Version 2.0 of the Auto FE Updater
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From: David Jennings on 2 Feb 2010 14:00 Send $500.00 per agreement. RSVP. daj "Tony Toews [MVP]" <ttoews(a)telusplanet.net> wrote in message news:u23dm5dh242ombtth4n0n0qqjfsqcbksvl(a)4ax.com... > This release of the Auto FE Updater is a huge, huge improvement in > developer ease of use. There's a wizard to get you going with the > basic operations in less than a minute. Need to make a change to a > setting? Just a few mouse clicks as all settings are updated by forms > rather than having to use Notepad as in the past. > > But it's even better. Now, with three mouse clicks, a formatted email > containing a hyperlink for the users initial install of your app will > be created. Your users can be running your app with two or three > mouse clicks. (This depends on the number of hyperlink warning > messages. (Sorry, nothing I can do about the email client security > warnings.) > > Have you looked at the Auto FE Updater in the past and decided it was > rather ugly to use? The thought of editing configuration files using > Notepad made you shudder with distaste? Taking an hour or three to > read somewhat confusing web pages was a task to be done next month or > next year? Visit http://www.autofeupdater.com and take a look. > > (More screenshots will likely go up there in a day or so.) > > I'd like to thank Tom Wickerath, Crystal Long, Clif McIrvin and Tom > van Stiphout for all the suggestions and criticisms as I bounced ideas > their way. I'd also like to thank John Mishefske and Michel for > their suggestions of using a listbox as an alternative to an ugly > multi-line tab control. See Interface Hall of Shame - Tabbed Dialogs > down a short ways for what it could've looked like. <smile> > -- > Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP > Tony's Main MS Access pages - http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm > Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/ > For a convenient utility to keep your users FEs and other files > updated see http://www.autofeupdater.com/ > Granite Fleet Manager http://www.granitefleet.com/
From: Tony Toews [MVP] on 2 Feb 2010 14:31 "David Jennings" <davidajennings(a)verizon.net> wrote: >Send $500.00 per agreement. RSVP. daj Ummm, what agreement? Tony -- Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP Tony's Main MS Access pages - http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/ For a convenient utility to keep your users FEs and other files updated see http://www.autofeupdater.com/ Granite Fleet Manager http://www.granitefleet.com/
From: David W. Fenton on 2 Feb 2010 16:53 "Tony Toews [MVP]" <ttoews(a)telusplanet.net> wrote in news:okmem5llrfa2ms0l77fb8jkqplmho5on7v(a)4ax.com: > "David W. Fenton" <XXXusenet(a)dfenton.com.invalid> wrote: > >>> This release of the Auto FE Updater is a huge, huge improvement >>> in developer ease of use. There's a wizard to get you going with >>> the basic operations in less than a minute. Need to make a >>> change to a setting? Just a few mouse clicks as all settings are >>> updated by forms rather than having to use Notepad as in the >>> past. >> >>I just installed it this morning. The real win is picking the icon >>and having your wizard figure out the index number (which is not >>obvious from the interface that Windows provides when creating a >>shortcut). > > That particular feature has been there for a few years and was on > a form called from the main INI file list form. Maybe it wasn't > obvious to open the form that allows you to select the icon file > and choose the icon. I haven't actually configured a site with it in at least 5 years. >>The one thing I didn't understand was why in some cases, the >>wizard would run, and in others it would tell me I hadn't provided >>an ini file in the commandline. > > Were you running it from different virtual systems to the same > folder on a common server? It uses the workstation id to decide > if you are a "master" and thus allowed to view the settings. If > you aren't it gives that message. Well, I first did it from a workstation, then went to another workstation to set it up (involved removing A2007 and installing A2003, then setting up the shortcuts), and I thought I'd just do the same thing I did on the first workstation. But it didn't work. I do recall now that the INI file for the updater did list the name of the machine I first set things up on, so is that what controls it? I'm wondering what the purpose of this feature is? Seems awfully easy to circumvent, no? > I"m seriously thinking of changing that to use the userid instead > or a combination of workstation and userid. That wouldn't have made a difference, as I needed to set it up for each user, so was logged on as the primary user for each workstation. > If a combination then I'd add > the second and subsequent combinations automatically with a > message telling you so. So that this would make more sense what > is all happening. > > I probably should've changed this a long time ago but just never > got around to it. Why not just add it as an option in the error dialog? -- David W. Fenton http://www.dfenton.com/ usenet at dfenton dot com http://www.dfenton.com/DFA/
