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Connectors

They connect the app to SketchUp and 3ds Max, so you can insert blocks and apply materials and HDRIs without downloading and importing by hand.

Where it is in the app
Your account › Settings › System and connectors › Connectors
Plan
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Get started

The numbers on the screen are the steps in Step by step.

What it does

The 3ds Max connector and the SketchUp extension let the app talk to the open program: through them a block enters the scene, a material goes onto the selected object and an HDRI becomes the environment.

They also work the other way: the SketchUp eyedropper opens the material’s page in the app, and UVW Map and the dynamic blocks toolbar depend on the extension. The connectors only work while the app is open.

Before you start

  • 3ds Max 2022 to 2027. The connector does not cover 2021.
  • SketchUp: the extension is installed in every version found. Native PBR materials and native HDRIs require SketchUp 2025 or newer.
  • Open SketchUp at least once beforehand, so its extensions folder exists.
  • Save your work and close 3ds Max and SketchUp before installing.

Step by step

  1. Open the Connectors panel

    Click the avatar in the top right corner (Your account), open Settings and go to System and connectors. The Connectors panel has one row for 3ds Max and another for SketchUp, with the versions found.

  2. Install the 3ds Max connector

    If the row says “Still needs installing in 3ds Max …”, click Install connector. When it finishes you see “Connector installed in 3ds Max …. Restart Max to finish.”

    • “Connector active in 3ds Max …. Nothing to do.”: it is already set up.
    • “The connector doesn't cover the 3ds Max … found here”: the version is outside the 2022 to 2027 range.

  3. Install the SketchUp extension

    In the SketchUp row, click Install extension. When it finishes you see “Extension installed in SketchUp …. Restart SketchUp to finish.”

    • “No SketchUp installation found”: open SketchUp once, close it and come back to the panel.

  4. Restart the programs

    Close and reopen 3ds Max and SketchUp so they load the connector.

  5. Check in SketchUp

    With the app open, go to Extensions › FLUIO. › Status da conexao. The window should say that it is connected to the FLUIO. app, and whether V-Ray is present. The same menu has Reconectar agora.

  6. Check in 3ds Max

    In 3ds Max the connector works in the background, with no menu. To test it, pick a block in the app and click Insert into 3ds Max. If Max is closed, the app opens the newest installed version, installs or updates the connector if needed and waits for it to connect.

Tips

  • With more than one SketchUp or 3ds Max window open, the app asks which one to insert into.
  • A good round-trip test: in SketchUp, pick a material with the eyedropper in the Materials panel. The app opens its page.
  • Installed SketchUp or reinstalled 3ds Max afterwards? Go back to the Connectors panel and install again.

Common problems

When“SketchUp is not connected. Open SketchUp and try again.”
What to doOpen SketchUp while the app is open. If it continues, use Extensions › FLUIO. › Reconectar agora.
WhenThe SketchUp window has an old extension.
What to doClose and reopen SketchUp so it loads the new extension.
WhenThe app says 3ds Max is open without the connector active.
What to doClose and reopen 3ds Max. If it continues, install again in Connectors › Install connector.
WhenThe app says no supported version of 3ds Max was found.
What to doThe connector covers 3ds Max 2022 to 2027. Install one of those versions.
WhenThe connection drops or never happens.
What to doAllow FLUIO. in your computer’s antivirus and firewall and restart the program.

Keep going

All features
Didn’t find the answer?Open a ticket right in the app, in Your account › Support. It already includes your computer’s versions and the error history, and the reply arrives in the app.
How to open a ticket Write to us by email