A few AP ideas

Suggestions for future improvements, adding to scripts, or adding new scripts.
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undro
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A few AP ideas

Post by undro »

A few ideas regarding the core AP:

* List unapplied updates first.
* A toggle to hide updates that can't be applied because of missing dependencies (or just show them greyed out at the end of the list, or an icon).
* A toggle to hide already applied updates.
* A text describing an update's dependency (e.g. .NET 3.5), and a way to jump to it (if that is another available item that can be installed).
* Color-code container items (e.g., blue when all contained updates applied, something else for mixed-state), not just the updates themselves.
* Color-coding legend (blue/red/black).
* More details on items (I think this was available in an older version?).

But I'm unclear about something. If an update isn't shown because it needs another update to be applied first, does this mean AP needs to be run multiple times, each time see if more updates appeared, apply these, repeat until nothing new shows?

Is the source code available, BTW?
undro
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Joined: Fri May 09, 2014 2:36 am

Re: A few AP ideas

Post by undro »

How about adding to the updater/downloader a way to multi-select, separately from the packages, the wanted OSes. This can be used to further filter what's downloaded. For example, the dotNET packages include files for XP to Win8. Some are irrelevant to some OSes. On XP that's about 220MB of useless files: everything named Windows6*, Windows8*, and dotNET 4.5.

Likewise a separate selection for 32/64-bit could be useful. Matters were perhaps more clear cut when the bitness was only for the OS, but now there are other things. In the addons/extras there are separate APMs or install files for Flash, Silverlight, various VC redists, Network Monitor, etc.
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TheAPGuy
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Re: A few AP ideas

Post by TheAPGuy »

Hidden updates can be seen if you are using the test version of Autopatcher. The non-usable updates are grayed out and if you click on them the description panel will tell you why you can't use it. I forgot about dependency cases I will have it display a reason why the updates that depend on others are grayed out.
The next version will have a check box in options for hiding or revealing hidden updates.
Updating container items with color coding can be done.
What details are you alluding too?
AP would need to be run multiple times to install updates that are depended on by other updates. This would almost always require a reboot anyways.

Source code is not available and honestly if you saw the original... you might cringe a little if you have some understanding in VB. Even now there are still bits of the old code and some places I have hacked up and have not straitened out yet. It is still a mess but, its a much better mess. I have to convert this all to VB net eventually or its going to kill me being so limited in my tool set.

When we eventually switch over to the new APM format you will be able to select individual downloads. There is much that can be done since there will be much more scripting available to the script managers since they will not be managing a large script but, many tiny scripts in the form of 1 APM for 1 update = multiple downloads (a download for each OS type/bit per that update).
undro
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Re: A few AP ideas

Post by undro »

I don't remember how AP used to look, but I have a vague memory of being able to see more details about the updates than 2 lines of text. Maybe show in addition to the text also update release date and a copyable URL box to the MS article?

By the way, the "More Info" link stops working after clicking it for two updates, or something of the sort.

I didn't realize it was made with VB. I used to use BASIC in the old days, but nowadays I find the language inconvenient.

What scripting language/format do you plan to use?
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TheAPGuy
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Re: A few AP ideas

Post by TheAPGuy »

its not a scripting language per say... its just a drastic change to the current. I will link to the original post. when I find it.

It starts a bit earlier but, here is where I post an example of the new apm.
http://www.autopatcher.net/forums/topic ... __p__16816
That is not the current state it is in but, that is as close as I publicly showed I think.

Basically the premise was to push most of the detections out of the program and into txt files. The program will load the detection files first and store the results in memory under the desired variable names. Then when the apms are read in, they ask for the variable results to know how to sort/hide/check off themselves. This means that the project could become self sufficient without a programmer needed to update the program every time a new version of windows came out. It would just need someone to add a detection in the detection file.
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