From: Tony Toews [MVP] on 2 Feb 2010 21:41 "David W. Fenton" <XXXusenet(a)dfenton.com.invalid> wrote: >>>I just installed it this morning. The real win is picking the icon >>>and having your wizard figure out the index number (which is not >>>obvious from the interface that Windows provides when creating a >>>shortcut). >> >> That particular feature has been there for a few years and was on >> a form called from the main INI file list form. Maybe it wasn't >> obvious to open the form that allows you to select the icon file >> and choose the icon. > >I haven't actually configured a site with it in at least 5 years. Ah, that would explain it then. >>>The one thing I didn't understand was why in some cases, the >>>wizard would run, and in others it would tell me I hadn't provided >>>an ini file in the commandline. >> >> Were you running it from different virtual systems to the same >> folder on a common server? It uses the workstation id to decide >> if you are a "master" and thus allowed to view the settings. If >> you aren't it gives that message. > >Well, I first did it from a workstation, then went to another >workstation to set it up (involved removing A2007 and installing >A2003, then setting up the shortcuts), and I thought I'd just do the >same thing I did on the first workstation. But it didn't work. > >I do recall now that the INI file for the updater did list the name >of the machine I first set things up on, so is that what controls >it? > >I'm wondering what the purpose of this feature is? Seems awfully >easy to circumvent, no? Yes, it is. The whole idea though is that the developer(s) who are working with the Auto FE Updater gets the user friendly screens. But users, who aren't in that list of up to five workstations, only ever get an error message. >> I"m seriously thinking of changing that to use the userid instead >> or a combination of workstation and userid. > >That wouldn't have made a difference, as I needed to set it up for >each user, so was logged on as the primary user for each >workstation. > >> If a combination then I'd add >> the second and subsequent combinations automatically with a >> message telling you so. So that this would make more sense what >> is all happening. >> >> I probably should've changed this a long time ago but just never >> got around to it. > >Why not just add it as an option in the error dialog? Trouble is I don't want the users to be able to see the GUI and muck with things. I would far sooner err on the side of being too restrictive, which is what it is now. One option I'm going to put in real soon now is to give the developer another form so they can indicate which user accounts do have full access. That almost made it into this release but I wanted to get this last version onto the website. In thinking about this recently I have no idea why I chose to use work station as my main criteria way, way back in 2004 or so. In these days of Terminal Server and Virtual PC sessions it's more of a PITA. Userid really should be my only criteria here. Another much fancier option might be to interrogate Active Directory and give the initial user, the developer, a list of accounts which they could then click on to add. But that's not really necessary. Someone can easily type in six or ten characters of a user name to add to the configuration file. Tony -- Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP Tony's Main MS Access pages - http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/ For a convenient utility to keep your users FEs and other files updated see http://www.autofeupdater.com/ Granite Fleet Manager http://www.granitefleet.com/
From: Tony Toews [MVP] on 2 Feb 2010 21:45
"Tony Toews [MVP]" <ttoews(a)telusplanet.net> wrote: >"David Jennings" <davidajennings(a)verizon.net> wrote: > >>Send $500.00 per agreement. RSVP. daj > >Ummm, what agreement? Ahh, never mind. I see you've posted several other requests for $. Tony -- Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP Tony's Main MS Access pages - http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/ For a convenient utility to keep your users FEs and other files updated see http://www.autofeupdater.com/ Granite Fleet Manager http://www.granitefleet.com/ |