Install Inspector and change the release channel

Install Inspector and select the stable or beta release channel through the user installer settings file.

Install Inspector

Install Inspector with the installer provided for your Visual Components version. Start Visual Components once so the installer can create or load the user settings file, then close Visual Components before editing that file.

Select a release channel

The installer reads ReleaseChannel from the user Installer settings.json file and uses it when checking for Inspector updates.

The stable release channel is the default. The default is represented by an empty or null ReleaseChannel; the shipped settings file uses null, which the installer treats as equivalent to release.
The beta channel is a public release channel. Set ReleaseChannel to "beta" to use it.

Important: The beta channel may be behind the stable channel outside an active beta. It receives updates only during active beta periods. When a beta is released as stable, switch back to the stable/default setting if you want stable releases.

Follow the release channels

Release history showing beta branching from Stable 2, receiving two beta updates, and merging into Stable 3

The main branch represents the stable/default channel. The beta branch is updated only during an active beta, so it can remain behind stable. After a beta is released as stable, switch ReleaseChannel back to null to receive later stable releases.

Change the setting

Close Visual Components.
In File Explorer, open shell:Personal, then open:
```
Visual Components\5.1\Inspector\Installer settings.json
```
This is the path documented for Visual Components 5.1. For another Visual Components version, use the corresponding product/version folder under your Documents product folder.

Set ReleaseChannel to one of these values:

Stable/default:

{
  "ReleaseChannel": null
}

Beta:

{
  "ReleaseChannel": "beta"
}

Save Installer settings.json.
Start Visual Components again. Inspector reads the setting and checks for an available update on the selected channel.

If the file is not present after installation, start Visual Components once, close it, and repeat these steps.