Max Editor Pro | User Guide

In this page you will find everything you need to know to get started with Max Editor Pro

About

Max Editor Pro is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) designed specifically for 3ds Max. It empowers developers and artists of all skill levels to build custom tools using both traditional programming and built-in AI capabilities directly within 3ds Max.

Packed with powerful features to streamline your workflow, Max Editor Pro provides a safe, modern development environment where you can bring your ideas to life quickly from initial prototype to a fully packaged .mzp installer ready to share.

User Interface

The Max Editor Pro user interface is divided into five distinct sections:

Chat Box
Request Box
Main Menu
Editor
Listener & Environment

Click on the tabs below to learn how they work.

The Chat Box displays your conversation history with the active AI model. Your submitted requests appear on the right side next to your nickname, while the AI’s responses appear on the left.

AI responses typically include an explanation of any code modifications made (response formatting can be customized in Settings).

Navigation and management controls at the top of the window include:

  • Up / Down Arrows: Scroll quickly through long conversation threads.

  • Clear Chat: Permanently deletes the current chat history. Clearing the history is recommended if the model begins hallucinating or producing off-topic responses.

The Request Box is where you enter text or speak commands for the AI to process.

Use the dropdown menu in the top-right corner of the request box to select your preferred AI model.
Gemini or Claude models will only show up if you entered a valid API key in the Settings.

On the left of the dropdown menu you can see what code language is expected to be use by the AI.

The bottom toolbar contains four primary controls:

  • Attach Files: Browse and select files or images to include with your prompt. Alternatively, you can drag and drop assets or paste images and text directly into the request box.

  • Microphone: Click to begin recording a voice prompt, then click again to stop. Your speech will be transcribed into the request box for review prior to submission.

    • Transcribe and Send: Continuously transcribes your voice input and submits the request automatically.
      Note: Each spoken word is processed and consumed as an API token.
      Note: Voice transcription requires a valid Gemini API key. Once transcribed, Claude can still be selected to execute the request.

  • Send: Submits your prompt to the active AI model.

  • Stop: Halts an in-progress request (useful if a response becomes unresponsive).

    • Caution: Stopping a request mid-process does not guarantee that API charges will not be incurred.

The Main Menu serves as the primary hub for managing projects, scripts, and application settings.

  • New File: Creates a new Python or Maxscript file with or without an environment.

  • Load Script: Opens an existing project in the editor and chat box.

  • Save Script: Saves the active script in the editor.

    • Note: Max Editor Pro automatically saves a copy of your chat history alongside the script file using the same filename. This linked structure is required to restore your script and chat context properly upon reload.

  • Load Session: Loads a saved chat session without opening a script.

  • Save Session: Saves the current chat session independently.

  • Chat Toggle (Bubble Icon): Shows or hides the Chat Box and Request Box.

  • Pin: Toggles “Always-on-Top” mode for the Max Editor Pro window.

  • Settings (Gear Icon): Opens the application settings window.

  • Build: Open a tool to generates custom Macroscripts and .mzp packages for your project.

  • Run: Executes the current code from the editor directly inside 3ds Max (Shortcut: Ctrl+E).

Learn more about the Build and Settings below.

The Editor is the core workspace of Max Editor Pro, where you write and refine the code for your tools. Its appearance is fully customizable. You can adjust fonts, colors, text sizing, and themes in Settings.

A toolbar above the main text region provides quick access to editor controls:

  • Language Switcher (Top Right): Toggles the editor syntax between Python and MAXScript with a single click. This toggle the environment in which the code is runned.
    Note: It doesn’t translate your code and rename your file into a .ms or .py.

  • Bookmark: Jumps directly to saved bookmarks within your active code.

  • Target: Focuses the view on the line of code most recently modified by an AI request.

  • Magnifying Glass: Opens the Search bar to locate specific text within your code (Shortcut: Ctrl+F).

  • Text Zoom (– / +): Decreases or increases font size across the editor.

Located in the top-left section above the workspace, the Script Tabs allow you to switch between open files. Left-clicking a tab automatically loads its corresponding script and chat session.

Right-clicking a tab opens a context menu with the following options:

  • Save / Save As: Save changes to the current file or save it under a new name.

  • Open Folder: Open the containing directory in File Explorer.

  • Rename: Change the filename of the active script.

  • Duplicate As New: Copy the current code into a new file using one of three options:

    • With New Environment: Duplicate the current file using the current into a new environment.

    • Same Environment: Duplicate the current file into the current environment.

    • In Root Folder: Duplicate the current file in the Root folder without an environment.

 

  • Revert Last Request: Restore the code to its state prior to the most recent AI request (requires Auto-save on Request to be enabled in Settings).

