Looking at the folder structure of the decompressed Zip archive, I really could not tell how to install this plugin (having never installed a Sketchup plugin before). So I read the instructions on the FAQ website and I learned that it needs Silverlight, specifically version 4.0. I went to the Silverlight website and tried to download it, but the only one offered is the new Silverlight 5.0. For some reason that I am not sure of, my Mac already has Silverlight 3.0 installed in /Library/Internet Plug-ins/Silverlight.plugin.

I kept searching through Google results to see if there’s any link for downloading Silverlight 4.0, but every link I come across points me to the same page for downloading Silverlight 5.0, which is apparently not compatible with the Maxwell Render plugin. I got sick of trying, so I went ahead and trashed the version 3.0 plugin from the /Library/Internet Plug-ins folder and I proceeded to install version 5.0 of Silverlight.

Searching for the correct version of Silverlight was a huge waste of time, although necessary. I cannot imagine any non-technical user going through this stuff and to be honest, I do not fancy using technology from Microsoft too much when I have already switched to a Mac (other than Word, Excel and PowerPoint, I suppose). The reason why I am complaining is mainly because of having to install third party software just to use the plugin.

In the Zip archive, there is absolutely no mention of how one installs this plugin. I have never installed a Sketchup plugin before, so it is a little bit of a mystery to me. I decided to poke around in /Library/Application Support/Google Sketchup 8/plugins and then I found that the structure resembles the structure inside the Zip archive. So I moved the file “maxwell.rb” and the “maxwell” folder into the Sketchup plugins folder and this seemed to do the trick.

Having installed version 5.0 of Silverlight, brought up a prompt when I started Google Sketchup and then clicked on the Plugin>Maxwell menu. This prompt complained that version 5.0 of Silverlight has been detected and it gives you a link to download. If you use Google Chrome as your default browser, it will take you to the download page for Silverlight 5.0, but if you copy the link and paste it into Firefox, it will let you download Silverlight 4.0 (huh?). This is weird, but it is true.

Good luck with installing and enjoy this magnificent render plugin from Maxwell Render. If they asked me for advice, I would say:

1. Include a link to download Silverlight 4.0 in your documentation, not just the “Get Silverlight” website, which makes you download version 5.0.
2. Better still, if Microsoft licensing allows, bundle Silverlight 4.0 in the package
3. A few short paragraphs on how to install this plugin in Sketchup would have saved a lot of time.
4. Nice plugin.