Suggestion for automatic software update for cura

[Dilli 0]

Hey Ultimaker,

 

I'm a doctoral student working on 3D printing and smart materials at a polymer research institute. I would like to make a small suggestion, as Cura is releasing updates in almost every 2 months, it gets too hectic to download each new version and perform the administrator installation, as I'm working in a research institute, each time when we have to install a software, we have to get the assistance from IT department to get it installed, due to the IT safety rules. I hope many people who are using the software in the industry or professional department come across such an issue. 

 

So could you make it so, that one could agree or disagree for the software to download the new version automatically in the software and the updating or copying the new version occurs automatically by copying particular files to the particular part of the software location and update the software by it itself, with the consent of the user and not the administrator rights? And when one doesn't want the new software or particular version they can download it from your website and uncheck from the automatic version updates. 

I hope this would help lots of people who are working in the Industry and other institution.

  

That's it for now. 

Signing off

Dilip Chalissery

[ahoeben 2,016]

Bugs happen in Cura. I don't think you really want automatic updates. Sometimes you want to hold back on an update.

 

Having said that, you can extract the files from the Windows installer with just about any archiving application (eg 7zip), and run Cura.exe from there without installing it to Program Files. That should make it possible to use a newer version without bothering asking your IT department for support.

[kmanstudios 1,120]

46 minutes ago, ahoeben said:

I don't think you really want automatic updates.

Bad scenarios when you have auto-updates working.

 

1. Switching out the prints, on a tight schedule, need a reslice, and it is not slicing the same way.

 

2. Metered connections. Unfortunately, I am on one such animal now and it is a bitch to keep within the 'data usage budget' with all the crap sites though in these days. I would not want to be on the cusp and have that silly upgrade happen just a few days prior with another Pain in the Ass program. And, yes, it has happened with me. So, no speculation there.

 

That is just two off the top of my head based on real world situations I have seen.

 

So, I agree that there is a bit of a worry with auto updates. Oh, and I just do not want a program making decisions for me because it does not know what else is going on. Microsoft and Win 10 have shown me the issues with that crap.

[yellowshark 153]

Yup to put that in real life rather than from the software laboratory. The user control has to be failsafe. We have Cura on two laptops, one being a play around/test laptop and the other being the print control laptop for production. We would certainly not want our production laptop automatically updated and bringing down a days production!!

[yellowshark 153]

 

… and anyone who has to suffer the utterly effing mess of Windows Update under Windows 10 will know that not fixing something that aint broke is the way to a stress free life !!!!!

[Dilli 0]

I could agree to the above the concerns.

Thanks to @ahoeben, the unzipping the installatiuon file worked. So my problem is resolved.

Thanks for the comments and ideas.

 

 

[geert_2 558]

When giving lessons or presentations in front of a public, or when doing electronic exams, or research projects or production runs, you definitely don't want automatic updates interfering. Stability and predictability are key.

 

So, for me only manual updates, no automatic, even not optional via settings. Very often the default is "yes", and if you forget to reset this after a manual update, next time you're in trouble. I remember the Firefox 29(?) disaster, the Windows 7 to 10 auto-update disaster, Adobe- and Windows-updates in the middle of lessons, updates in the middle of exams of our students (even though updates were switched off), and so on. The only auto-updates that are funny, are those that fail on billboards in the street, creating a new form of street-art.

 

I also dislike software that splatters its program files, settings and temporary files in hundreds of different inaccessible directories all over the harddisk. In Windows typically: the register, program files, program files (x86), appdata, application data, userdata, local settings, my documents, temp, and tons of subdirectories of these. This is creepy and disgusting. Just have a look at where your browser and office-programs put all their files.

 

So I prefer manual installations from a zip-file: unzip and manually copy to the desired directory.

 

And manual test-runs from standalone versions (sort of portable) where the settings are stored in the same directory as the program.

 

I think all programs should be self-contained, independent units (directories), that you can carry around from one system to another, or move from one directory to another, without any negative side-effects, without losing settings, or without influencing other programs or older versions.