Hello all,
For some time now I have been thinking about the update proces Ancestris has.
There is always a released version, that you can download, and install it and it also (when possible) installs the java you need. So in fact it is a question of download, install and press go.
The new version, here version 12, is different. You have to download, unzip, make sure to have the correct Java and such. After that you can start it.
Now when you have installed the newer version, here V12, you can leave it untouched, and everytime you load it, it finds the updates since the last time loaded, downloads them and installs them for you.
A very easy process.
But when I am a firsttime user, adviced to use the newest version because of all the new features, or newer things I need, thats difficult. Certainly the java part.
Now I understand it might take lots of time to develop/create the whole process of making that automatic loading version of Ancestris. And it is way easier to just zip the latest build and put that online, but I do have a question:
Would it be possible to change that, so make a completely new instance of the latest Ancestris version (now version 12), say: once a month, and let users download that. Because then, after installing it, that version would automatically update itself to the daily version.
So no more zipped up latest build but the same kind of automatically installable latest version, once every so many weeks.
I think, especially new users would find it way easier to start with Ancestris.
I have looked at new users asking questions, and then I look at the last time they were on the forum, and often thats one day or so, after asking that question.
I really have the feeling lots of people leave way to fast.
There even has been a post of someone (i think it was the french forum) describing that even if he helped a whole group of users, many of them went to another program.
Ancestris has a very easy system of updating itself, so maybe new users would like that much better, then having to go through lots of text on the "How to install the latest version page".
What do you all think of this?
Also, because i think its terribly missing, i started working on FAQ pages. So maybe we can then prevent the same questions to be asked many times, or point to the FAQ's.
And YES, of course I will write those FAQ pages in English, in French and in Dutch. In fact I write them in English now, to translate them later into the other 2 languages.
Cheers,
Tineke
