Plugin Installation

ZBrush supports a robust plugin system, allowing you to easily expand its capabilities. Many plugins are installed automatically as part of a default ZBrush installation.  They are listed at the top of this page.

In addition, members of the ZBrush development team have created a number of unofficial plugins, which you will find in the second half of the page.  As stated at the top of that section, these plugins are not included with ZBrush, due to the fact that they have had limited testing and my contain bugs.  They are not officially supported.

Finally, ZBrushCentral and other sites have remarkable library or user-created plugins.  None of them are official, and all support for them needs to come from their creators.  

Be warned that using an unofficial plugin can cause unexpected behavior.  If you start having issues with ZBrush, please remove your community-created plugins to see if the issues are resolved.

Many plugins have installers, but some do not.  Even if a plugin does not come with an installer, adding it to ZBrush is extremely easy!

Note:  ZBrushCore and ZBrushCoreMini do not support plugins.  This article only applies to ZBrush.

Installation

Please follow these steps:

1. Ensure that the plugin is compatible with your ZBrush version.  All official plugins from the Pixologic website are compatible only with the most current ZBrush version.  However, plugins from other sources such as the ZScript Utilities forum at ZBrushCentral may or may not have been updated by their authors.
2. Make sure that ZBrush is closed.
3. Extract the ZIP file. 
4. Copy the contents of the ZIP folder (the .zsc file and any additional folder).
   • You will always have a .zsc file.
   • You will often also have one or more folders containing support files.  The files in these folders must remain in their subfolders and should not be removed from them.
5. Place the .zsc and any additional folders in your ZBrush installation's ZStartup/ZPlugs folder.
   • Important:  Some plugins are 64-bits and must instead be placed in the ZStartup/ZPlugs64 folder.  These plugins normally have "x64" in the .zsc file's name.  The plugin documentation will also tell you which folder to use.
   • If the plugin has both 64 and 32-bit versions, then you will need to place the 64-bit version in the ZPlugs64 folder and the 32-bit version in the ZPlugs folder.  BOTH folders will then also need the folder containing the plugin's support files.
6. Launch ZBrush
7. Most plugins will be found within the ZPlugins tab at the top of the interface.  However, some plugins may be placed in other locations.  Consult your plugin's documentation to verify the location that it is meant to be found within ZBrush.

Troubleshooting

Q: The plugin is not showing up in the plugins tab.

A: Check the plugin's documentation to ensure that it isn't meant to appear in another location within ZBrush.

Q: The plugin is not showing up where it is supposed to be.

A: Make sure that the .zsc file and any support folder (with its contents) are extracted correctly.

Example:

\Pixologic\ZBrush 4R7\ZStartup\ZPlugs64\

ScaleMaster_4R7x64.zsc

ScaleMaster_4R7 (folder)

Download.html
ScaleMaster.psd
ScaleMaster_pg1.psd
ScaleMaster_pg2.psd
ScaleMaster_pg3.psd
ScaleMaster_pg4.psd
Video.html
ZFileUtils.dll
ZFileUtils.lib
ZFileUtils64.dll

Q: I have the plugin installed correctly but it is still not showing up.

A: Make sure that you are running the correct version of ZBrush.  For example, if the plugin is only available in a 64-bit version, it will only run with ZBrush64.exe on Windows or ZBrush64.app on OS X.

Q: Who do I contact for support with the plugin?

A:

• For all official plugins released by Maxon, you can submit a Support ticket.
• For unofficial plugins listed on the Plugins Page, we will only be able to provide limited support.  They are typically considered as-is. 
• For plugins released by third parties, you must contact that plugin's creator directly.  Maxon cannot provide any kind of support for third party plugins.