C++

Current Documentation

* If downloaded CHM file is not browsable see this page

This SDK offers the most powerful toolset. It is the right choice if you need speed, full access to all parts of the application and want to create complex projects.

Development Environments

MAXON supports Xcode for the Mac and Visual Studio for PC. SDK Support can’t offer any support for other compiler or IDEs (e.g. no GCC compiler or Eclipse).

Release Windows OS X
Cinema 4D R21 Visual Studio 2017 (see note in docs) Apple XCode 10
Cinema 4D R20 Visual Studio 2015 (see note in docs) Apple XCode 9
Cinema 4D R19 Visual Studio 2015 Apple XCode 8
Cinema 4D R18 Visual Studio 2013 Apple XCode 7
Cinema 4D R17 Visual Studio 2013 Apple XCode 6
Cinema 4D R16 Visual Studio 2012 Apple XCode 5.0.2
Cinema 4D R15 Visual Studio 2012 Apple XCode 4.6.3
Cinema 4D R14 Visual Studio 2010 Apple XCode 4.3.2
Cinema 4D R13 Visual Studio 2005 Apple XCode 3.2.6

While it is, of course, a good idea to own a CINEMA 4D license for plugin development, the free Demo version is already sufficient, as it includes the complete SDK.
Note that, depending on the C4D edition, parts of the API may not work. For example, you won’t be able to use MoGraph functionality if you only own a Prime or Visualize edition.

C++ Plugin Code Style Guide

In this document, you will find a public version detailing how we write C++ code at MAXON. Using this style guide can prove useful to facilitate collaboration and code sharing.

  • Source publication on our community Github repository.
  • Improve readability to the SDK support team.
  • Establish a common ground to share code snippets on the SDK support forum.

How to get Plugin IDs

How to get Plugin IDs

Public resources

Public Resources for Cinema 4D Plugin Development in C++

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