What inspired this wish list request? With JMP19 on the scene, I noticed an auto update feature for addins where JMP will look for udpates to files from an 'install folder'. The implementation was a bit "clunky" and ends up breaking a bunch of infrastructure we already had built.
What is the improvement you would like to see? Rather than living in the Views > Addins settings, these choices should be codified in the addin.def file all addins need. It will make it easier for those with existing infrastructures to manage as well as easier to implement part of JMPs cool features iteratively.
Why is this idea important? I want to take this feature to the next level. It's a super great idea, but its current implementation can easily cause issues for others. In my current infrastructure, updates are checked for against a master list to know when new versions are released. JMP's feature could deprecate the need for some of this, but it needs more finesse in how it's laid out. Some examples:
1. Addin installed from correct location, all is well... later on user can't access location and needs the update. I pass along the jmpaddin file to them so they can keep on going. They drag it into JMP ... now it's possible the install source is now the downloads folder and they wouldn't get notified of updates because of that change ... hard coding the correct source into the def file would allow this to work regardless.
2. Testing addins. Similar to #1 if you have a folder where your tests are located, installing a test file would change your install location to the test location and they wouldnt get notified when a new prod release happens. And depending on how files are named they may or may not be notified of new test versions ... because test versions are often 'handed' off, they include teh version in the filename... so an exact filename match isn't possible for the update checks.
In both of these examples, there are aspects of what JMP has done that could be useful, but the deployment team needs more control in how their addins shall be marked for update. There are probably more example, but I think this is enough to get the ball rolling for the update 'stuff' to be part of the addin.def file with one or more variables there.
Thanks!