Manage app versions/updates
You can manage the updates of an installable cloud app by creating
different deployment versions of the app, and you can control whether a
client should upgrade the app by setting appropriate values of the
deployment version and minimum compatible version:
-
It is recommended that each time when you build and deploy the
updated application, you increment the number of “Deployment version“, for example, from
1.01, to 1.02, then to 1.03 etc., so you will have multiple versions
of the installable cloud app. And in case you want to roll back, you
can roll back
to an earlier version of app. -
The current deployment version number determines whether a
client needs to perform an update of the application, and the
minimum compatible version number determines whether the client can
continue running the existing version that is currently installed.
The user will be given choices to upgrade the app or continue
running the existing version (if the existing version is within the
range of the minimum compatible version and the current deployment
version). Only when the existing version that is currently installed
on the client is older than the minimum compatible version, a forced
update will be performed (the user can only choose to upgrade the
app, otherwise the app cannot run). -
There is no way to force a client to upgrade the app, unless
the existing version that is currently installed on the client is
older than the minimum compatible version, for example, if you set
the minimum compatible version number to be the same as the current
deployment version number, then the user can only choose to upgrade
the app to the current deployment version, otherwise the app cannot
run.
If you don’t want to manage the app versions and updates by using
the deployment version and minimum compatible version settings in the
PowerServer project painter, you will have to manage them manually. For
example, you will have to manually notify all users before stopping the
server for updating. After the server files are updated, if the end
users have a multi-instance problem, they will need to close all
applications first, and then start the application again to solve the
problem of file locking. Or you will have to use a separate site or path
in the server to deploy the updated application, and then notify the
users to use the new URL.