Online updating with Sparkle

Having to update software is an annoying, but essential, part of modern computing life! All software has bugs that need fixing and good software should add new features as well. We try with MacVector to do both, But that means that from time to time you will need to download and install a new version.

Starting from MacVector 13.0.1 we added the ability for semi automatic online updating via Sparkle.

MacVector will check once per day that the installed version is the latest version available. If not it asks the user if they want to download and install. If the user answers yes it will download and install the new version without any further user intervention. Sparkle is very widely used in the Mac world and makes installing updates very easy.

Following a release you will see a dialog similar to this screenshot.

Software Update

Just click on Install Update and … well that’s it. You do not need to do anything else. Sparkle really makes the pain of downloading and updating software go away. Apart from having to click that Install Update button it’s fully automatic. It also allows you to skip a version or install it at a later date. It will not pester you to upgrade.

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