FBX SDK Programmer's Guide > FBX Extensions SDK >

# Installing the FBX Extensions SDK

## Runtime Requirements

To run FBX Extensions written with the FBX Extensions SDK, you will need at least one of the following applications installed:

Host Application | Supported Platforms
--- | ---
FBX Plug-in for Maya | Windows, Mac OS, Linux
FBX Plug-in for 3ds Max | Windows
MotionBuilder 2012 (or higher) | Windows

The FBX Plug-ins for 3ds Max and Maya are available at http://www.autodesk.com/fbx.

## Downloading and Installing

### Windows

To download and install the FBX Extensions SDK on Windows:

- Go to http://www.autodesk.com/fbx.
- Navigate to the Downloads page and follow any instructions.
- Find the Windows distribution file for the FBX Extensions SDK.
- Download the Setup executable file to your computer and run it.
- The Setup program will let you specify a destination folder.
- Read the provided readme.txt file located in the installation folder.

NoteThe Setup program modifies the Windows Registry and adds a shortcut to the FBX Extensions SDK uninstaller in the Windows Start menu. You can have more than one version of the FBX Extensions SDK installed on your computer, providing you install each version in a separate folder.

### Mac OS and Linux

The steps to install the FBX Extensions SDK for Mac OS and Linux are analogous to the ones detailed in Configuring the FBX SDK for Mac OS and Configuring the FBX SDK for Linux respectively.

## Directory Structure

The directory structure of the FBX Extensions SDK distribution is very similar to the FBX SDK distribution, and contains many of the same folders. The plugins directory replaces the examples directory.

The structure of the FBX Extensions SDK distribution is very similar to the FBX SDK distribution, and contains many of the same folders. Here are the key differences:

- Instead of an examples directory, there is a plugins directory. This directory contains:
  - The actual source code and supporting files for the file I/O module that FBX SDK uses to support FBX files.
  - The actual source code and supporting files for the file I/O module that FBX SDK uses to support Collada files.
  - Source code and supporting files for CustomReaderWriterPlugin, a sample file I/O module that supports CustomWriter files (a trivial file format used for demonstration purposes).
- For Windows: the lib folder contains small .lib files that link to the appropriate dynamically loaded library file of the FBX Plug-in for 3ds Max/Maya (which contain the executable code for FBX SDK classes).
  NoteIf you do not intend to use either of these plug-ins, link to the .lib files distributed with FBX SDK.
- For Maya on Mac OS or Linux: no library files are required to link with the FBX Plug-in for Maya. Accordingly, there is no lib directory in distributions of the FBX Extensions SDK for Mac OS and Linux.