3ds Max stores its installation directory in the registry under the following key for 3ds Max standard:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\3dsMax\<MaxVersionNumber>\MAX-1:<MaxLanguageCode>\InstallDir

The following registry key is used for 3ds Max Design:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\3dsMaxDesign\12.0\MAX-1:409

The tag <MaxVersionNumber> above refers to the version of 3ds Max that is installed:

• 3ds Max 2011 13.0
• 3ds Max 2010 12.0
• 3ds Max 2009 11.0
• 3ds Max 2008 10.0
• 3ds Max 9 9.0

The tag <MaxLanguageCode> refers to the localization of 3ds Max that is installed, and can have one of the following hexadecimal values:

• English 409
• French 40C
• German 407
• Japanese 411
• Korean 412
• Simplified Chinese 804

For example, the path to the key for the 3ds Max 2010 English version is as follows:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\3dsMax\12.0\MAX-1:409

Alternatively, the key to the 3ds Max 9 Japanese version is as follows:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\3dsMax\9.0\MAX-1:411

32-bit and 64-bit versions have separate branches in their respective registries. Common registries for shared components for multiple languages and platform are stored in the 32-bit tree.