Quickstart Guide
================

To try it out immediately, use the built-in demo setups: :doc:`../n_panel/demo_setups`.

To try it out manually, follow these steps to create your first reactive display surface and proximity driver:

.. image:: ../_static/images/ui_overview.png
   :alt: Reactive Display Setup in N-Panel
   :align: center
   :width: 75%

Step 1: Create a Display Target Mesh
------------------------------------

1. In the 3D Viewport, press :kbd:`Shift+A` and choose :menuselection:`Mesh --> Grid` (or :menuselection:`Mesh --> Plane`).
2. If using a Plane, switch to **Edit Mode** (:kbd:`Tab`), right-click and choose **Subdivide**, setting the number of cuts to ``15`` or ``20``.
3. Return to **Object Mode** (:kbd:`Tab`).
4. Ensure your mesh is the active selected object.

Step 2: Initialize Reactive Display
-----------------------------------

1. Press :kbd:`N` to open the sidebar and click the **Reactive Surface FX** tab.
2. In the **Reactive Display Simulation** panel, click **Setup Display on Active Object**.
3. Reactive Surface FX will automatically:

   * Create the procedural display modifier stack.
   * Attach the internal ``display_color`` and ``display_dist`` attribute data-bus.
   * Non-destructively inject shader emission nodes into the object's active materials.

.. tip::
   The **Device** setting defaults to **GPU Compute** for hardware-accelerated real-time simulation. You can switch between **Faceted (Pixels)**, **Smooth Vertices**, or **Dynamic Texture Canvas** (with **Continuous Stroke**) at any time in the setup panel.

Step 3: Create a Proximity Driver
---------------------------------

1. Press :kbd:`Shift+A` and add an :menuselection:`Mesh --> UV Sphere` (or Monkey / Suzanne).
2. Scale the sphere down (:kbd:`S --> 0.4`) and position it slightly above the display plane.
3. With the Sphere selected, hold :kbd:`Shift` and select the Plane.
4. Press :kbd:`Ctrl+P` and choose **Set Parent To --> Object**.

.. tip::
   By default, **Driver Source** is set to **Child Objects**. Any mesh parented to the display target automatically acts as a proximity driver! You can also use a dedicated Collection if you prefer not to parent objects.

Step 4: See Reactive Illumination in Real Time
----------------------------------------------

1. Switch your 3D Viewport shading mode to **Material Preview** or **Rendered** (:kbd:`Z --> Material Preview`).
2. Select only the Sphere driver.
3. Grab and move the sphere around (:kbd:`G`).
4. As the sphere approaches the surface within the **Proximity Radius** (default ``0.5m``), the surface faces dynamically illuminate with bright emission!

Next Steps
----------

* Explore different **Surface Modes** (Faceted Pixels vs Smooth Vertices vs Dynamic Texture Canvas) in :doc:`../n_panel/display_simulation`.
* Learn how to customize raycast direction and sensing curves in :doc:`../n_panel/drivers_sensing`.
* Enable physical deformations (Pinscreen, Wave Ripples, 3D Mold Conforming) in :doc:`../n_panel/physical_transform`.