the Layer property box would be cool. Or even right-clicking on the Material swatch could bring up a dynamic list that you could choose an existing material from. thanks.
-david

Still wondering why this isn’t here - there are dropdown options for Display Color, Linetype, etc, but to assign a Material you actually have to open the Material Editor. A dropdown selector widget would be super helpful here!

-d