Installation

The in-place installer installs the plugin from a checkout. It works in place: the plugin source stays where you unpacked it, and only a small launcher is written into Max's per-user startup folder. Because that launcher just puts the checkout on Python's path, editing plugin source never requires reinstalling.

python scripts/install.py              # install into every detected Max profile
python scripts/install.py --list       # show what was detected, change nothing
python scripts/install.py --uninstall  # remove the launcher again

Then restart 3ds Max. A top-level Animatica menu appears in the main menu bar.

The install runs per user, so it never asks for administrator rights.

#What the installer writes

One file, animatica_to_max_startup.py, into

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Autodesk\3dsMax\<year> - 64bit\<LOCALE>\scripts\startup\

for every Max version and every locale folder it finds (ENU, JPN, DEU, …) — not just ENU. Max reads only the profile tree of the language it is running in, so a single-locale install left a non-English Max with no menu and no explanation. If a version directory has no locale folder yet, ENU is used as the default.

With one Max 2027 install and two language profiles, --list reports:

package root: <checkout>
  3ds Max 2027 [ENU]  ->  ...\3dsMax\2027 - 64bit\ENU\scripts\startup
  3ds Max 2027 [JPN]  ->  ...\3dsMax\2027 - 64bit\JPN\scripts\startup

--uninstall removes that launcher again from every profile it finds.

No profile found — if the installer reports that no 3ds Max user profile exists under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Autodesk\3dsMax, start 3ds Max once so it creates its profile, then run the installer again.

#Why the menu survives a workspace switch

Max re-fires its menu-registration notification on every workspace or menu reload. The plugin subscribes to that notification and rebuilds the menu identified by a stable GUID, so the menu neither disappears when you switch workspace nor accumulates duplicates.

#If the menu is not there after a restart

• Run python scripts/install.py --list and check that the startup folder it prints matches the Max version and locale you are running.
• If no profile was detected at all, start Max once so it creates one, then install again.
• Check the Max listener for the plugin's startup line. It names the folder this session loaded from and when that source was last edited — the fastest way to tell whether Max is running the copy you think it is.