Preset Library Installation and Uninstallation
- What is the FLIP Fluids Preset Library?
- Installation Instructions
- Installing an Existing Preset Library Folder
- Uninstallation Instructions
- Update Instructions
- Using the FLIP Fluids Addon Presets
The FLIP Fluids Addon Preset Library is a package of supplementary Blend files containing full simulation setups that showcase popular features of the FLIP Fluids Addon. View the YouTube playlist of preset scenes here.
The FLIP Fluids Addon preset scenes library package can now be installed into the Blender Asset Browser. This addon feature is currently in an initial test phase.
Blender's asset browser feature is a work-in-progress and the Blender developers are working on adding more features and improvements (View the project workboard here). There are some necessary features of the asset browser that will be required for improving the integration of our preset scenes in future development.
This document will detail how to install, uninstall, and update the FLIP Fluids Preset Library as well as provide notes on the current limitations of this feature.
Installing the FLIP Fluids Preset Library is quick and easy! You will need the preset library zip file in order to proceed with the installation. This file can be found in the product downloads and is labelled as FLIP_Fluids_Addon_Presets_[version]_([date]).zip.
The Preset Library features require FLIP Fluids version 1.6.0 or later and Blender 3.3 or later.
Related Documentation and Links:
- How do I install the FLIP Fluids addon?
- How do I download the FLIP Fluids addon product files?
- Example Simulation Renders
- Video Guide (Timestamp: 0:59)
The following steps are brief instructions for how to install the FLIP Fluids Mixbox plugin. For detailed instructions with screenshots, see the Detailed Installation Instructions below.
- Download the preset library zip file from the FLIP Fluids addon product downloads.
- Open the FLIP Fluids addon preferences menu and navigate to the Install Preset Scenes Library section in the addon preferences.
- Select an install location.
- Click the Install Preset Scenes Library operator and select the preset library zip file.
The FLIP Fluids Preset Library has now been installed into the Blender Asset Browser. The downloaded preset library zip file is no longer needed and you may delete or archive this file.
- Download the preset library zip file from the FLIP Fluids addon product downloads. This file is labelled as
FLIP_Fluids_Addon_Presets_[version]_([date]).zip - Open the FLIP Fluids addon preferences menu.
- Open the addon preferences by selecting Help > FLIP Fluids > FLIP Fluids Preferences.
- In the preferences menu, scroll down to the Mixbox Color Blending Plugin options.
- Select the Install Preset Library Zip File option. This installation method is used if the preset library has not been installed into a another version of Blender already.
- Select an install location by clicking on the file folder icon. The installer will place the preset library files into this location within a folder named
FLIP_Fluids_Addon_Presets
- Install the preset library into the above location by clicking on the Install Preset Scenes Library operator and selecting the preset library zip file.
- After a successful installation, the status will be marked as ✔️Installed and details of the installation will be listed below.
The FLIP Fluids Preset Library features have now been installed into the Blender Asset Browser. The Blender Asset Browser and preset library assets can be opened by setting a window to the Asset Browser editor and selecting the FLIP Fluids Addon Presets (version) library.
An existing FLIP Fluids Addon Preset Library installation can be added using the alternative installation method Install Existing Preset Library Folder
Use this installation method if the preset library has already been installed to another installation of Blender (or the library has been manually unzipped to a location) and you want to add this library to your current Blender installation.
- Open the FLIP Fluids addon preferences menu.
- Select the Installing Existing Preset Library Folder installation method.
- Click the Select Preset Library Folder operator and select the existing location of the preset library.
The existing preset library folder has now been added to your current installation of Blender.
To uninstall the FLIP Fluids Addon Preset Library, simply click on the Uninstall operator in Preset Library Installation list. This operator will remove all the preset Blend files and other assets of the preset library. If you have created duplicates of the preset Blend files or have saved your own files into the preset library folder, these will not be deleted and your files will be safe.
To update the FLIP Fluids Addon Preset Library to a newer version:
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Download the updated preset library zip file from the FLIP Fluids addon product downloads.
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Click the current installation Copy Install Location operator. This will copy the location of the install to the install location field above.
- Click the Install Preset Scenes Library operator and select the updated preset library zip file. This will update the preset library installation and overwrite the current installation with updated files.
Alternatively, the preset library can be updated by first uninstalling the current installation, and installing the updated preset library zip file.
This section will contain tips and notes on how to use the FLIP Fluids Addon Preset Library as well as detail known limitations and issues of the preset library and Blender Asset Browser.
For an overview of how to use the preset library, watch our video guide: New Asset Library (Timestamp: 0:59)
The Blender Asset Browser feature is a work-in-progress and the Blender developers are working on adding more features and improvements. There are some necessary features of the asset browser that are in development and will be required for improving the integration of our preset scenes in future development. In this section we will add notes on the known issues and limitations when using the asset browser with the FLIP Fluids Preset Library.
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Set the asset browser import method to Append - The default import method of Append (Reuse Data) may cause problems with FLIP Fluids addon assets. The default option will have simulation assets share data between each other. This is something that can cause unexpected side effects such as deleting one object resulting in deleting multiple objects, or changing options of one object that affect multiple objects. The Append method will import copies of assets that do not share data and avoid this issue.
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Set the Domain Cache Directory - If importing a domain, the simulation cache directory will be the same as the original asset in the preset library. You may want to set the cache directory to match the name of your Blend file to prevent the possibility of overwriting an existing cache. The cache directory can be changed in the Domain > FLIP Fluid Cache panel or by using the quick Cache > Match Filename operator in the FLIP Fluids Sidebar menu.
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Asset Browser Crashes - As the Blender Asset Browser is in development, there may be some bugs that can cause crashes when importing or removing assets. We recommend using stable release versions of Blender or the latest alpha/beta builds of upcoming versions of Blender that include potential bug fixes. Until the asset browser is more stable, we also recommend saving Blend files frequently when using the asset browser to avoid lost work. For some of these issues, we may need to find a way to report these to the Blender developers.
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Only One Domain Per Blend File is Supported - As always, a limitation of the FLIP Fluids addon is that a Blend file is limited to a single domain. Multiple domains will likely result in incorrect behavior of the addon or errors. The addon will normally try to prevent you from creating multiple domains, but will not be able to prevent this when importing domains from the asset browser. This is something to keep in mind when using the asset browser.
Tip: Deleting a domain within the viewport may result in leaving behind stray child objects in the scene. To delete a domain and clean up all child objects, use the sidebar Delete Domain operator:
The asset browser will list all of the simulation assets of the preset scene Blend files, but will not contain fully assembled simulation and render setups (View renders of the preset scenes here.). The installation location of the preset library will contain Blend files with full setups. To view these Blend files, either navigate tot he installation location or click the current installation folder icon in the preferences menu to open your OS filebrowser to this location:
To avoid altering the original assets, we recommend creating a copy of these files before editing.