UpDEnhanced support thread

[jharp]

This is the support thread for the UpDEnhanced extension (windows only atm). This extension is designed to help with some of the pain felt with updates to Fantasy Grounds. UpDEnhanced allows you to select precisely what you want updated. You can update any, some, or none of your application, rulesets, or forge products. Comple control is given to you on what is updated.

Installation details and usage instructions are at https://github.com/jharp/UpDEnhanced

UpDEnhanced can be installed without a license to make certain it launches for you. Afterwards you can obtain a license at https://forge.fantasygrounds.com/shop/items/944/view

Let me know if there are any requests and I'll see if I can implement them in future releases.

Thanks,

Jason

[jharp]

Documentation at: Documentation (https://github.com/jharp/UpDEnhanced)

Version History


UpDEnhanced supports version 260 of the FG Updater. However, after updating the FG Updater you will need to reinstall UpDEnhanced.

WARNING - When you update FG Updater it does an update run immediately after. So you can either accept that OR click cancel QUICKLY!



Feature Requests

Revert to older versions of products.


Version 1.1.2

Updated for FG 5+


Version 1.0.10

Feature Added - When you launch it defaults to sorted by Match column.
Feature Added - Each group header lists the number of updates within itself. No indication if zero updates are within.


Version 1.0.9

Fixed hang when you have multiple copies of a product.


Version 1.0.8

Fix - Slow scroll mouse response
Added - UUID field for forge items
Added - Web button for forge and purchased items. Opens a web page to the item.


Version 1.0.7

Original release - Windows Platform Only


Current Known Bugs


If you have multiple products with the same name then it crashes during update. This can occur if you have multiple products thru buying it multiple times in humble bundles.
Only supports the Windows platform. No OSX/Linux support.

[Lo Zeno]

Welp, I gave it a quick test and I'm absolutely, positively impressed so far. Great work!

[jharp]

Thanks.

[jharp]

I'll be looking into keeping a backup copy of old products locally on the machine prior to update with the option to revert. Not exactly certain how this would work but I'm looking into it.

Jason

[jharp]

Dup

[jharp]

Several people have asked for a short demo of UpDEnhanced. So hopefully a short gif will help give some idea of what you can do with it.

So on the Forge product displayed you might notice that the Remote version is build 5 and the local is build 0. Build 0 means that you do not have a version downloaded locally.

[seycyrus]

So, just to keep things straight.

I have bought this on the forge. Now I should go and follow the instructions at the Github site?

[jharp]

So, just to keep things straight.

I have bought this on the forge. Now I should go and follow the instructions at the Github site?

Yes. Although i prefer people to first do the git instructions then once they know it installs correctly, to then buy the license.

Either way works.

Jason

[jharp]

I don't think I mentioned this anywhere but if you decide to update the Fantasy Ground Updater you will need to follow the Git instructions again to reinstall the plugin. This is due to the way FGUpdater installs itself.

Jason

[jharp]

Usage video 1 - Example of it not updating anything...which is a good thing sometimes. :)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rj-V_1XrWHM

[Lo Zeno]

I'm already finding a lot of value in being able to NOT download modules and rulesets that I do not play anymore

[jharp]

I'm very happy to hear you are happy with the product.
Jason

[Morenu]

I love it. thank you

[jharp]

Nows the time to get this prior to the next update. Control you FG.
Jason

[anstett]

Purchased from The Forge just to support creative members of the community like you.

[jharp]

Purchased from The Forge just to support creative members of the community like you.

Greatly appreciated.

[jharp]

Remember you should not update FG before a game night. If this is a problem for your group, you should consider this extension for your entire group. Unlike other extensions this must be installed for all your group.

DM me if you think your group deserves a group discount and we can discuss.

Thanks,
Jason

[jharp]

Bug report from Discord...



I've been using the UpDEnhanced extension for a week now and it is really awesome. I don't usually need to block extensions, but I like that I can scroll through the list and see what is actually being updated. I have noticed one minor issue. Vertical scrolling with a mouse wheel is extremely slow on the screen that lists all the updates and their version numbers. I can click/drag the scroll bar on the right side to move fast, but the scroll wheel is incredibly slow. It takes about 3 full rotations just to move up/down one list item. Has anyone else experienced that?


Confirmed.

[jharp]

Version 1.0.8 is released on the git hub site.

Fixed scroll wheel speed.
Added UUID information for forge site items.
Added a Web support button that opens a web page to the item in question.

[jharp]

In recognition of the issues with 4.6.0, I have lowered the price by 33%.

Get your whole party to be protected from updates until you are ready to face it as a group.

