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rachelh13199779
rachelh13199779
Participant
October 27, 2022

Failing to install Cinema 4D Renderer in After Effects 2023

  • October 27, 2022
  • 9 replies
  • 3042 views

I keep getting this error message for After Effects even though I have Cinema 4D installed and running. I've tried to put the C4DImporter.plugin file from the Maxon files into my After Effect files within applications. I've attached screenshots of both of these folder locations just to explain a little further what I mean. However this has still not resolved the issue. Does anyone please know how to fix this?

    9 replies

    JohnColombo17100380
    Community Manager
    JohnColombo17100380Community Manager
    Community Manager
    June 10, 2025

    @andybarbo, I'm sorry to hear that this is still occurring for you. Along with uninstalling/reinstalling Adobe products, have you uninstalled and reinstalled Maxon C4D? Our uninstallers and CC Cleaner do not remove C4D, so that is the next step you might try. Uninstall After Effects, then uninstall C4D (following their uninstall instructions), and then reinstall After Effects. If that doesn't work, please reach out to our Support team for one-on-one help.

     

    Cheers,

    - John, After Effects Engineering Team 

    andybarbo
    andybarbo
    Participant
    June 9, 2025

    @JohnColombo17100380 @Brian C Carter Please see my last message. 

    andybarbo
    andybarbo
    Participant
    June 9, 2025

    @nishu_kush 
    Gutted every Adobe product with the Clearner Tool and reinstalled, and still getting this issue. 

    I just want to use the Cinema 4D render engine on my M1 Mac. I've already spent many hours trying to find a solution.

    Screenshot attached:

    A
    andr�s_5635
    Participant
    April 25, 2025

    How to solve this error on after effects with cinema 4d and MAXON :

    I have installed and uninstalled After Effects and Maxon but the message continues to show :

    After Effects error: Code (A_Err_GENERIC): Cinema 4D 2025 must be installed in order to use "Cineware by Maxon". To install from the Creative Cloud app, go to After Effects, choose the " button next to "Open" and select 'Add-ons'. (0: 1)

    nishu_kush
    nishu_kush
    Legend
    April 25, 2025

    Sorry to hear about the issue. Are you on MacOS or Windows? Can you try removing After Effects using Adobe Cleaner tool and uninstalling Cinema 4D one more time? Once done, install them again and see if that helps.


    Thanks,
    Nishu

    JohnColombo17100380
    Community Manager
    JohnColombo17100380Community Manager
    Community Manager
    November 18, 2022

    Thank you @rachelh13199779! We are currently investigating a fix for this issue and we really appreciate your report and the details you've provided.

     

    Thanks again,

    - John, After Effects Engineering Team

    rachelh13199779
    rachelh13199779Author
    Participant
    October 28, 2022

    rachelh13199779
    rachelh13199779Author
    Participant
    October 28, 2022
    Good morning Brian,

    Many thanks for coming back to me about this!
    I am using Cinema 2023.0.1, I've attached screenshots of the 'About Cinema
    4D' and the Maxon folders in my application folder within finder.

    I don't believe I was asked an option to check or uncheck the 'Install
    Cinema4D' option when I installed After Effects.

    Many thanks,
    Rachel
    [image: Screenshot 2022-10-28 at 09.11.08.png][image: Screenshot 2022-10-28
    at 09.11.27.png]
    B
    Community Manager
    Brian C CarterCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    October 27, 2022

    Hi Rachel

     

    It sounds like there could be a couple issues here, and many of them could be solved with a reinstall, but before you do that, I'd appreciate it if you could post a screenshot of which version of Cinema 4D you have installed and running, both the folder and About screen within the application. The Cineware-to-Cinema4D connection used to not be as version dependent as they are now due to a change in Cinema4D's build, now you must use the matching version of Cinema4D installed from Creative Cloud with After Effects.

    Could you also tell me if you checked or unchecked the "Install Cinema4D" checkbox when installing After Effects?

    Thanks so much!
    Brian

    rachelh13199779
    rachelh13199779Author
    Participant
    October 27, 2022

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