Project Manager 4 — AI asset classification is here

Project Manager 4 automatically analyses thousands of your models and textures, sorts your models onto virtual shelves, and lets you search the way you actually think — models by visual similarity, and both models and textures by colour.
No manual tagging, no endless folder digging: the library puts itself in order, and you simply find what you need.

What makes it work in practice:

Runs entirely on your machine. All analysis and classification happen locally — no cloud, no uploads, no subscription. Your assets never leave your computer, and there’s nothing to wait on but your own hardware.

Built for speed. Classification is fast enough to handle large libraries without turning into an overnight job, and once it’s done, finding an asset takes seconds instead of minutes of scrolling.

Ready from day one. Point it at your existing assets and it gets to work — no reorganising, no preparation, no change to how you store your files.

Less routine, faster access to what you need, and a library that finally keeps up with you.

Read the full announcement here: The Asset Library That Organises Itself

Below, you can find the full list of changes and enhancements for this version

AI-Powered Asset Classification

• Automatic categorisation of 3D models and textures — no more manual tagging
• Dedicated AI Classifier engine runs in the background with GPU acceleration
• Classification by object type (chair, sofa, lamp...), material composition (glass, wood, metal...), form, and style
• Brand and style recognition for furniture — classical, contemporary, and everything in between
• 3D Models get tagged by material type automatically
• AI-assigned categories are clearly distinguished from your manual ones, so you always know what came from where
• Full control over results: review, reassign, or remove any AI suggestion you disagree with — the AI proposes, you decide
• Reclassify specific folders or categories on demand — no need to reprocess your entire library when you want to update just one section
• Runs entirely on your machine — your assets never leave your computer
• Scale across your team: point multiple workstations at the same database and they'll classify in parallel, each picking up its own share of the queue
• Designed to stay out of your way — runs in the background at low priority, so it won't interfere with rendering or active work
• Pause classification anytime, from one hour up to five — perfect when you need every bit of GPU for a render
• Choose which GPU does the work, or fall back to CPU if you prefer

Colour Tools

• Colour analysis for both 3D model previews and textures
• Find assets by colour — pick any colours from a palette and instantly see matching models or textures
• Colour similarity search that understands perceptual colour
• "Find similar by colour" available in the asset menu — locate visually related models or textures across your library
• Visual colour swatches in the filter row show your active colour filters at a glance

Colour Labels — Team Workflow

• Built-in status system for your assets — tag models and textures with workflow states like Draft, Approved, In Review, Archived, or Urgent
• Perfect for team collaboration: artists can mark work in progress, leads can flag approved assets, and everyone sees the same status at a glance
• Filter and search by colour label — instantly pull up everything that's "In Review" or hide archived assets from your daily view
• Use any colour and label text you like — set up a system that matches your studio's existing workflow

Smarter Search

Find Similar — Two Ways to Match Assets

• Find similar by content — pick any 3D model and instantly find others that match its style, shape, and overall look, powered by AI visual analysis
• Find similar by colour palette — pick any image or texture, and Project Manager analyses its full set of dominant colours and their proportions to find other assets with a matching colour profile. Brilliant for finding textures that fit a specific reference photo or mood board
• Both available right from the asset's right-click menu

Search

• Multi-keyword search returns more relevant results: searching "Chair, Glass" now finds a file named "Chair.max" described as "glass" — not only files containing both words literally
• Full-path category search: find every subcategory under a brand or style in a single query
• Instant feedback — every filter tick, keyword, and colour pick updates the view immediately, so you can explore your library by feel rather than by query

Redesigned Status Bar

• Completely rebuilt panels for Categories, Materials, Colour Labels, and Colours
• Each panel shows three contextual sections: what's in your current selection, what filters are active, and what's available across your library
• Active filters stay visible even when you navigate to folders where those categories aren't present — no more "lost filter" confusion
• OR / AND filtering modes when combining multiple categories — match any of them or require all of them

Category & Material Filtering

• Filter by category directly from the category tree via right-click menu
• Category filter correctly includes subcategories — filtering "Furniture" also finds items in "Furniture → Chairs → Dining"
• Combine category and material filters to narrow down precisely: find glass-and-metal tables, or wooden ones, in one click
• Filter furniture by brand and style — classical, contemporary, industrial, and so on
• "Categorised" / "Uncategorised" quick filters — instantly see which assets still need attention
• Per-category control over subfolder visibility — show files from subfolders only for the categories where it makes sense

Gallery & 3D File Browsing

• Three gallery tabs for .max files — Models (linked previews), Materials (the scene's material tree), and External Links (every texture and asset the scene references)
• Drag materials straight from the gallery into your open 3ds Max scene — no need to open the source file first
• Edit external links right in the gallery — fix or replace missing textures and asset references without opening the .max file
• 3D viewport preview for FBX, 3DS, OBJ, and other 3D formats right in the gallery — inspect geometry before importing
• Materials gallery for material libraries — browse linked previews, the material tree, and every texture used by each material; edit external links inline
• Zoom & Pan for images — inspect textures and reference images at full resolution without leaving Project Manager
• Use any image format as a preview — WebP, EXR, HDR, and more all work as custom thumbnails

Seamless Migration & Gradual Rollout

• Perfect for studios: run v4 on one artist's workstation while the rest of the team stays on v3, then migrate when you're ready
• Upgrade at your own pace — v3 and v4 share the same database format, so your library works with both versions simultaneously
• No library rebuild required: point v4 at your existing v3 database and you're ready to go
• License compatibility across versions — use v3 with 3ds Max 2026 and v4 with 3ds Max 2027 on the same license on one computer
• Broad 3ds Max coverage: supported from 2016 all the way through 2027
• Everything you relied on in v3 is still here — v4 adds on top, it doesn't take away

3ds Max 2027

• Full support for 3ds Max 2027

Other Improvements & Fixes

• Significantly improved UI responsiveness — reduced flickering, faster scrolling, and snappier list updates across the board
• Dramatically faster file and folder deletion — operations that used to take minutes on large libraries now finish in seconds
• Live sync in shared database mode — files added or deleted by a colleague now appear automatically, without reloading the folder
• Smart memory management for AI Classifier — the CLIP model unloads from RAM when idle and reloads instantly when needed
• Windows installer that integrates with Autodesk's standard ApplicationPlugins folder
• Place Objects: original orientation of objects is now always preserved when painting onto surfaces

Project Manager: Support

3ds max 2027

Other Kstudio plugins – News & Announcements

Smart Extrude version 1.0.32.55

Batch Render&Relink: News & Announcements

Batch Render&Relink v.2.15.08

Utility | Plugins

Project Manager