Different driver versions for different software

Questions and answers about 3Dconnexion devices on Windows.

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mickey_1988
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Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2020 1:25 am

Different driver versions for different software

Post by mickey_1988 »

Is it possible to install the latest drivers but also use an older version for some of the software?

Lately, I've updated SketchUP to 2020 (I'll switch to 2021 when the 3Dconnexion drivers start supporting it) and I had to install the latest 3DxWare. The thing is, everything works in SketchUP, but I have an old version of 3DsMax (2014) and I'm having some irritating viewport issues with the new drivers. I also have bad experience from back when SketchUP 2015 came out - since I updated the drivers to support it, I've had issues with selecting objects in the viewport after using the 3D mouse. I've seen other people on the Internet complaining about it, but the problems were never solved and I just had to learn to live with them... I guess when new versions of 3DsMax came out, nobody cared anymore.

Anyway, is it possible for me to install the latest 3DxWare but replace some files only for 3DsMax, so it uses the old driver? Preferably even an older one, when I had no issues at all. I have an installation package for 3dxware64_v10-1-3_r1803.
mickey_1988
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Re: Different driver versions for different software

Post by mickey_1988 »

Or the other way around: Use the old 3DxWare but also extract only a part of the new driver so it works with the latest SketchUP?
luping
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Re: Different driver versions for different software

Post by luping »

Install a virtual machine, run the old application and driver in the virtual machine OS atop of your current PC OS.
mickey_1988
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Re: Different driver versions for different software

Post by mickey_1988 »

luping wrote: Wed Nov 25, 2020 8:17 am run the old application and driver
You mean both 3DsMax and the driver? I've never used a virtual machine, but it sounds like I might get some serious performance issues, especially during rendering. In my case, it would be probably better to install the new sketchup and the new driver on a virtual machine instead.
Anyway, it still seems like going through an awful lot of trouble just to solve some glitches.

So copying the dlls, plugins, scripts or whatever is used in sketchup from the new 3DxWare and using them with the old one won't work?
jwick
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Re: Different driver versions for different software

Post by jwick »

mickey_1988,

You can do a bit of mixing and matching of driver versions and plugin versions.
It might break if you get too far apart in the versions you pick and choose from.

10.3 to (current) 10.7 is a far stretch.

3DxWinCore will mostly determine which device is supported.
The app plugin will mostly determine which app versions are supported.
There could be some cross referencing if mutual changes were required.

We specifically package the installers the way we do to allow this. But there's no official support for it. We can't guarantee that it will work since we can't test every possible combination of old with new. We only test the packages we put together.
The release notes for the various versions may help determine what will work.

You can use a program like 7-zip to unpack the downloaded 3DxWare executable into its components.

You will see the installers of each of the components.
Use those installer packages to do the installations. They don't all work individually BTW, so you may encounter some problems.
I'd stay away from copying individual files & DLLs around unless you really know what you are doing. Chances are you might cause future installers to break, since they sometimes rely on having control over which files are in which places.

If you install some component, you should uninstall it using the same installation package, before installing something new. If you try to do upgrades, then go backwards, you likely get into a mess.
If you go backwards in versions, you probably have to manually delete your user cfg files. There is no provision for going backwards in version time.

All you can do is try. If it works for you, great. Keep notes of what you do. A backup wouldn't be a bad idea.
You are skiing off the trail. IOW, don't call our tech support and ask for help.
luping
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Re: Different driver versions for different software

Post by luping »

mickey_1988 wrote: Thu Nov 26, 2020 1:35 am
luping wrote: Wed Nov 25, 2020 8:17 am run the old application and driver
You mean both 3DsMax and the driver? I've never used a virtual machine, but it sounds like I might get some serious performance issues, especially during rendering. In my case, it would be probably better to install the new sketchup and the new driver on a virtual machine instead.
Anyway, it still seems like going through an awful lot of trouble just to solve some glitches.

So copying the dlls, plugins, scripts or whatever is used in sketchup from the new 3DxWare and using them with the old one won't work?
Where there's a will, there's a way. You can try it out by installing the new version SU and 3DxWare in the virtual machine. Modern x86 CPU has many cores, like the AMD Ryzen 3900x/3950x/5900x/5950x, they supports virtual machines quite well.
luping
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Re: Different driver versions for different software

Post by luping »

supports-support
mickey_1988
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Re: Different driver versions for different software

Post by mickey_1988 »

Thank you for your advices. When I'm not in a middle of a project, I'll play around with everything and see if something works for me.
mickey_1988
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Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2020 1:25 am

Re: Different driver versions for different software

Post by mickey_1988 »

Ok, just in case someone finds it useful. I've used the latest 3DxWare (with sketchup 2021 support) and installed everything except the 3DsMax add-on. Then I installed the 3DsMax add-on from the unpacked (very) old driver package.
I had to decrease the speed quite a bit and reassign the buttons (the default views were not working so I just assigned the 3DsMax keyboard shortcuts instead) and that's it. All the issues in my old 3DsMax are gone (apparently) and everything works with the latest sketchup. I still need to check the projects which caused the most problems, but it all looks great so far.

Thanks again for your help!

TLDR: Looks like Installing the latest 3DxWare without the 3DsMax add-on and installing the old add-on instead is the way to go. Just needs small adjustments in the settings.
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