code: protected static Properties stringToProperties(String propertiesString)
      {
          Properties properties = new Properties();
  
          if (propertiesString != null) {
              try {
                  properties.load(new StringReader(propertiesString));
              }
              catch (IOException e) {
                  throw new RuntimeException(e);
              }
          }
  
          return properties;
      }
docs: Converts String-serialized properties from {@code properties} field to
  {@linkplain Properties} object. If null, returns empty properties.
  
  @param propertiesString propertiesString string
  @return properties