Directory Structure

After installation the 3ds Max SDK is located in a folder named, by default, maxsdk, which contains folders listed in the following table:

\assemblies	Contains 32-bit .NET assembly (.DLL) files
\help	This folder contains the file gencid.exe, a program that generates a random Class ID for your plug-in. See the topic on Generating Class IDs for more information.
\howto	This folder contains explanatory sample code of plug-ins for 3ds Max. Each howto sample plug-in consists of a Visual Studio project and all of its code. These samples differ from those in the \samples folder in that they are not part of the standard components of 3ds Max. Also, these plug-in projects are usually smaller and easier to understand than the standard plug-ins in \samples, making them useful initial learning about the 3ds Max SDK.
\include	This folder contains the header files for the core of 3ds Max, as well as separate folders for the following 3ds Max plug-in systems: \AssetManagement - asset management classes \ATS - asset tracking system headers \containers - container class declarations \CS - character studio \Graphics - contains APIs that allow plug-ins to take full advantage of the Nitrous viewport display mode and the Quicksilver renderer \IGame - 3ds Max Data Exchange Interface \maxscript - MAXScript SDK and implementation files. \ManagedServices - contains a header containing code for performing string conversion in C++/CLI \mentalray - mental ray related headers \network - network rendering related header \ParticleFlow - particle flow system headers \XRef - xref system related headers
\lib	This folder contains the library (.LIB) files needed to compile plug-ins.
\plugin	This is where plug-ins in the \howto folder put their binaries after compilation and linking.
\ProjectSettings	This folder contains Compiler and Linker Settings.
\samples	This folder contains complete code for 3ds Max standard plug-ins and the corresponding Visual Studio project file for each plug-in.
\x64\plugin	Same as \plugin but for 64-bit binaries.
\x64\assemblies	Contains 64-bit .NET assembly (.DLL) files
\x64\lib	This folder contains the library files needed by 64-bit plug-ins.