Trapcode

Your copy of Trapcode is not registered. Buy a license key to get rid of the cross. If you have already got the license key, press "Options" in the plug-in and then "Enter Key...".

Enter your name and key. If you have done this and it still doesn't work, first double check the name (has do be exactly as it was typed in when ordering) and the key.

Shine cannot resize the layer, so you need to make a new comp-sized layer and apply Shine to that instead. There are two ways to do this:
• Pre-compose your layer (using the "Move all attributes..." option) and then apply Shine to that comp instead.
• Apply Shine to a comp-sized adjustment layer above the layer you want "Shined".

Particular and Form definitely share some attributes and capabilities. There are some parts of the plug-in that share code but they are aimed at different tasks and at creating completely different kinds of effects. Particular is built for creating animated particles with photo realistic results like creating explosive fire balls or fireworks where the particles change over time. Form is a 3D surface generator where the surface can be made from particles but the particles are static (they don't have a life span where they live and die). Form surfaces can then be animated by using built-in maps, fractal distortion, dispersion, displacement, audio and more.

So to recap:
Form uses particles to generate the appearance of a 3D surface like a sphere, grid or terrain with unique effectors that animate the surface. Particular focuses on creating 3D volumes of particles for photo realistic effects like fire, sparklers and more.