#1 2018-10-11 06:27

narayan
Senior Member
Registered: 2009-02-08
Posts: 470

Allow user to check for the latest version and optionally download it

Allow user to check the latest versions (both beta+stable).

Option-1:

The Help> About menu contains a link to the ReNamer download page, where he can see the latest beta and stable version numbers.
Provide download links nearby.
This option would be preferred by users who are worried about "calling home" features of any software.


Option-2:

The Help> About menu contains a link to fetch the version information from the website, and show it as a dialog.

If there is a new update, the dialog says: "A new version is available!" and provides the download link.
Otherwise the dialog says "Your version is up-to-date" (Or "You are using the latest version.")

Option-3:
Similar to option-2, but the user can select "update", which downloads the latest version and launches the installer.
The user follows the instructions in the wizard.
If the previous version needs to be uninstalled, that is also handled by the installer.

This option may not be preferred by cautious users.

Option-4:
User allows ReNamer to check the latest version automatically (allow him to set the period, from weekly, monthly, quarterly).
A dialog informs him whether there is a latest version.

After that, the workflow can be similar to options 2 or 3.

Last edited by narayan (2018-10-11 06:45)

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#2 2018-10-11 16:05

den4b
Administrator
From: den4b.com
Registered: 2006-04-06
Posts: 3,367

Re: Allow user to check for the latest version and optionally download it

Again, right on!

One of the major steps was the integration of product changelogs into the website, see Changelog for ReNamer for example.

Also, significant progress has been made to integrate this feature into the products, but then it hit a brick wall. A wide range of ways for implementing it, together with a potential eligibility restriction of the Pro licenses make the whole process and the GUI quite awkward. So this feature is currently paused until some epiphany comes to mind, to clear it all up.

Below is a working demo of a dialog that checks for updates, displays the relevant version information and offers links to download and view changes.

check-updates-1.png

check-updates-2.png

check-updates-3.png

check-updates-4-a.png

check-updates-4-b.png

check-updates-5.png

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#3 2018-10-11 16:21

den4b
Administrator
From: den4b.com
Registered: 2006-04-06
Posts: 3,367

Re: Allow user to check for the latest version and optionally download it

Another working theory is a pure minimalistic approach, where all of the work is done in the background and a simple status message is displayed in the About dialog. Clicking on the status message would take the user to the website where he/she could see more detailed information about the versions, changes and download links.

Here is a mock design which demonstrates a potential location of the status message.

Check-for-updates-in-About-dialog.png

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#4 2018-10-12 06:39

narayan
Senior Member
Registered: 2009-02-08
Posts: 470

Re: Allow user to check for the latest version and optionally download it

Love both options!

I think the passive workflows can easily handle both paid and free versions.
(By "passive", I mean where the user is just informed that there is a new version, and the rest is done manually.)

BTW this dialog can report all three versions: Free, Pro, Development.
Provide a link to compare their features in a single table.
Then he can decide what he wants to do while at the website.

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#5 2018-10-12 09:52

den4b
Administrator
From: den4b.com
Registered: 2006-04-06
Posts: 3,367

Re: Allow user to check for the latest version and optionally download it

narayan wrote:

I think the passive workflows can easily handle both paid and free versions.
(By "passive", I mean where the user is just informed that there is a new version, and the rest is done manually.)

Just to clarify, you mean the clickable status message in the About dialog which takes you to the website for more information?

Few more workflow options:

1) On-demand check, where user would initiate the check by clicking on a button.
1A) It could be a separate "Check for Updates" option in the main menu, which would display the status message in a simple prompt.
1B) A button in the About dialog, which is then replaced with the status message.

2) The check for new versions could be performed in the background when ReNamer starts.
2A) Status message is displayed in the About dialog.
2B) A simple prompt is displayed when ReNamer starts.

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#6 2018-10-12 12:32

narayan
Senior Member
Registered: 2009-02-08
Posts: 470

Re: Allow user to check for the latest version and optionally download it

you mean the clickable status message in the About dialog which takes you to the website for more information?

Yes, but the page should be tweaked to show the other relevant information and action links (download/update/upgrade).
So it's the user's choice whether to simply update the free version to latest stable, latest beta and Pro.

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