Jason

[Morenu]

I have been stuck on this screen for 20 minutes (I did restart a full update and then downloaded and reinstall the 1.07 file from Github)
62871

[jharp]

I have no idea why i dont get emails for these posts. I'll take a look.

Jason

[jharp]

I have no idea why i dont get emails for these posts. I'll take a look.

Do you own a license?

Jason

[jharp]

If you own a license then I will need some logging. If you don't own a license then it is supposed to popup a window that says you need to buy a license. Obviously, that is not happening.

If you own a license then please locate the following file - ...\FGUpdaterEngine\BepInEx\config\BepInEx.cfg
Edit this file so that under [Logging.Console] it is:
Enabled = true

instead of the current :
Enabled = false

When you run the updater the next time, a console window will appear. Please DM that for me to review. That log does contain some private information, including what products you own so a DM is likely the best approach.

Thanks,
Jason

[Lo Zeno]

I have a suggestion for a small enhancement, if you want to consider it:

At the moment, after clicking "Update...", the next window has all the modules/extensions/dlc/core components listed and grouped in 4 groups (Core, Base, Purchased, Forge), but unless the user expands each group and scrolls through them looking for the rows where the build numbers are in yellow (where build latest doesn't match build local) they don't know if anything actually needs updating; if possible, it would be useful if the group name itself would turn yellow if at least one element inside that group is yellow (= needs updating), for example if no ruleset under Base needs updating the Base name stays black, if instead the 5E ruleset needs updating then the Base name is yellow.

It's not a massive change, and it's not like it's necessary, but it gives a nice immediate feedback when opening UpDEnhanced since if all the group names are black then the user knows immediately that there's no actual update to do, and if only one or two modules have updates they don't need to expand all four groups but they can go and expand only the ones that are marked in yellow. Saves a tiny bit of time.

[jharp]

i like the idea - i will try to implement.

jason

[jharp]

i still like the idea and will look at it.

However, i reread your post and i think you may not realize that you can sort the columns by clicking the column header you want to sort. To find updated items quickly, click the match column header. It will sort those by seeing which are out of date.

Hope that helps.

Jason

[Lo Zeno]

You're right, I wasn't aware of it. Likely because there is no visual cue of the fact that clicking the columns makes them sort the data - cue that does appear, in the form of a triangle up or down, right after I click one.
That might be another small QoL/usability update ;)

[jharp]

Version 1.0.9 is out on github.

- Fixed hang when you have multiple copies of a product.

[Morenu]

that did it, thx

[jharp]

Quick note - UpDEnhanced supports version 260 of the FG Updater. However, after updating the FG Updater you will need to reinstall UpDEnhanced.

WARNING - When you update FG Updater it does an update run immediately after. So you can either accept that OR click cancel QUICKLY!

Jason

[jharp]

I have a suggestion for a small enhancement, if you want to consider it:

At the moment, after clicking "Update...", the next window has all the modules/extensions/dlc/core components listed and grouped in 4 groups (Core, Base, Purchased, Forge), but unless the user expands each group and scrolls through them looking for the rows where the build numbers are in yellow (where build latest doesn't match build local) they don't know if anything actually needs updating; if possible, it would be useful if the group name itself would turn yellow if at least one element inside that group is yellow (= needs updating), for example if no ruleset under Base needs updating the Base name stays black, if instead the 5E ruleset needs updating then the Base name is yellow.

It's not a massive change, and it's not like it's necessary, but it gives a nice immediate feedback when opening UpDEnhanced since if all the group names are black then the user knows immediately that there's no actual update to do, and if only one or two modules have updates they don't need to expand all four groups but they can go and expand only the ones that are marked in yellow. Saves a tiny bit of time.

@Lo Zeno - I have added both features in v1.0.10. The Match column is sorted by default so it has a "sort" indicator. Also, each header that has updates shows how many on the header.
Jason

[Lo Zeno]

@Lo Zeno - I have added both features in v1.0.10. The Match column is sorted by default so it has a "sort" indicator. Also, each header that has updates shows how many on the header.
Jason

Amazing
Awesome work

[Saxman]

Forge link does not work

[Lo Zeno]

Forge link does not work

Yes, it was delisted by the author.
See this thread:
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?84099-Delist-of-products

[Saxman]

I had not seen that , thank you for letting me know. I really don't like when reality creeps in on my escape from reality.

[jharp]

I have a report of a current issue with UpdEnhanced. I'm looking into it now.

Jason

[jharp]

v1.0.11 fix available at https://github.com/jharp/UpDEnhanced

SW is currently in the middle of releasing CoreRPG_2024 and since it has no build it prevented updates.