  • Create Environment: Initialize a new working environment for the active script.

  • Close: Close the selected tab.

The Code Editor View

  • Line Numbers: Located along the left margin of the editor. Click any line number to select that entire line of code.

  • Code Folding: Positioned to the right of the line numbers. Click the fold icons to expand or collapse code blocks (such as functions, classes, and loops).

  • Bookmarks:

    • Adding/Managing: Right-click next to a line number to add a bookmark. Right-clicking an existing bookmark allows you to remove or rename it.

    • Toolbar Navigation: Adding a bookmark activates the Bookmark button in the top toolbar (located after the language switcher). Left-click the toolbar button to cycle sequentially through all bookmarks.

    • Quick Menu: Right-click the toolbar Bookmark button to jump directly to a specific named bookmark or clear all bookmarks at once.

  • Block Comments: Right-click next to a line number or highlight a selection of code and right-click to comment out lines and prevent them from executing.

  • Auto-Save Status Bar: Located beneath the main editor window (when Auto-save is enabled in Settings), this bar displays the filename and timestamp of the most recent auto-save. Click the Folder icon on the far right to open the auto-save directory in File Explorer.

The Listener

The Listener logs background activity, setting updates, and execution errors to help you monitor application behavior. It also includes automated debugging tools powered by AI:

  • Auto-Fix Error: Automatically forwards runtime errors to the AI when executing your full code for the first time, prompting the AI to generate a fix directly.

  • Auto-Run: Automatically executes your updated code as soon as the AI finishes modifying it.

  • Clear: Clears all output text from the Listener window.

  • Copy Last Error: Copies the most recent error log to your clipboard (Ctrl+V to paste).

  • Send Last Error: Submits the most recent error to the AI for troubleshooting. This is ideal for resolving interactive errors that occur while testing your custom tool interface.

  • Text Zoom (– / +): Decreases or increases font size across the Listener log.

Environment

The Environment workspace keeps your project organized by housing all associated files, assets, and images in a unified directory structure.

Automatically generated inside your root folder, the Environment provides quick file access and can be customized in Settings to match your preferred folder layout. Consolidating all project assets within the Environment also simplifies packaging your tool into an .mzp installer for distribution.

Within the Environment tab, you can copy, paste, and drag-and-drop files directly, just as you would in Windows Explorer.

Typing @ in the Request Box opens a context menu that lets you reference specific files from your Environment. This allows the AI model to access, read, and incorporate those files directly into its code generation.

Settings

To open the Settings window, simply click on the Gear icon in the main menu.

Click on the tabs below to learn more about the Settings.

The Workspace & API Key Settings menu allows you to configure essential application preferences:

  • API Keys: Input your unique API keys for Gemini and Claude to enable AI functionality.

  • Workspace Root Folder: Set the default directory on your computer where all new script files and environments are saved.

  • Username: Customize the username displayed alongside your prompts in the Chat Box.

  • Audio Input Device: Select your preferred microphone for voice transcription.

The AI Models Management section allows you to configure, add, and organize the AI models available for Gemini and Claude.

While Max Editor Pro includes a default selection of models out of the box, you can customize which models appear in your workspace:

  • Adding a Custom Model: Click the + button to add a new model to the list.

    1. Display Name (First Prompt): Enter the label you want displayed in the Request Box dropdown menu.

    2. Model ID (Second Prompt): Enter the exact API model string or ID required by Gemini or Claude.
      Note: To find Gemini and Claude available model IDs, please refer to their website.

 

  • Hiding Models: Click the Eye icon next to any model to toggle its visibility in the Request Box dropdown.

  • Removing Models: Select a model from the list box and click the – button to delete it.

    • Note: Default models built into Max Editor Pro cannot be deleted, but they can be hidden using the Eye icon.

Customize your visual environment by toggling between Dark and Light themes for both the Max Editor Pro interface and the Code Editor independently.

The Editor Formatting & Font Settings menu lets you customize the typography and layout of your coding environment:

  • Font Selection: Choose from up to six monospace fonts to apply across the Code Editor and Listener logs.

  • Tab & Indentation Size: Set custom spacing values for Tab Size and Indentation Size to match your formatting preferences.

The Auto-Save Settings section allows you to configure and optimize Max Editor Pro’s automated backup system:

  • Max Auto-Save: Defines the maximum number of standard auto-save files to retain. Once this limit is reached, the system cycles back and overwrites the oldest file (starting from iteration 1).

    • Note: To disable automatic saves completely, set this value to 0.

  • Max Save On Request: Specifies the maximum number of backup files created when Auto-Save on Request is enabled. Once reached, the system overwrites previous request backups sequentially.

