How does one install DynaShape these days?
There used to be a google drive link from which you can download the package and place it directly in your package manager. However, I think it does not exist anymore. So is building it from source the only way? Just wanted to avoid going to Visual Studio and referencing all the external data, packages, etc.
Thanks 
Package manager is the best path for installation, and has been for a few years now.
I just installed 0.9.1 on Dynamo 3.1 to confirm I am not crazy, and it works fine. Also did it last month. And a year ago. And a year before that…
Think you’re referring to documentation that was intended to allow faster publishing of content while the team worked something out, and they did about 3 months later (but admittedly it’s been awhile).
The hard part is trying to align the Dynamo build with the Dyna-Shape build. That part is easier said than done but doable - use the dates as your guide.
ah, I see… So they must have figured it out, while the documentation remained unchanged… Then it is for sure version related, as there is also no mention as to which package version corresponds to which Dynamo / Revit release 
I guess then trial and error is the only way…
Thanks!
Which build of Dynamo are you in?
I first tried 2.6, but I would also try to install it in 2.13 / 2.19 / 3.0
There is no way to align a single package version of pretty much any package across all those versions. Plan on a separate environment for each Dynamo release.
2.12 is the oldest supported build, and 2.6 hasn’t been supported for over a year now so you’ve got security concerns to address if you’re using it. Anything you build for versions before 2.12 that will have very low (if any) ROI so I recommend you focus on where users will be and are not where they are leaving.
2.13 and up I know work of PM, 2.12 might but I can’t recall. Note that you’ll need to install a compatible MeshToolkit package for each build as a pre-requisite, so get those on each build and then move to DynaShape.
yeah, I never meant getting a single package version for all Dynamo builds…
well… it’s a weird one, Dynamo 2.6 seems to be compatible with DynaShape 0.7.30 / Mesh Toolkit 3.0, while 2.16 / 2.19 should ideally operate with DynaShape 0.8.2. However, I’m still not sure, as some package version contain those nice sample files, while others do not. Also, package managers in different Dynamo versions show a really different data in terms of the year a certain version was published:
![image|274x500]I’ve also had a weird experience with version 0.9.0, where sample files were included, but once I opened one of them, I got a warning it contains nodes from the package version 0.9.0, which I do not have installed 
Anyway… it seems like the best solution here is simply doing it with Rhino Inside, I would have already created the geometry, while struggling with this 
Managing environments is something that has to be done on an ongoing basis, and isn’t something you can ‘just do’. Similarly to use Rhino Inside you have to install the right versions of Rhino and RhinoInside for each update, then the associated settings and packages for the content in there… if you’ve already got it set up for all users then great, but if not know you’ll have to mange the full set just the same and document ‘what is needed’ as you go.
Yeah, that’s true, but there’s also a little extra complexity related to managing Dynamo packages… I’m not gonna go into details, but there are numerous factors making this quite complicated… So it makes sense to do that for packages of a more general use. For a more ‘niche’ ones, like that one, I don’t think it makes sense. Check out the Kangaroo for GS, which is doing more or less the same thing: Kangaroo Physics | Food4Rhino
There’s one version compatible with GS for Rhino 6 and all of the rest are compatible with GS for both Rhino 4 and 5 (which is the same version of GS by the way). That’s it.
Anyway, thank you for your support. I just don’t think it makes sense to struggle with that anymore
Hello @danail.momchilov - totally hear the frustration and pain here. The Package Manager has not stood the test of time, and is now causing a series of different issues including the one you are mentioning. Infrastructurally, DynaShape requires MeshToolkit to run so you immediate have a Dynamo + MeshToolkit + DynaShape matrix dependency which is problematic.
While it won’t help you today, we are working on a couple of things right now that will allevaite this issue:
This will help the future you, but obviously not so much the you today 
Hi, @solamour !
Thank you so much for this detailed breakdown of the issue It’s good to know it’s being recognized and worked upon. Furthermore, DynaShape being integrated with OOTB nodes sounds amazing! I think Dynamo will then be more or less the only node graph tool with such functionality already built in (even though maybe blender does). So… looking forward!
You are most welcome @danail.momchilov ! We’re looking at what kind of Solvers should be present out of the box, with the Physics/Form finding one that DynaShape is based upon the first 
