Notify users when updates happen, and show release notes

Use case or problem

When new releases are pushed to us we should receive some sort of notice that the app has been upgraded and a chance to review the release notes.

As it is I have to choose to come to this forum and look at the recent releases. I just discovered yesterday that my app was upgraded several times over the last two weeks with some interesting new features I knew nothing about. (as a user of the Minimal theme the version number at the top is obscured, so I literally never even know the app is upgraded)

Edit to clarify: Automatic updates are great not only for new features but also for security patches. I receive insider builds and will continue to do so. This post is not a complaint about automatic updates. Rather, it is about the lack of notification when updates occur.

Proposed solution

When the app is updated and reopened, open a modal popup announcing the update and displaying the same release notes that are given in the forum.

Current workaround (optional)

None other than choosing to manually review the last several release notes in the forum and figure out what features I’ve missed out on using.

Related feature requests (optional)

None found.

3 Likes

I wouldn’t mind if this were a setting. I would rather come to the forums to see what’s changed or listen to the folks on the discord. I don’t want a popup, but I understand how some might.

Sure a setting would be fine. But I think its reasonable that the setting defaults to on, and the user can select a checkbox in the popup that says “Never show me these alerts again.” Which can of course be reversed through the settings. This is erring on the side of transparency to the user.

I’m looking at this simply from a UX standpoint. This software, that I paid for (as a donor because I believe in it and want to support the team) is changing without notifying me, nor do I have an opportunity not to auto-upgrade that I’m aware of. (this is not meant to sound hostile btw, simply a statement of fact)

That’s fine, I choose to be on the insider track intentionally and want to remain there, but it is not unreasonable to ask that the software not remove control from the user. The user should be able to anticipate changes. Right now there is no way to anticipate changes.

For example, I’m experiencing what appears to be a weird bug with long documents where switching back and forth between edit and preview mode causes it to scroll up much higher than it should.

I can’t tell if this was related to the upgrade because I have no idea when I was upgraded, because I’m not put in control of the process.

1 Like

You can turn off automatic updates in the settings. I still think some notification would be nice.

1 Like