Update to a new version

Updating VFxM is the same installer flow as a first install — there is no separate update mechanism.

Close REAPER first

As with a fresh install, quit REAPER completely before running the new installer.

Take a backup first, if you like

From 1.2.3, Settings → Backup → Back up everything… writes your whole VFxM folder to one file before you start. Updating does not need it — nothing listed below is removed by an update — but it is there if you would rather hold a copy. See Back up and restore your VFxM data.

1. Download the latest installer for your platform from the download page.
2. Run it the same way as described in Install on macOS or Install on Windows. On macOS, leave “Erase my favourites and start fresh” unticked — you do not need it to update. On Windows there is nothing to choose; the installer simply confirms it is updating and carries on.
3. Open REAPER. The new extension version loads automatically.

What is preserved

A standard install overwrites only the extension binary (reaper_virtue.dylib / reaper_virtue.dll). Your data folder — favourites, thumbnails, notes, ratings, categories and settings — is untouched.

Your licence stays activated too — there is nothing to re-enter after updating.

Your window layout carries across as well, including panels you had deliberately hidden. Up to 1.2.1 an update rebuilt the layout and handed back every panel, so Notes or Filters could reappear after a version bump; from 1.2.2 visibility is only set on a genuine first run or when you press Reset Layout yourself.

Two things move house during the update, silently and without asking:

• The thumbnail scanner’s blocklist, queue and in-progress marker leave the top of REAPER’s resource folder for VFxM’s own Virtue/ folder. An existing blocklist comes with them.
• Your REAPER toolbar file is copied to Virtue/Backups/ before the installer adds its button, so there is always a way back.

Only use the macOS “Erase my favourites and start fresh” option if you are deliberately throwing away your configuration. It is never needed to update. Should you ever use it, everything it removes is copied to a dated folder on your Desktop first.

Check your current version

Your installed version is shown in VFxM → Settings. Compare it against the release notes to see what changed.