How to install Corona manually using the "unpack files" option?

How to install Corona manually using the "unpack files" option?

Sometimes, installing Corona manually may be the simplest solution to some installation issues. Here is how to do it:

Windows users:

1. Uninstall Corona:

To avoid issues, it is best to uninstall Corona first. To do it, simply go to the Windows "Programs and Features" or "Add or remove programs" list, search for the keyword "Corona", and find "Corona Renderer" or "Chaos Corona" depending on the version. 

2. Unpack the files:

1. Run the installer
2. Select "unpack files" and specify the location where the files should be unpacked
3. Proceed with the installation
4. The folder with the unpacked files will automatically pop up once the installation is finished

3. Install the plugin:

• Corona Renderer 5 and newer 

1. Make sure 3ds Max or Cinema 4D is closed
2. In the location where the files have been unpacked:
   
   If you're using 3ds Max: locate the "Autodesk\3ds Max 20XX" folder corresponding to your 3ds Max version
   
   If you're using Cinema 4D: locate the "Cinema 4D XXX Plugin" folder corresponding to your Cinema 4D version
   
   
3. Copy the "3ds Max 20XX" folder into your "Autodesk" folder (usually C:\Program Files\Autodesk\)
   If you're using Cinema 4D, copy the "Cinema 4D XXX Plugin" folder into your "Cinema 4D" folder (usually C:\Program Files\Maxon Cinema 4D XXX\)
4. Copy the "Corona" folder from the folder the files were unpacked to into your C:\Program Files\ folder
5. Once all of the above is done, Corona will appear on the list of available renderers in 3ds Max or Cinema 4D

• Corona Renderer 4 and older:
  

1. Make sure 3ds Max is closed
2. In the location where the files have been unpacked, locate the "3ds Max 20XX Plugin" folder
3. You should find a few .dll files in there, and two folders: "scripts" and "plugins"
4. Select all of the files inside the "3ds Max 20XX Plugin" folder, and copy them into your main 3ds Max installation directory (e.g.: C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2018\):
   • The .dll files should end up directly in the \3ds Max 2018\ folder
   • "plugins" folder should replace the existing "plugins" folder
   • "scripts" should replace the existing "scripts" folder
5. Once all of the above is done, Corona Renderer will appear on the list of available renderers in 3ds Max

Note #1: The folder structure has changed in Corona Renderer 5. In rare cases, you may need to change permissions for the C:\Program Files\Corona folder and all of its contents if you encounter issues with the error related to Corona paths. 

Note #2: in some rare cases, Corona does not appear in 3ds Max even after manual installation. The solution is to copy the content of Corona "plugins" folder into the 3ds Max 20XX\stdplugs directory instead of the default 3ds Max 20XX\plugins directory.

Note #3: the additional files (NVIDIA AI Denoiser and Material Library) do not have to be downloaded during the installation. You can also install them in offline mode. See: 

• How to install the NVIDIA GPU AI Denoiser in offline mode?
• How to install the material library in offline mode?

Mac users:

1. Uninstall Corona:

To avoid any possible issues, please first remove the Corona renderer following the instructions provided in the article How to remove an old Corona Renderer version.

2. Unpacking the files:

• Run the installer
• When prompted, choose the "Customize" option

• From the list, enable the appropriate C4D version and then change the destination folder using the "Other" option.
  NOTE: We are using C4D S22 for this example.
  
  

• Create a folder where the files will be extracted (e.g., you can create a folder named "Corona" on the Desktop) and click on the Choose button.
  
  
  
  
  
• Click on the Install button to continue with files unpacking.
  
  

3. Installing the files:

• Once the unpacking process is complete, a new folder named "plugins" will appear inside the newly created folder (for this example, the "Corona" folder is located on the Desktop).
  
• Next, copy the contents of this "plugins" folder to the following path:
  ~/Applications/Maxon Cinema 4D R22/plugins/
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Run Cinema 4D, and If successful, you should now see Corona up in the main menu.
• Proceed with the activation process listed here if you're activating Corona Renderer 7, or if you're installing Chaos Corona 8 or newer, please activate the software as described here.