Why the update checker says there is no update when there is a newer version ...

I often get users and partners who think I've forgotten about something because they don't get notified of a minor update. They know there is a newer version. They click on 'Check for updates', but it tells them there is none. It is easy to assume something is wrong. This strange seeming behavior is by design though. The point of it is to avoid pushing out updates to those who don't need it. We all know how many minor updates I like to issue, and does anyone really want to be notified of every single one all the time? Even if you do, the masses who don't follow this blog may not have the same preference. At the same time, new users who are downloading the product for the first time, well I like to get the latest and greatest code in their hands.

The system works like this. Each build has an internal version number. For every new release, I essentially tell the database and script 'only tell users who have an internal version less than X of this update'. That means, in the case of v4.00.24 that only users of v4.00.22 and below were notified of it. Users of v4.00.23 weren't. Why? I didn't think it was important enough to bother them with... especially when v4.00.25 is coming around the corner (today). It has many more little changes and fixes.

Also, I have the ability to later go back and change that 'update version'. So, say I decided not to release this new .25, then I could push .24 out to users.

So, I could either keep doing it this way and continue letting people sometimes think I made some sort of mistake in the update system, or unnecessarily bother people, release fewer minor updates, or perhaps just quit changing the displayed version number with every minor update. It is a tough call, but I'll stay with the current system and just keep explaining my rationale for now.

Truly, if the update is if importance, it will be pushed out to you. Like I said, v4.00.25 is being pushed out to everyone when released. So, everything can be back 'in-sync' and this confusion can hopefully end.

I do apologize for the confusion that my methodology sometimes causes. No methodology is perfect, but I try to do what works best for the product and its users.