How to reset 3ds Max user preference settings back to default

Autodesk Support

Mar 11, 2024


Products and versions covered


Issue:

How to reset 3ds Max user preference settings back to default. The program exhibits the following behaviors:
  • Crashing when launched or using specific functions within the program.
  • UI corruption.
  • Slow or erratic Viewport manipulation.
  • Loss of keyboard shortcuts.
  • Material editor missing elements.
  • Issues linking and unlinking scene items.
  • Layer Manager lost essential functions such as quad menu, delete, etc.
  • Buttons are missing.

Causes:

One or more user-related files may have become corrupted or are missing. This can be caused by a variety of issues, including 3ds Max plugins writing to those files, or multiple open copies of 3ds Max being closed quickly and attempting to write to the same preference files simultaneously.

Solution:

To reset the 3ds Max preferences to default "factory" settings, do the following:

To reset preferences from within 3ds Max (2022.1 and above)

Update 1 for 3ds Max 2022 includes a new "Restore Factory Settings" feature built into the program (under File > Preferences > General). To obtain the update, do the following:
  1. Log into your Autodesk Account .
  2. From the left-hand menu, pick All Products and Services.
  3. From the Products and Services menu, pick 3ds Max > 2022 > Updates and Add-Ons. (If necessary, use Filters so that only 3ds Max items are shown.)
  4. From this menu, download and install the 3ds Max 2022.1 update. (Note: this is a full installer of 3ds Max 2022, consisting of 4 files totaling 6 gigabytes in size. All files must be downloaded before installation. To troubleshoot possible installation issues, see Can't download 3ds Max 2021 updates from my Autodesk Account.)
  5. Once installed, launch 3ds Max 2022.1 and follow the instructions in the Help file.
 

To reset 3ds Max preferences manually (2022 and earlier versions)

You can reset the 3ds Max user preferences by renaming (or deleting) the user settings folder/files. They will be created automatically the next time the program is launched. This process is specific to the active user login on the system as 3ds Max saves settings for each user profile in Windows.

To reset the preferences manually (English-language versions), do the following:

  1. Ensure that 3ds Max is not running.
  2. Open Windows Explorer and make sure hidden files/folders are visible in Windows (see How to turn on hidden files and folders on Windows).
  3. Navigate to the following path:

    C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Autodesk\3dsMax\20XX - 64bit\ENU

  4. Rename the ENU folder to ENU_old.
  5. Restart 3ds Max. When the program launches, it will create a new ENU folder with default startup settings.
To restore the old settings, delete the new ENU folder and rename the old folder back to ENU.

Note: Depending on the language 3ds Max is running under, the folder can have the following names as well:
  • FRA (French)
  • DEU (German)
  • CHS (Simplified Chinese)
  • KOR (Korean)
  • JPN (Japanese)
  • PTB (Brazilian Portuguese)

Products:

3ds Max;


Was this information helpful?


Need help? Ask the Autodesk Assistant!

The Assistant can help you find answers or contact an agent.


What level of support do you have?

Different subscription plans provide distinct categories of support. Find out the level of support for your plan.

View levels of support