Updates for Existing Adminsoft Users
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Automated Updates
With the release of our 2012 version, the mechanism for updating our software
has changed. The software is now updated automatically from a special area of
our website (that is accessed directly by the software). This can even be
done while other people are using the software - although they will
understandably need to exit
out of the software, and go back into it, in order to run the newly updated version.
The initial install of the new 2012 version must be done in a remote support
session (or site visit) by one of our personnel.
The 2012 version of the software will quickly check for
updates once per day - on the first time that a user with "Administrator"
privileges signs into the software. This administrator may notice a slight
delay of 1-2 seconds, and will either receive a message saying that the software
is up-to-date, or one advising that a new version has been downloaded and asking
for approval to install it. For users who do not have Adminsoft
"Administrator" privileges (and on subsequent sign-on by administrators that
day), the software will not check for updates, and no associated messages will
be displayed.
You can also set up a Windows
Scheduler task to check for (and install) updates (each morning before
people arrive at work, say). Users with "Administrator" privileges
can check for and install updates at any stage during the day, through the new
"Tools > Administrator > Software Updates" menu. (You can also view
the recent
update history, and the status of various modules from that menu.)
We plan to normally publish new versions once per month. This will be roughly in the middle of
each month, which tends to be quieter for most users in terms of their billing
activity. It also lets our test sites (and we ourselves) run final testing
on the new version (using our own live data for real), before rolling it out to all
other users. However, because the process is quite quick, we have
implemented daily checks for updates, in case we ever need to urgently roll out
a new version of a particular module to all sites that run it. Updates are
modular and have been compressed (using 7-Zip), to minimize Internet band-width.
The software will only download and install those program files (modules) that
have been changed (and which you are licensed to use).
Important Note: You will need to have installed 7-Zip on all
workstations that are used by "Administrators" !!! (Download
this from http://www.7-zip.org/download.html
)
Version History Notes
Our Help Library contains information on the new enhancements introduced in various versions.
Click here to view Version History
Technical Info on the new mechanism for
hot/web updates
With the 2012 version we have replaced the old GECL.exe with a new
Adminsoft.exe and MainMenu.app. (We have provided a new (and very
small) GECL.exe that merely calls Adminsoft.exe, so that sites who have been
running the new VFP9 platform don't have to change shortcuts on all
workstations.) The master program files for the utilities library and
all modules (*.APP) are all now located in an "\Adminsoft\_Apps" folder.
The automatic update program will make a backup copy of old program files
(in an "Old" sub-folder), before it overwrites them with a newer version.
The new Adminsoft.exe program maintains a working copy of the master program
files (*.APP) in an "Adminsoft" sub-folder hanging off the local computer's
Windows "Temp" folder, and uses these when running the software. This
allows the master files to be updated while users are running their local copy
of the software ("hot updates"). When users close out of the software, and
go back into it, Adminsoft.exe will update the local working copy with any new
master *.app files that have just been installed. This scheme has
additional advantages in that it should reduce network traffic, and allow the
software to run slightly faster (if local hard disk speed is faster than access
to the server over your LAN).You can set up a Windows Scheduler task to
check for updates at 6.00am, say. This should "start in" the "\Adminsoft"
folder on your server, and run the "AdminsoftWebUpdate.exe" program in that
folder. (If you have two or more separate datasets that run different
modules, then the "Start In" folder should be that of the main data set - which
runs the most modules. If necessary, you can set up another scheduled task
(with a different "Start In" folder), to run updates for any other datasets that
use other modules not run in the main dataset.)
