Install and update

The plugin is one file. It is downloaded from the plugin’s GitHub release page and installed once, as a local plugin. After that the plugin downloads its own updates.

Install

Step	Control	Action	Result
1	The plugin’s GitHub release page	Download QwinklesParticles2.rbxm	The file is on your computer.
2	Studio	Open any place. A new baseplate will do.	The place is open for editing.
3	Explorer ▸ Workspace	Right-click, choose Insert, then Insert from File, and pick the downloaded file	A folder named Part_IclesV2 appears in the Workspace.
4	Part_IclesV2, in the Explorer	Right-click, then choose Save as Local Plugin. Accept the place Studio offers.	Studio saves the folder as a plugin.
5	Part_IclesV2, in the Explorer	Delete it	The place is as it was. The plugin is installed in Studio, not in the place.

NOTE

The plugin shows no permission prompt of its own. A prompt that appears is Studio’s.

First start

Where	What shows
Studio’s toolbar	A toolbar named Qwinkle’s Part-Icles 2, with one button: Toggle.
The viewport	The plugin’s own controls, a few seconds after Studio has loaded. The plugin is on after a first install.
The viewport, bottom right	The ≡ menu button.
The viewport, bottom left	The particle counter.
The Explorer ▸ ReplicatedStorage	A ModuleScript named Part_Icles. See Part_Icles.
The Output window	One line about the licence. See Licence and trial.
The Output window, with Auto-Update on	[Part-Icles] Checking for updates..., then a line that gives the newest version number and the installed one.

The HUD and the Properties panel show when an emitter is selected. Exercise 1 starts from here.

The plugin needs an internet connection when it starts. See No connection.

The Toggle button

Toggle switches the whole plugin on or off. Its tooltip reads Click To Toggle On/Off.

State	What you see
On	The plugin’s controls show, and emitters preview in the viewport.
Off	The plugin’s controls are gone. Every particle of the preview is removed.

The state is remembered from one Studio session to the next.

The plugin does not run while the game runs. Its controls disappear on Play and on Run, and return on Stop. See Play mode.

Updating

Control	Kind	Starts	What it does
≡ ▸ Settings ▸ Auto-Update	Toggle	On	Each time the plugin starts, it checks for a newer version. Nothing shows on screen unless a new version was downloaded.
≡ ▸ Settings ▸ Check for Updates	Button		Checks at once. The button reads Checking… while it runs. It always answers with a bar.

The plugin downloads the new version for you. It does not install it. The last two steps are yours.

The bar

The answer is a bar across the top of the screen, with a Dismiss button. <N> is a version number.

The bar reads	Meaning
Plugin is up to date	There is no newer version.
Part-Icles v<N> downloaded! Right-click 'Part_IclesV2' in ServerStorage > Save as Local Plugin > Restart Studio	The new version is in the place that is open. Carry out the steps below.
Update check failed: network error	The check did not finish. Nothing was downloaded.
Update check failed: bad response	The check did not finish. Nothing was downloaded.
Update check timed out	The check did not finish. Nothing was downloaded.
Update v<N> available but download failed	There is a newer version. It was not downloaded.
Bundle/server version mismatch - install refused. Check server release	The new version was refused. Nothing was installed.

Every bar closes by itself after a few seconds, with one exception. The downloaded! bar stays until Dismiss is pressed or the plugin is switched off.

When a new version has downloaded

An object named Part_IclesV2 appears in ServerStorage of the place that is open. It is selected in the Explorer.

Step	Control	Action	Result
1	Explorer ▸ ServerStorage ▸ Part_IclesV2	Right-click, then choose Save as Local Plugin	Studio saves the new version as the plugin.
2	Studio	Close it and open it again	Studio starts with the new version.

CAUTION

The update is never applied without these two steps. If they are not carried out, the next start with Auto-Update on downloads the new version again.

What happens to the objects in the place:

Object	What happens to it
The downloaded Part_IclesV2	It stays in ServerStorage of the open place. It is saved with that place if you save. It may be deleted once the plugin is installed.
A Part_IclesV2 that was already in ServerStorage	It is renamed as an old copy. The plugin deletes old copies the next time it starts.

With ≡ ▸ Settings ▸ Console Output on, the Output window also reports the update.

Line in Output	When
[Part-Icles] Checking for updates...	A check starts.
[Part-Icles] Update v<N> downloaded to ServerStorage. Save as Local Plugin and restart.	A new version has downloaded.