Kinetic Jump Software, LLC - What's New in AppLife™ Update

What's New

Notable features and fixes for each major or minor version of AppLife Update.

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New Features in Version 1.3

Released April 3rd, 2008

Suppress Automatic Shutdown
A new ApplyUpdate option allows an update to be initiated without shutting down the hosting application.
Skip Actions during a Build
Skip actions during a build without removing the actions from the action list. You can include/exclude any action in the list.
Set More Shared Property Values
Use the Set Shared Property action to add common folder paths, the update version, or any text to the Shared Property collection, allowing the use of these values in other update actions.
Access Update Package Size (in bytes)
Access update package file size information immediately after checking for updates, and before downloading the update.
Add Default Network Credentials to the Auto Detected Proxy
Set a property on the Update Controller to add default credentials to the application scoped default web proxy.
Set a Preferred Download Path
Override the default client update package download folder and set it to a preferred download location.
Unlicensed Software Can Now Download Updates
The limitation preventing unlicensed AppLife Update software to detect and download updates has been removed.
New Limited License Available
A new limited license type is now available at a reduced cost. A limited license unlocks a subset of the features of AppLife Update.

New Features in Version 1.2

Released November 7th, 2007

Resume Previous Downloads
When an update download is started after a previously incomplete attempt, the download will resume where the previous download stopped.
Check Local Cache Before Download
If an update has already been downloaded but not yet applied, the Update Controller will attempt to use the previously downloaded update before returning to the designated network location to re-download.
Preserve Command Line Arguments on Restart
Configure your Update Controller to preserve and pass it's command line arguments when the host application is restarted after an update process is completed.
Modified Build Warning
Prevents inadvertantly overwriting a previously built update package by extending the confirmation dialog to appear when re-building any update that is older than 24 hours. You can optionally configure Make Update to always warn before building over any update package.
New Exclusion Filter on Add & Replace Files by Comparison Action
Exclude files from being included in an update. Define files explicitly or with wildcards such as *.config and *.pdb.
New Create File Shortcut Action
Add .lnk shorcuts during an update.
New Replace Public Key Action
Added an action that will un-register your previous public key with the AppLife Update service and register a new public key.

New Features in Version 1.1

Released October 10th, 2007

Update Engine User Interface Options
Implementers of AppLife™ Update Action List projects now have more control over the display and behavior of the Update Engine User Interface. You can choose to perform an immediate restart without requiring user intervention, you can choose to not restart the hosting application, or you can choose to silently update by not showing an update user interface at all.
SSL Download Support
Configure your application to check for and retrieve updates from SSL protected network locations. In addition, you can place updates in password secured network locations and configure your application to pass network credentials while checking for and retrieving updates.
Localized Built-In User Interface
The Update Controller and Update Engine are now localized to seven cultures. Provide update user interfaces for users in English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. Perform the string translations and you can utilize the AppLife™ Update user interface in any language. Get details here
x64 Operating System Compatibility
Update your applications on both 32 and 64 bit Windows XP and Windows Vista. Explicitly target the 64 bit Registry and File System, as well as register 32 and 64 bit COM components.
New Database Actions
Update client side databases during your updates. New provider-independent database actions allow you to easily perform transacted database work during updates. New actions include Begin Database Transaction, Commit Database Transaction, Transacted Database Query, Transacted Stored Procedure
Expansion Variables
Share information between actions with Shared Property expansion variables. New actions designed to set Shared Property variables can be used to read configuration information from xml files, registry keys, and databases. With expansion variables, custom actions are not needed as often. Expansion variables also allow interaction between custom actions and built-in actions.
Added Command Line Utility features
This feature allows for automating the switch between limited and normal availability of published updates.

"With AppLife Update, we now have a professional, robust updating mechanism in our software. In past projects we struggled to integrate Microsoft’s Application Updater Block, worked around the limitations of using Click-Once, and went crazy trying to build Windows Installer patches. AppLife Update delivers a simple, elegant solution with limitless extensibility."