Connecter 2.0 | 3ds Previews panel & Max Materials inside Connecter
This special version brings this visual information to the next level and brings important fixes to the 3ds Max integration.
It’s kinda hard to be chirpy and excited about something in the COVID-19 plagued times, but the truth is that today we mark a big milestone with Connecter version 2.0.
April 2015, half a decade ago, we introduced the first public version of the software with enthusiasm and a sliver of hope. A hope that our idea for a visually-oriented asset manager will find a place in some CG artists’ workflows and save them time (and nerves).
Now we can say that we are sure. We get confirmation of the role that Connecter plays every single day — from emails, comments, calls, and ratings. Speaking of which, the average rating that we get is 9 out of 10 from almost twelve thousand votes during the last 2 years. Heck, Chrome has a lower rating in the App Store!
In those 5 years, we improved every aspect of Connecter, added a bunch of integrations, focused on collaboration through Teamwork Workspaces and more recently Connecter Server. But the main goal always remained the same — provide as much visual information as possible straight out of the box. We know that this benefits the one-man creative studio as well as everyone in a multinational architecture company.
This special version brings this visual information to the next level.
What’s new?
Inside Connecter:
- Previews Panel — a brand new section of the interface that can be enabled from the Windows dropdown. It serves multiple purposes — you can explore thumbnails, previews, interactive previews (for Substance materials, Cinema 4D, FBX, OBJ, and other file formats), 3ds Max external files and material libraries. Works with the assets selected from the Assets view.
- 3ds Max material libraries inside Connecter — you can now explore and manage .mat assets and their external files without loading them in 3ds Max. Everything happens in the Previews panel from where you can pick a material and drop it in Max to load or replace it straight away. That’s all thanks to…
- Dedicated 3ds Max — set up an instance of the software that will run silently while you explore the material libraries.
- Refresh button — highly anticipated option to reload the content of a folder without leaving it.
3ds Max integration:
- Bug fixes and UI improvements — including the issue with dropping .mat assets in the 3ds Max viewport.
Blender integration:
- New installation routine — now from Connecter you can generate a .zip file that then can be installed from Blender’s preferences. This will ensure that the plugin works on future versions and daily builds.
That’s all for today’s big update. We hope that you like the changes and we expect your feedback about it — just reply to this email or share your opinion in the Connecter Insiders Facebook group.
Our developing pipeline is full of new features and improvements which we will gradually introduce in the upcoming weeks and months. There are many good things to come.
Stay safe!
P.S.: Connecter Server is our solution for collaborating using the same asset library when you can’t be in the same LAN. We are giving up to 6 months of free trial during the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more here.
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