To optimize asset management across your entire team or across multiple projects, you can convert single assets or asset hierarchies into packages and reuse them in multiple experiences. When a package is updated, you or your team members can update specific copies to the most current version, update all copies across an experience, or set specific copies to auto update. Packages also include a configuration mechanism that lets package creators and editors include options to customize a package's behavior.
Creating Packages
A package can be created from any single node or sub-tree root node in the data model.
In the Explorer window, right-click the desired object/node and select Convert to Package from the contextual menu.
In the dialog window, fill in the requested details. In particular, if you're working in a group, set Ownership to the desired group in which you have permission to create/edit group experiences.
Ownership transfers are not supported by the asset system, so carefully consider the owner when creating a package.
Click the Submit button.
Once complete, a "chain link" symbol over the object's icon identifies it as a package. Additionally, you'll see a new PackageLink object parented to the object.
The PackageLink object should not be deleted or reparented. Doing so for any package copy breaks the association with the published version and converts the copy back into a normal object.
Inserting Packages
To insert a package which doesn't already exist in the current place, you must initially insert it from the Inventory → My Packages sort.
Once you've inserted a package into a place's data model, it appears in the Packages folder of the Asset Manager and remains there even if you later delete all copies of it. However, when you publish the place, the folder will update to reflect only packages used within the place.
Modifying Packages
You can edit packages and their children just like other objects. On the first edit that modifies a package instance, an alert dialog appears, providing advanced notice that a modified package cannot be updated through any means and must be reverted to undo a series of edits.
Most edits will flag the package as modified, although the following changes are not considered package modifications:
| Edit | Modifies Package |
|---|---|
| Changing the name of the root node. | no |
| Changing the position or rotation of the root node of a package that is a BasePart, Model, or GuiObject. | no |
| Changing the Enabled property of a root node GuiObject such as a ScreenGui, SurfaceGui, or BillboardGui. | no |
| Changing a part reference of a Weld inside the package that references an instance outside of the package. | no |
Once modified, packages with unpublished changes are marked with a yellow dot in the Explorer hierarchy.
Adding or Updating Configurations
You can include instance attributes at the root of a package to customize its behavior, for example the max speed of a packaged vehicle or the debounce time for a packaged button.
When you publish a package, the current set of attributes/values will become the package's default configurations. On any given copy of a package, configurations are shown in bold italics and those attribute values can be changed on a per-instance basis. When package copies are updated, modified configuration values will be preserved, while other attributes will be updated to the latest default value.
Currently the only way to handle configuration values is to add scripts in the package which read and apply behavior based on the configuration at runtime.
If you simply want to update the default values for configurations, you can change those attribute values and republish the package (the package will not be flagged as modified in this case). If you want to publish other modifications but not change the default configuration values, you should publish on a package without any value changes, or revert the configurations to their defaults before you publish.
Nested Packages
You can nest packages inside of other packages to maintain and collaborate on complex hierarchies, such as a series of vehicle mechanics which can be modified independently of the vehicle's parent package.
If you modify a nested package, both the nested package and the parent package are considered as modified. You must publish changes to any nested package before you're allowed to publish changes to its parent package, since publishing the parent would mark it as current/unmodified and conflict with the nested package's modifications.
Package Scripts
Each script within an unmodified package is read-only and shows a notification on the top with a hyperlink to unlock the script.
Clicking the hyperlink:
- Flags the package as modified regardless of whether you edit the script.
- Removes the notification/hyperlink from other scripts within the package.
Once the package is published and moved to an unmodified state, the scripts under it become read-only with a hyperlink to modify.
Publishing Package Changes
You can publish a modified package (marked with a yellow dot) to make those modifications available to other copies of the package throughout the place and across all experiences. Note that it's not required to publish a modified package before publishing a place (the modified version will be saved along with the place for future iteration).
To publish changes to a package:
In the Explorer window, right-click the modified copy (marked with a yellow dot) and select Publish to Package.
For package copies set to automatically update, Studio will immediately pull in the updated version. Other copies will be marked with a green sync icon next to the name and you can individually update or mass-update them as needed.
Updating Outdated Copies
You can update outdated package copies to the most recent version, or you can continue to use the older version.
To update one or more package copies to the latest version:
In the Explorer window, locate outdated copies by the green sync icon next to their name.
Right-click a single outdated copy and select Get Latest Package from the contextual menu, or select multiple copies (at least one of them modified), right-click, and select Get Latest For Selected Packages.
