Tagged 'material library'

Project Manager

597 votes

After a long stretch of development, Project Manager 4 is officially out — the biggest release in the product's history, and now with full 3ds Max 2027 support.
The headline is AI Asset Classification.
Your library gets sorted automatically — by object type, material, and style — no manual tagging.

Project Manager 4 — What's New Since v3

Changelog · 3ds Max 2016–2027

AI-Powered Asset Classification

  • Automatic categorisation of 3D models and textures by object type, material, form, and style — no manual tagging required
  • Runs entirely on your machine — no cloud, no subscription, your assets never leave your computer
  • GPU-accelerated background processing at low priority — won't interfere with rendering or active work
  • Reclassify specific folders or categories on demand — no need to reprocess the entire library
  • Scale across a team: multiple workstations share the same database and classify in parallel

Colour Tools

  • Find assets by colour — pick from a palette and instantly see matching models or textures
  • Perceptual colour similarity search — finds visually related assets, not just exact hex matches
  • Find Similar by Colour in the right-click menu for models and textures

Find Similar

  • Find similar by content — AI matches 3D models by style, shape, and visual look
  • Find similar by colour palette — matches assets to a reference image or mood board by dominant colour proportions

Smarter Search & Filtering

  • Multi-keyword search: "Chair, Glass" finds a file named Chair.max described as "glass"
  • Category filter correctly includes all subcategories — filtering Furniture also returns Furniture → Chairs → Dining
  • Combine category and material filters: find glass-and-metal tables, or wooden ones, in one click
  • Categorised / Uncategorised quick filters — see which assets still need attention

Gallery & 3D File Browsing

  • Three gallery tabs for .max files: Models, Materials, and External Links
  • Drag materials directly from the gallery into your open 3ds Max scene
  • 3D viewport preview for FBX, 3DS, OBJ, and other formats — inspect geometry before importing
  • Edit external links inline — fix or replace missing textures without opening the .max file
  • Zoom & Pan for images — inspect textures at full resolution inside Project Manager

Migration & Compatibility

  • v3 and v4 share the same database format — point v4 at your existing library and go; no rebuild required
  • Run v3 and v4 side by side on the same team; supported from 3ds Max 2016 through 2027

Performance & Other Fixes

  • Significantly improved overall performance — faster navigation, filtering, search, and file/folder operations
  • Live sync in shared database mode — changes by colleagues appear automatically without reloading
More about new features   Project Manager version 4
 

Batch Save 3ds Max Files to Previous Version

4 votes

Script for saving 3ds Max files and Material Libraries* to the previous version in batch mode

*Batch saving Material Libraries to the previous version requires 3ds Max 2023 Update 1 or newest

 
 

Content Browser

2 votes

The Content Browser helps you quickly browse and import 3D assets on your computer.

Load any folder accessible on your machine and the Content Browser will find any materials, hdri’s, models, and max files. It will group, organize and display these files as assets, recognizing previews, LODs, mapping channels, resolutions and other important information automatically. 

It simplifies the importing and merging process for 3d models, max files, material creation and hdri environment maps by allowing you to directly browse, filter and drag all of your 3D assets from sources like MegaScans, PolyHaven, gameTextures, Poliigon, Arroway into 3ds max viewport or material editor. 

Main Features

  • Load any folder and find 3D models, max files, materials and hdri’s.
  • Show grouped files as assets, group matching assets and find preview images.
  • Drag and Drop asset into the 3ds max viewport or the Slate Material Editor
  • Import assets to Slate and Compact Material Editors
  • Default Merge and Import 3d files and max scenes, with automatic relinking filepaths
  • Choose LODs/resolution/variations and Import multiple assets at once
  • Folder hierarchy, File list and Preview Gallery

library collector

17 votes

A simple script that can be used to merge individual .mat files (material libraries) into one big file. Pretty lame interface, but it gets the job done. Feel free to modify as needed.

ML2ME (Material Library To Material Editor)

27 votes

Quick load Material Libraries to the Material Editor.
Quick code just from scratch as well.
Generally useful for all people that found 24 ME slots for not enough.

ML2EM

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