What are the options to install a Cinema4D plug-in?

maxime

Hello,

We would like to provide a Cinema4D plug-in along with our software package. I was wondering what are the possible options to achieve that. I would assume that one way would be to ask the user for the Cinema4D installation directory and copy our plug-in under "plugins" directory located there.

I would rather use another mean if that is possible; something that does not require user intervention, and ideally that will not copy files outside of our installation directory.

Is there a way to provide a module or plug-in path to Cinema4D - a bit like the plug-in path preference, but not limited to the current user?

Thanks!

r_gigante

Hi Maxime3, thanks for reaching out us.

With regard to your question, it's indeed not needed to copy your plugin in the <Cinema4D path>/plugins but rather it's recommended to avoid this.
There are a few options to specify custom plugins path:

using the Edit -> Preferences -> Plugins and adding a specific path to the list plugin searched paths;
before R20
- using the C4D_PLUGINS_DIR environment variable;
since R20
- using the g_additionalModulePath command-line argument when lunching Cinema 4D (e.g. "CINEMA 4D.exe" g_additionalModulePath=<your plugin path>);
- using the g_additionalModulePath parameter specified in the config.txt (which is located in the "resource" folder of Cinema and sets the path only for this specific version);
- using the g_additionalModulePath as an environment variable;
- using the Configuration Variables.

Best, Riccardo

maxime

Hi Riccardo,

Thank you for the detailed answer. With the many options available, I chose one that fits best with our installer.

Again, thanks for the help!

Maxime