The Get Latest [] menu option is disabled if any of the package copies have been modified. If you're working on a series of unpublished changes, you'll need to revert the changes before you can fetch the latest version.
Mass Updates
Extensive use of packages may result in many package copies across multiple places in an experience. In addition to individual syncing and automatic updates, you can update all copies of a package through mass updating.
(Recommended) Close other Studio instances with any of the experience's places open; this prevents another unsaved instance of a place from potentially overwriting your updates.
In the Explorer window, right-click the desired package and select Update All from the contextual menu.
In the popup window, below the version/date details, check All to select all places in the experience, or select only the specific places to apply the mass update.
Click the Update button.
Mass updating packages automatically saves the selected places but does not publish them, so you'll need to publish separately to see the changes.
In order to prevent unintended overwrites, mass updating does not affect modified versions of a package, but Studio will alert you of the number of packages not updated through the process.
Automatic Updates
To make syncing easier, you can enable a package copy to update automatically whenever a newer version is published and when it exists inside an open Studio session.
In the Explorer window, expand the package's hierarchy tree and select its PackageLink object.
In the Properties window, enable the AutoUpdate property. This property only applies to the highest level parent package in a hierarchy of nested packages, meaning automatic updates will only occur when the parent package is updated.
Automatic updating does not apply to modified package copies. Once you modify a package instance, its AutoUpdate property becomes disabled and is ignored.
Sharing and Access Levels
If desired, you can share packages with friends or grant access to specific user roles within your group.
In the Explorer, Toolbox, or Asset Manager, right-click the desired package and select Package Details from the contextual menu.
In the popup window, select Permissions in the left column to reveal sharing/access options for either group-owned or user-owned packages.
For a group-owned package, expand the roles tree by clicking the › next to the group's icon, then choose a permission level for each role. Selection boxes that are faded/disabled indicate that the permission is already configured for that role and it cannot be changed from this window.
Permission Description Edit Members of the role will be able to use, view, and edit the current and previous package versions, including publishing changes to it. Granting edit access to a role from this window only grants access to the specific package. No Access Members of the role will not have access to any new versions of the package, although they will retain access to the current and previous versions. For a user-owned package, search for a friend through the search field, click their avatar/username, and choose a permission level.
Permission Description Use & View The user will be able to use and view (but not edit) the current and previous package versions. Once you provide a user with this ability, you cannot revoke access to a copy they already inserted into their experience; revoking access will prevent re-insertion or package updates, but package copies in their data model will remain intact. Edit The user will be able to use, view, and edit the current and previous package versions, including publishing changes to it.
Reverting Package Changes
Instead of undoing an entire series of package changes one by one, you can revert unpublished changes in one action, restore a package to a previous version, or revert changes to specific configurations.
Reverting Unpublished Changes
To undo an entire series of unpublished changes:
In the Explorer window, locate modified copies by the yellow dot next to their name.
Right-click a single modified copy and select Undo Changes to Package from the contextual menu, or select multiple copies (at least one of them modified), right-click, and select Undo Changes to Selected Packages.
Restoring to Version
To restore a package to a previously published version:
In the Explorer, Toolbox, or Asset Manager, right-click the desired package and select Package Details from the contextual menu.
In the popup window, select Versions in the left column. The currently published version and previously published versions appear (V1, V2, …) along with the date/time they were published.
Click the checkmark next to the version you want to restore and click Submit.
Reverting changes to a package does not reset the configuration to the default. See Reverting Configuration.
Reverting Configurations
To revert any configuration attribute to its default, select the Reset option from the gear menu in the Attributes section of the Properties window.
Comparing Script Changes
When a package object contains scripts, or the script itself is a package, you can compare differences line-by-line using the built-in diff tool. This can help you decide whether to update as well as explore what else in the experience may need edits to make the update compatible.
To compare script changes:
In the Explorer window, right-click a modified or outdated package. Remember that the package must either be a script or contain scripts.
Select View Script Changes from the context menu.
In the Diff Result tab that opens, compare all of the changes between the current package copy and the latest published or local version, similar to source control applications.
In this example comparison, the print() command on line 1 was modified. The line highlighted in red shows line 1 as it exists in the outdated script copy, while the green line immediately following shows line 1 as it exists in the published script package. In addition, two new lines were added to the published script package: an empty break on line 2 and a new print() command on line 3.
