2.1 Selecting a Directory for the Application

Due to Noesis Studio being a portable application, the 🖳 App.StudioTool.exe file included in the download is not the installer, but the actual application itself. Therefore, before continuing, you should select a robust location for the application to live on your machine. This should ideally be somewhere easy to access, and where the file won't accidentally be deleted (as deleting the file will have the same effect as removing the application from your machine.)

When selecting a directory for the application to live, we recommend keeping 🖳 App.StudioTool.exe and the 🗀 Samples folder together in the same directory at the start of your journey. Keeping them together will result in these reference projects being automatically loaded, and easy to access when launching Studio.

If you do not wish for these samples to always appear in the Launcher, simply remove the 🗀 Samples folder from the directory shared with the application file at any time. Doing so will have no detrimental effect on the application other than preventing the automatic loading of the sample projects.

If the 🗀 Samples folder is not kept alongside the application, any projects you wish to open for inspection will have to be added manually: 📑 Adding Projects

2.2. Replicating the Features of an Installed Application (Optional)

If you wish to have your copy of Noesis Studio appear within your Windows Start Menu, pinned to your Windows Taskbar, or if you wish to access it via a Shortcut placed anywhere on your machine (such as your Desktop), you can perform the following steps:

Prerequisite (All Methods)

Regardless of method chosen below, you will first need to select a location on your machine where you wish for 🖳 App.StudioTool.exe to permanently live. This is required as all of the below methods need to point to a fixed location to properly link to the portable application file.

Add Noesis Studio to the Start Menu

Windows 10, Windows 11:

• Right-Click on 🖳 App.StudioTool.exe, and select 'Pin to Start' from the context menu.

The application should now appear in your Start Menu shortcuts.

Pin Noesis Studio to the Taskbar

Windows 10:

• Right-Click on 🖳 App.StudioTool.exe, and select 'Pin to Taskbar' from the context menu.

Windows 11:

1. Right-Click on 🖳 App.StudioTool.exe, and select 'Show More Options' from the context menu.
2. Click on 'Pin to Taskbar' from the context menu.

The application should now appear within your Taskbar.

Create a Portable Noesis Studio Shortcut

Windows 10:

• Right-Click on 🖳 App.StudioTool.exe, and select 'Send to'▸'Desktop (Create Shortcut)' from the context menu.

Windows 11:

1. Right-Click on 🖳 App.StudioTool.exe, and select 'Show More Options' from the context menu.
2. Click on 'Send to'▸'Desktop (create shortcut)' from the context menu.

The application should now appear on your Desktop, and you can now move this shortcut to anywhere you wish on your machine.

Project Listing

If you elected to keep the 🗀 Samples folder alongside your 🖳 App.StudioTool.exe file, you will see these appear in the Launcher's project listing every time you start Noesis Studio. Any projects you manually add will also appear in this list.

If you chose to not carry over the 🗀 Samples folder, or removed it before launching the application, these will not appear in the project listing.

Opening Projects

Any projects present in the Project Listing can be launched in the Launcher by clicking on the project row.

Creating Projects

Once created, this new .noesis file, or project root can be moved to a different location on your machine after creating it, but doing so will make it disappear from the project listing. To make it appear once again will require you to select 'Add Existing' within the Launcher, and re-add it from its new location: 📑 Adding Projects

Adding Projects

Clicking the 'Add Existing' button will open your file browser, and allow you to select an existing .noesis project to add to the Launcher.

Removing Projects

Clicking on the 🗑 (Remove) icon found on any project row will remove it from the project listing until it is manually re-added.

If you elected to keep the 🗀 Samples folder alongside your 🖳 App.StudioTool.exe file, these will be re-added to the Launcher at every launch. If you wish for these to no longer appear, remove the 🗀 Samples folder from the directory shared with 🖳 App.StudioTool.exe.

Methods of Operation

Although Noesis Studio can be run as a standalone visual editor for Noesis XAML interfaces. when paired with an engine in 'connected mode', it can benefit from enhanced features such as:

• Seamless integration of engine-encapsulated content, such as data, materials or 3D assets, directly into Studio.
• Shared data contexts between Noesis Studio and your engine.
• With built-in hot-reloading, any changes made in Studio are instantaneously reflected in-engine, all without losing the currently-active engine user state.
• The ability for Studio to leverage cusom controls, converters, and actions from your engine.
• The ability to introduce new texture formats, or even replace the entire renderer, whilst maintaining visual parity between Studio and the engine.