SDK Requirements

This topic provides information about the platform requirements for building plug-ins in different versions of 3ds Max (from 3ds Max 4.0 to 3ds Max 2017).

The following table shows the target operating system, compatible 3ds Max SDK, and compatible compilers for each version of 3ds Max.

NOTE:Each version of 3ds Max only supports one version of Microsoft Visual C++.

3ds Max Version	Target Operating System	Binary compatible 3ds Max SDK versions	Microsoft Visual C++ Compiler Version
2017 (Version 19.0)	Windows 7 (64 bit) Windows 8 (64 bit)	2017	Visual C++ 14.0. Visual Studio 2015 RTM
2016 (Version 18.0)	Windows 7 (64 bit) Windows 8 (64 bit)	2015	Visual C++ 11.0 Service Pack 3. Visual Studio 2012 Update 4.
2015 (Version 17.0)	Windows 7 (64 bit) Windows 8 (64 bit)	2015	Visual C++ 11.0 Service Pack 3. Visual Studio 2012 Update 4.
2014 (Version 16.0)	Windows 7 (64 bit) Windows 8 (64 bit)	2013	Visual C++ 10.0 Service Pack 1. Visual Studio 2010 Service Pack 1.
2013 (Version 15.0)	Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit) Windows Vista (32 and 64 bit) Windows XP Pro SP2 (32 and 64 bit)	2013	Visual C++ 10.0 Service Pack 1. Visual Studio 2010 Service Pack 1.
2012 (Version 14.0)	Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit) Windows Vista (32 and 64 bit) Windows XP Pro SP2 (32 and 64 bit)	2012	Visual C++ 9.0 (Visual Studio 2008) Service Pack 1 with the July 28, 2009 security patch installed. See here for more information.
2011 (Version 13.0)	Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit) Windows Vista (32 and 64 bit) Windows XP Pro SP2 (32 and 64 bit)	2011, 2010	Visual C++ 9.0 (Visual Studio 2008) Service Pack 1 with the July 28, 2009 security patch installed. See here for more information.
2010 (Version 12.0)	Windows Vista (32 and 64 bit) Windows XP Pro SP2 (32 and 64 bit)	2010	Visual C++ 9.0 (Visual Studio 2008) Service Pack 1
2009 (Version 11.0)	Windows Vista (32 and 64 bit) Windows XP Pro SP2 (32 and 64 bit)	2009	Visual C++ 8.0 (Visual Studio 2005) Service Pack 1.
2008 (Version 10.0)	Windows Vista (32 and 64 bit) Windows XP Pro SP2 (32 and 64 bit)	2008, 9.0	Visual C++ 8.0 (Visual Studio 2005)
9.0	Windows XP Pro SP2 (both 32 and 64 bit) Windows XP Home SP2 Windows 2000 SP4	9.0	Visual C++ 8.0 (Visual Studio 2005)
8.0	Windows XP Pro SP2 Windows XP Home SP2 Windows 2000 SP4	8.0, 7.0, 6.0	Visual C++ 7.0 (Visual Studio .NET 2002)
7.5	Windows XP Pro SP1 Windows XP Home SP1 Windows 2000 SP4	7.0, 6.0	Visual C++ 7.0 (Visual Studio .NET 2002)
7.0 SP 1	Windows XP Pro SP1 Windows XP Home SP1 Windows 2000 SP4	7.0, 6.0	Visual C++ 7.0 (Visual Studio .NET 2002)
7.0	Windows XP Pro SP1 Windows XP Home SP1 Windows 2000 SP4	7.0, 6.0	Visual C++ 7.0 (Visual Studio .NET 2002)
6.0	Windows XP Pro SP1 Windows XP Home SP1 Windows 2000 SP4	6.0	Visual C++ 7.0 (Visual Studio .NET 2002)
5.0-5.1	Windows XP Pro Windows 2000 SP2	5.0, 4.0	Visual C++ 6.0 (Visual Studio 6.0)
4.0-4.26	Windows 2000 SP1 Win 98	4.0	Visual C++ 6.0 (Visual Studio 6.0)

Microsoft ships several editions of the Visual Studio development environment: Team, Professional, Standard, and Express. Although, Visual Studio Standard Edition is the recommended base tool to develop plug-ins for 3ds Max, the Professional or Team editions can also be used. More details about the various editions of Visual Studio and Visual C++ can be found at http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio.

Microsoft Platform SDK

You need the Microsoft Platform SDK to develop plug-ins for 3ds Max. The Platform SDK is included with Visual Studio.

Operating System

It is recommended that you use the same version of Windows for development as the operating system used by the targeted version of 3ds Max.

NOTE:Although a 64-bit version of Microsoft Windows is not required to build a 64-bit compatible plug-in, a 64-bit Microsoft Windows operating system is required to run the compiled plug-in.

Hardware Configurations

Hardware configurations that can run 3ds Max are sufficient to develop plug-ins. See the 3ds Max user documentation for minimum hardware configurations necessary to run 3ds Max.

C++ Compiler

Visual C++ 14 is required for 3ds Max 2017 plug-ins.

.NET Framework

3ds Max 2017 targets .NET 4.0, but .NET 4.5 needs to be present on the system.

Third Party SDKs

The 3ds Max SDK depends on the Direct X SDK. The recommended Direct X SDK version is that of June 2010.

Some samples in the 3ds Max SDK depend on other SDKs, such as the FBX SDK and Qt. See the maxsdk\BuildRequirements.txt document for required version information.