Installation
============

Reactive Surface FX is packaged as a modern Blender Extension compliant with the **Blender 4.2+ / 5.0+ Extensions Platform**.

System Requirements
-------------------

* **Blender Version**: 4.2.0 LTS or newer (fully compatible with Blender 5.0+).
* **Operating System**: Windows, macOS (Intel & Apple Silicon), or Linux.
* **Hardware**: Any GPU supporting Blender 4.2+ (Metal, Vulkan, or OpenGL/DirectX backend).

Method 1: Drag & Drop (Fastest)
-------------------------------

1. Download the extension archive: ``reactive_surface_fx-<version>.zip``.
2. Launch Blender.
3. Simply **drag and drop** the ``.zip`` file from your file manager directly into the Blender 3D Viewport.
4. When the confirmation prompt appears, click **Install Extension**.

.. note::
   Do not extract the ``.zip`` file before dragging. Blender installs extensions directly from the package archive.

Method 2: Preferences Menu
--------------------------

1. In Blender, open **Preferences**:

   * **Windows / Linux**: :menuselection:`Edit --> Preferences...` (or :kbd:`Ctrl+,`).
   * **macOS**: :menuselection:`Blender --> Settings...` (or :kbd:`Cmd+,`).
2. Navigate to the **Get Extensions** section in the left sidebar.
3. Click the **dropdown arrow** menu in the top-right header (next to the search box).
4. Select **Install from Disk...**.
5. Select the ``reactive_surface_fx-<version>.zip`` file and click **Install from Disk**.
6. Ensure the checkbox next to **Reactive Surface FX** is enabled.

Locating the Interface
----------------------

Once installed, open any 3D Viewport window:
1. Press :kbd:`N` to reveal the 3D Viewport sidebar.
2. Select the **Reactive Surface FX** tab on the right edge.
3. The **Reactive Display Simulation** panel will be displayed.