Suggestion: Updater

Development discussions for FossaMail
CharmCityCrab

Suggestion: Updater

Unread post by CharmCityCrab » 2016-01-15, 18:28

When one wants to update Pale Moon, it's as simple as clicking through Help>About Pale Moon>Check for updates, and then it checks for updates and offers you the opportunity to download and install.

FossaMail doesn't provide the same option when following the equivalent path within the program.

My suggestion is to create one. :)

It'll be obvious to users of Pale Moon and, historically, Firefox, where to check for the availability and find the latest update within the context of the program itself.

Right now, I'm not sure if there is an update mechanism within FossaMail or not. If it's there, it's non-obvious to me, which means it may be non-obvious to others. I knew to look for an update because I read a thread here that said there was one- but not everyone is going to always be checking the forum to see if there are updates available. Also, I wound up going straight to the file and downloading it and running the install program, which is a good option to have, and it was fine with me, but that's adding another layer of things a lot of PC users aren't used to doing, that may keep some users from running the safest most secure up to date versions of FossaMail. Obviously, adding an update mechanism like the one in Pale Moon wouldn't keep those who want to from installing updates from a file they download as they do with FossaMail right now- it'd just provide an extra option.

One principle of UI design is usually minimizing the number of steps a user has to do to get from the first step to the final step, because some users give up or get distracted at each step, meaning you reduce the number of people who actually get the task done the harder something is to find and the more clicks it takes to do it. And adding "check the forum", "go to a website", "find the right files", "download the files", and so on and so forth before you even get started trying to apply them within the program is a lot of extra steps.

Similarly, Lightning doesn't update through the add-on updater when you click "Check for updates" (Or at least isn't as of the time I'm typing). It says none available, even though one obviously is. So I manually downloaded that through the website also, and I'm still working on figuring out how to apply it [Figured out how to do this and did it, but my suggestion still applies :) ]. It'd be better if it was available through the existing add-on mechanism IMO.

Just a suggestion obviously. :) I realize the devs are busy working on Pale Moon 26 and that that's their priority, which is understandable. :) I'm just thinking this could be added to the long-term road map for FossaMail.

dark_moon

Re: Suggestion: Updater

Unread post by dark_moon » 2016-01-15, 19:11

I like your suggestion!
Fossa Mail get for sure more and more users and have a update info popup check and Help>About Pale Moon>Check would be nice.
CharmCityCrab wrote:Similarly, Lightning doesn't update through the add-on updater
Maybe a update url to check for this like in Pale Moon didn't exist. Maybe Tobin can help here.

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eskaton
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Re: Suggestion: Updater

Unread post by eskaton » 2016-01-15, 19:20

Moonchild addressed this in Sep of last year. I doubt his opinion has changed in that short time, but I certainly can't speak for him.

viewtopic.php?f=34&t=9365&p=63417&#p63417

FM is a side project, and with PM26 being the main focus right now, I'd say it would be a while before an internal updater would be worked on.

New Tobin Paradigm

Re: Suggestion: Updater

Unread post by New Tobin Paradigm » 2016-01-15, 19:21

FossaMail has the same common updating capability as Pale Moon does. Though usership is not at a point where allocation of resources for a dedicated FossaMail AUS (Automatic Update Server) Server can be justified. This may change in the future but for now you will have to manually update FossaMail.

DutchPete

Auto check for FossaMail updates

Unread post by DutchPete » 2016-01-16, 05:42

I recently installed FM 25.1.9. Version 25.2.0 is out now but FM has not informed me. I looked for the "check" option but did not find it.
Is there a way to set the automatic check?
Can FM then be set to install the upgrade?

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Nigaikaze
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Re: Auto check for FossaMail updates

Unread post by Nigaikaze » 2016-01-16, 17:28

DutchPete wrote:I recently installed FM 25.1.9. Version 25.2.0 is out now but FM has not informed me. I looked for the "check" option but did not find it.
Did you read any of the prior posts in this thread?
CharmCityCrab wrote:When one wants to update Pale Moon, it's as simple as clicking through Help>About Pale Moon>Check for updates, and then it checks for updates and offers you the opportunity to download and install. FossaMail doesn't provide the same option when following the equivalent path within the program.
Matt A Tobin wrote:Though usership is not at a point where allocation of resources for a dedicated FossaMail AUS (Automatic Update Server) Server can be justified. This may change in the future but for now you will have to manually update FossaMail.
Nichi nichi kore ko jitsu = Every day is a good day.

DutchPete

Re: Suggestion: Updater

Unread post by DutchPete » 2016-01-16, 18:52

OK, I must say it is a bit of a disappointment, and it makes me wonder how committed Moonchild is to FossaMail. I checked out the Android version of Pale Moon, and there is a warning that development has been suspended for lack of resources. Does this also apply to FossaMail, in view of the fact that 1 of the comments is that focus is on PM 26?
If not, can I download FossaMail 25.2.0 and then run the uninstaller? Or do I need to uninstall v25.1.9 first?

dark_moon

Re: Suggestion: Updater

Unread post by dark_moon » 2016-01-16, 21:35

You read it totaly wrong.
Nobody writes about the end of Fossa Mail. We have quite the opposite. Fossa Mail get a new update yesterday.

Pale Moon have priority yes, but thats only because its the main project here- same as its more focused on Windows then on Linux.

Yes you can override your Fossa Mail. No need for uninstall.

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Moonchild
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Re: Suggestion: Updater

Unread post by Moonchild » 2016-01-17, 01:20

DutchPete wrote:it makes me wonder how committed Moonchild is to FossaMail.
This has absolutely nothing to do with being committed or not.
If I wasn't committed to FossaMail, then the client wouldn't exist in the first place, nor see regular updates.

If you want to be informed of new releases, it is one click away: subscribe to the announcement board for FossaMail. If there is a new release, then you will automatically receive an e-mail triggered by the announcement.
"Sometimes, the best way to get what you want is to be a good person." -- Louis Rossmann
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DutchPete

Re: Suggestion: Updater

Unread post by DutchPete » 2016-01-17, 06:11

Moonchild wrote:
This has absolutely nothing to do with being committed or not.
If I wasn't committed to FossaMail, then the client wouldn't exist in the first place, nor see regular updates.

If you want to be informed of new releases, it is one click away: subscribe to the announcement board for FossaMail. If there is a new release, then you will automatically receive an e-mail triggered by the announcement.
Sorry to have upset you, I did not mean to. The reason I did so is because it would not the 1st time I come across/use a new app of which the developer stops development or plainly walks away from it. I used TB for 8 years & switched to FM because of the uncertainty surrounding the future of TB, so I would not want FM to go down the same road. Thanks for clearing that up for me :D

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