  • Auto-Save Interval (Time): Sets the time delay (in seconds) between each standard auto-save.

  • Save Chat Sessions: Toggles whether chat logs are automatically saved alongside your script during standard and request-based auto-saves.

  • Auto-Save on Request: Enables automatic backups immediately prior to sending an AI request.

    • Prerequisite: This option must be enabled to use the Revert to Last Request feature.

The Environment Settings section allows you to define the default directory structure for your project environments:

  • Folder Template List: Lists the subfolders that are automatically generated inside every new Environment.

  • + / – Controls: Click + to add a custom subfolder to the template, or select a subfolder and click – to remove it.

  • Protected Folders: The scripts folder is a permanent component of the Environment structure and cannot be deleted. This default directory houses your primary script files whenever an Environment is active.

The Default Code Template section allows you to define boilerplate code for both MAXScript and Python that automatically populates whenever you create a new file.

The Chat Settings section allows you to configure conversational memory, context handling, and response behavior for the AI model:

  • Max Saved Chat Messages: Sets the total number of chat messages displayed in the active window and preserved in saved chat sessions. Older messages beyond this limit are automatically purged.

  • Max Sent Messages: Specifies how many recent chat history messages are forwarded to the AI as context with each request.

  • Send Context Chat: Enables or disables sending conversational history to the AI.

  • Verbose AI Explanations: Controls the detail level of AI responses:

    • Enabled: The AI provides detailed explanations outlining all code modifications.

    • Disabled: The AI returns short, concise summaries to optimize token consumption.

  • Strict Mode: Restricts the AI to modifying only the specific lines of code directly impacted by your request.

    • Usage Tip: Strict Mode is off by default—giving the AI flexibility during initial layout and tool design. Enable it when working on mature, well-structured codebases to prevent unexpected edits.

The Editor Options section allows you to customize the color scheme of the Code Editor view and manage auto-completion dictionaries:

  • Refresh Autocomplete Dictionary: Refreshes the built-in auto-completion dictionary.

    • Usage Tip: While Max Editor Pro automatically builds the dictionary at launch, click this button after installing new 3ds Max plugins to immediately index their functions and classes into the autocompleter.

  • Theme Colors Selection: Select a color palette from the dropdown menu to apply a pre-configured theme to the Code Editor.

  • Color Preview: Displays a live preview of the color palette assigned to syntax elements in the selected theme.

  • Create Custom Theme: Adds a new custom color theme to the Theme Colors Selection dropdown menu.

  • Modify Theme: Opens settings to edit colors and syntax highlighting for the currently selected theme.

  • Delete Theme: Removes the selected custom color theme from the system.

Build Tools

To open the Build tools, simply click on  in the main menu and choose Create a Macroscript or Create a MZP file.

Click on the tabs below to learn more about the Build tool.

The Create MacroScript tool simplifies generating and embedding custom MacroScripts directly into your 3ds Max user interface. Ideal for personal UI customization. To distribute your tool to others, create an .mzp package.

  • Language: Select between MAXScript and Python as the underlying execution language for the MacroScript.

  • Macro Name: Enter the display name for your MacroScript.

  • Category: Select or enter the primary 3ds Max category under which the MacroScript will be listed.

  • Internal Category (Optional): Specify an internal sub-category for organization within 3ds Max.

  • Tooltip: Enter the descriptive text that appears when hovering over the MacroScript button.

  • Button Text: Specify the text label displayed on the toolbar button if no icon is assigned.

  • Icon Path & Browse: Displays the image file path selected via the Browse button.

    • Automatic Conversion: Max Editor Pro accepts .jpg and .png images of any resolution and automatically converts them to the correct 3ds Max icon format.

  • AI Icon Studio: Automatically generates custom icons using Gemini Nano Banana. (Requires a valid Gemini API key).

  • Toolbar Menu: Choose whether to assign the MacroScript to the main 3ds Max toolbar or a custom user toolbar.

Once you click Create Macroscript, the script will automatically be added to your selected toolbar featuring your designated text label or icon.

Manual Toolbar Placement (Troubleshooting): If the MacroScript does not appear on your toolbar automatically:

  1. Navigate to the 3ds Max top menu and select Customize > Customize User Interface…

  2. Open the Toolbars tab.

  3. Locate your MacroScript by selecting the assigned Category from the dropdown list.

  4. Drag and drop the MacroScript directly onto the main 3ds Max toolbar or into a custom toolbar.

The Build MZP Package tool packages your project into an installer file (.mzp) that 3ds Max can execute to install tools and MacroScripts automatically into the user interface.

