Intro to Asset Browser Databases

Asset libraries in Cinema 4D are organized as databases. This guide walks through the database types you'll see in the Asset Browser, how to control visibility, how to use indexing for faster startup and search, and a few day-to-day shortcuts that make managing databases easier.

How to access the Databases panel

Open the Asset Browser, then click the stacked-discs icon in the top-right corner of the Asset Browser to open the Databases panel.

Database types

The Databases panel groups every database into one of four sections:

• Projects: temporary watched folders for all currently open scenes and their tex folders.
  
   
• Path Preset Directory: folders defined in Preferences > Files/Paths appear here as watched folders.
  
   
• User databases: databases you've added manually (for example, a local folder or a shared network path).
  
   
• Standard databases: Maxon-supplied libraries plus the Preferences database that ships with Cinema 4D.
  
  * The Maxon-supplied databases show a lock icon and are read-only. 
  * The Preferences database is the default destination when you save an asset without choosing a User Database, and it lives inside your Cinema 4D preferences folder under the userrepository folder. 
  * For a full breakdown of what each subfolder of the Cinema 4D preferences contains, see Where are my custom layouts, assets, plugins, shortcuts, etc., stored in the Cinema 4D preferences?

Show, hide, and disable databases

Use the Database display (the eye icon) in the Asset Browser toolbar to include or exclude databases from the Category tree and Asset list.

• Solo a database: Ctrl-click the eye to show only that database.
• Quick hide: Alt-click the eye to hide only that database.
  
   
• Deactivate a user database: right-click and uncheck Enable Database to temporarily disable a user database without removing it. Re-enable later with one click.
  
   
• Error states: misconfigured or unreachable databases appear in red. Hover the entry to see path or URL details.
  

Indexing

Indexing is what gives databases their performance edge over Watch Folders, especially as they grow. Without an index, Cinema 4D has to re-scan every file on startup, which can be slow with large libraries.

• Create an index: click the index icon next to a database, or use the right-click context menu. Cinema 4D writes a persistent _index folder inside the database directory that caches asset metadata, search terms, and file locations.
  
   
• Update the index: click the index icon to refresh it. Re-run after adding a significant number of new assets so the index stays accurate.
• Delete the index: Ctrl+left-click the index icon to remove it.
  

Details panel

Toggle the Details panel from the Asset Browser toolbar. Right-click the Details icon to position the panel at the bottom or on the right. Use it to add keywords, review metadata (thumbnails, dependencies, usage), and manage version notes.

Open another Asset Browser window

• New window: open an additional Asset Browser for side-by-side browsing and organizing.
  
   
• Simple mode: hold Shift when opening to launch a simplified picker for quick selections.
  

Learn more

For full reference details and advanced options, see the official Asset Browser help documentation.

TL;DR

• Cinema 4D organizes asset libraries as databases, grouped in the Databases panel into Projects, Path Preset Directory, User databases, and Standard databases.
• Click the eye icon to toggle visibility. Ctrl-click to solo a database, Alt-click to hide just that one. Right-click a user database and uncheck Enable Database to disable it temporarily.
• Run Create Index on every database you use in production. It dramatically speeds up startup and search, especially on network drives or large libraries. Update the index after adding lots of new assets.
• Use the Details panel to add keywords, review metadata, and manage version notes.
• Open a second Asset Browser for side-by-side browsing, or hold Shift when opening for a simplified picker.
• Need to create or share a database? See How to create and share or migrate a Cinema 4D Asset Browser database.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please submit a support ticket, and our team will be happy to help.