Beta · Windows
Install guide — Windows
FLOATING v0.4.0, VST3 format, Windows x64.
This is a beta build — not signed, not yet through a full installer. That’s expected, not a mistake on your end.
Install
-
Extract
FLOATING-Windows-latest-beta.zip(right-click → Extract All, or your usual tool). -
Copy the
FLOATING.vst3folder to:C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\
If that folder doesn’t exist, create it first. Writing here needs administrator permission (Windows will prompt via UAC) — that’s normal for this location, not specific to FLOATING.
Prefer not to deal with admin rights? You can instead use the per-user path, no elevation needed:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Common\VST3\
About the security prompt you won’t see
Unlike some other platforms, Windows doesn’t require VST3 plugins to be signed, and SmartScreen only gates programs you launch directly — a plugin loaded by your DAW isn’t launched the same way, so there’s no “unblock” step to hunt for here. The only prompt you may see is the standard UAC permission request from writing into Program Files, which is about the folder, not about FLOATING itself.
Confirm it’s installed
Open your DAW, force a plugin rescan if it doesn’t appear automatically, and look for FLOATING under VST3 instruments/effects (check your DAW’s own scan log if it doesn’t show up).
New in this build
- FREE | SYNC. The BPM Sync toggle is now a mode switch in the same place. FREE plays as before, with tempo playing no part. SYNC lands the next Capture on the bar and keeps it there whatever you move — Rate, Window, the Horizon, Shape and Stretch all hold the grid. The panel turns blue in SYNC.
- The knobs read what you hear. In SYNC they show
4/3Xor1 BARinstead of percentages, and the line under the switch saysON GRID,SYNCEDorCAPTURE TO SYNC. - Choir’s Shape changes the timbre. BODY leads with the octave below, GLOW with the octave above; the level holds.
- Fixed: a synced Memory held for a long time no longer drifts off the bar, and the Horizon’s LISTENING and REMEMBERING labels no longer overlap.
- Stretch’s top position reads DRIVE, its fastest forward progression, instead of CLEAN.
Earlier Windows work still applies: Ctrl-click Capture steps back to the previous Memory, and keyboard navigation works — Tab moves through the panel and the arrow keys change values. Both confirmed by hand in Ableton.
Verify what you downloaded (optional)
Every release carries a SHA256SUMS.txt. In PowerShell, from the folder you downloaded into:
Get-FileHash FLOATING-Windows-latest-beta.zip -Algorithm SHA256
Compare the Hash it prints against the line for that filename in SHA256SUMS.txt. PowerShell prints it in capitals and the file lists it in lower case; that difference does not matter.
Known issues on this beta
Print / Drag has not been tested on Windows
Print writes a WAV and drags it into the session. That path is exercised on macOS but has not yet been run on Windows, so the folder it writes to — <User Music Directory>\FLOATING\Prints\ — and the drag itself are unverified here. If you try it, tell me what happened either way.
Uninstall
Delete the FLOATING.vst3 folder from wherever you installed it. There’s no separate uninstaller for this beta.
Feedback
Bug reports, confusion, and “this should work differently” are all equally welcome. Reach me on Instagram or Telegram at @floamusic / @floamusic.
The most useful report says what you did, what you expected, and what happened instead — plus your DAW and its version, and a screen recording if it’s something you can see or hear.