Package Settings

  • Tool Name: Defines the name of your tool and the output .mzp filename.

  • Use Current Script: When enabled, automatically selects the script currently open in the Editor as the main project file.

  • Browse Script: Uncheck Use Current Script to manually select a script file from your computer (useful for packaging scripts not currently open in Max Editor Pro).

  • Relink File Paths: When enabled, automatically updates file path references within your script so external assets point to their correct install directory on the target user’s computer.

  • Encrypt Script: Encrypts script files within the .mzp package to protect your source code. (Your original local script files remain unencrypted).

Package Contents

Displays all files and folders included in the package (excluding the main MacroScript). Opening the tool or selecting a new main script automatically populates this list with all connected project files.

  • Add Files / Add Folder: Manually append missing assets or directories to the package.

  • Delete Selected: Remove highlighted items from the package list.

  • Edit: View or modify text-based assets (such as .ms, .py, and .txt files) directly before building.

Configuring the mzp.run Installation Script

Custom installation structure is managed via the mzp.run installer file:

  1. Highlight line numbers in the editor (use Ctrl + Click for multi-line selection).

  2. Click Create Folder to group selected files into a specific directory. The installer will extract these files into that targeted subfolder during installation.

Note: Packages created with this tool extract into 3ds Max userscripts/yourtoolname/ by default.

MacroScript Registration

Configures how the MacroScript binds to 3ds Max UI elements upon installation. Features identical controls to the Create MacroScript tool (language selection, category, icons, and toolbar target).

Generating and Installing

  • Click Create MZP File to compile your package. Output files are saved to the MZP/ directory inside your Workspace Root Folder.

  • To execute and test your installer, see the Installation guide in this manual.

Shortcuts

Here is the list of all available shortcuts in Max Editor Pro.

Code Editor Shortcuts

Shortcut / Action Function Description
Ctrl + E Run Script Executes the active script within the current 3ds Max session.
Shift + Enter Execute Line Runs only the line where the text cursor is currently placed.
Ctrl + S Save File Saves changes to the active file, or prompts Save As for unsaved scripts.
Ctrl + F Find & Search Displays the inline search bar to locate text within the active document.
Ctrl + Shift + C Toggle Block Comments Toggles syntax comment characters (# for Python, -- for MAXScript).
Ctrl + Z / Ctrl + Y Undo / Redo Reverts or reapplies the most recent text editing actions.
F1 Contextual Developer Help Opens Autodesk 3ds Max Online Documentation for the word under the cursor.
Tab / Shift + Tab Indent / Outdent Indents or unindents selected code lines by designated tab-stop spaces.
Backspace Smart Backspace Deletes leading indentation back to the preceding tab-stop level.
Left / Right Arrows Smart Indent Navigation Snaps the text cursor across leading whitespace blocks.
Up / Down Arrows Vertical Character Snapping Aligns cursor position to the nearest written character on adjacent lines.
Ctrl + Mouse Wheel Editor Zoom Dynamically increases or decreases code editor font scale.

 

AI Chat Assistant Shortcuts

Shortcut / Action Function Description
Enter Send Prompt Submits your query or request to the active AI model.
Shift + Enter Insert Line Break Adds a new line in the prompt input field without sending the request.
Ctrl + V Paste Text / Image Pastes text or attaches image data from your clipboard directly into the prompt.
@ Reference Environment File Opens the project file context menu to attach scripts, textures, or configs.
Enter (Voice Mode) Transcribe & Submit Stops active audio recording, transcribes speech, and submits the prompt instantly.

 

Listener & Output Log Shortcuts

Shortcut / Action Function Description
Ctrl + D Clear Listener Log Flushes and clears all accumulated text output in the Listener window.
Ctrl + Mouse Wheel Listener Zoom Scales font size inside the Listener log window.

 

Environment File Browser Shortcuts

Shortcut / Action Function Description
Ctrl + C Copy File / Folder Copies the selected files or directories to the clipboard.
Ctrl + V Paste File / Folder Pastes copied or cut items into the target environment folder.
Delete Delete Item Removes the selected file or directory from the active project environment.

 

MZP Builder & Floating Editor Shortcuts

Shortcut / Action Function Description
Ctrl + S Save Configuration Saves the active package configuration file (mzp.run or install.ms).
Ctrl + F Find & Search Opens search within the package installer script.
Click + Drag (Line Numbers) Continuous Selection Highlights a block of lines to group into a target package directory.
Shift + Click (Line Numbers) Range Selection Selects all lines between the first selected line number and the clicked line.
Ctrl + Click (Line Numbers) Multi-Line Selection Adds or removes individual non-contiguous lines from the current selection.