Jason

[Lo Zeno]

Thank you for the rapid fix!

[jharp]

I understand SW is updating the updater. Users of this extension may wish to avoid updating the new updater. I'm not certain if it will remain compatible.

Jason

[jharp]

Updated to support the latest version of the updater and FG 5

[Lo Zeno]

Updated to support the latest version of the updater and FG 5

Brilliant, I'm really glad this keeps being supported!

[jharp]

Last update remains working with 2025-11-11 version of updater.

Jason

[jharp]

Upcoming features include the ability to rollback to prior versions of FG, extensions, and such.

After that I'm looking to allow people to exchange backups of extensions and such in case a person in your group didn't keep a copy. That way people will always be able to play with the version they wish.

65835

[Lo Zeno]

Upcoming features include the ability to rollback to prior versions of FG, extensions, and such.

That is THE feature that would help solve the "extensions explosions" each time there's a new version of FGU out! I can't wait

[Moon Wizard]

Please note that exchanging "backups" of extensions that are paid products (including Forge extensions) are against the terms of service. You will need to avoid that feature to continue to be listed.

Anything in the vault should remain vault only; and only provided by the SmiteWorks servers.

Regards,
JPG

[jharp]

Please note that exchanging "backups" of extensions that are paid products (including Forge extensions) are against the terms of service. You will need to avoid that feature to continue to be listed.

Anything in the vault should remain vault only; and only provided by the SmiteWorks servers.

Regards,
JPG

I should have been more clear.

Both parties would need to be licensed and they would remain in the vault. This would allow a party that has rights to ProductA but didn't download Build100 to get Build100 from someone who has that build. So a group of persons that want to play with ProductA / Build100 would be able to continue playing with Build100 instead of needing to advance the version because someone miss-clicked.

So this is not about allowing piracy but allowing choice of builds for which you have rights to it already.

This is, however, currently just a future possibility and it not yet being worked on.



Jason

[Moon Wizard]

This is not allowed. Copying of any vault products off a user's machine is against the Terms of Service.

Regards,
JPG

[pno_mn]

I seem to be having issues with an installation that I've finally updated to the latest version of Fantasy Grounds. I did download the updated .dll file and replaced it in the plugins folder. I do see the "Update..." button like I should. However, when I click it, it then runs though products, purchases, and Forge subscriptions (and I think it's got an error in the count there) and then says, "Creating local backup." For a VERY long time. Any ideas? Should I enable the logging and DM the file to you?

[jharp]

Please do. I'll look and fix.

[Lo Zeno]

After a fair number of updates recently, I was looking to clean up some old backups that UpDEnchanced creates, but there's a catch: it's not easy to figure out, from the folder structure, where the backups of what are located (base application, extensions, etc.)
Is there a chance that we could get some mechanism to clean up old backups, or some configuration to, say, remove any backup older than X months or Y number of versions? Or alternatively, could we have a more human readable folder structure such as <App or Extension name>/<version number or date>? BEcause really, UpDEnhanced\User\1\9\65bc8d38-d528-11eb-8c52-0050562be458\62\extensions doesn't really tell me that this was the Advantages extension backup of version 62... or rather, it does but only after I have gone to the deepest level of the folder

[jharp]

I'll take a look at it and see what I can do.

[Lo Zeno]

Looks like UpDEnhanced is not compatible with the new updater, it seems to crash it on launch

[jharp]

should be a quick fix. i'll look later tonight

[jharp]

should be a quick fix. i'll look later tonight

Nope not a quick fix. Suggest you revert to a working version of the updater. See the following:


<FGDataDir>\UpDEnhanced\<username>\0\54\FantasyGroundsUpdater\<version>

In that directory will be the backed up version of the updater. Copy them overtop of the existing files and then reinstall the extension. This will revert you to that version. I just used version 270 and it worked fine. The changes to the updater involve some gui changes and might take quite a while to fix on my end.

Jason

[jharp]

In fact after looking at the new updater (Unity 6.4) and a new type of obfuscation I would guess that UpDEnhanced has reached the limit for updated updates of the updater. IE don't update the fgupdater.

Jason

[Lo Zeno]

In fact after looking at the new updater (Unity 6.4) and a new type of obfuscation I would guess that UpDEnhanced has reached the limit for updated updates of the updater. IE don't update the fgupdater.

Jason

Somehow I suspected that! I already rolled back the updater, I'll stick to that version until it won't let me update FGU anymore.

[jharp]

Well the ride wasn't expected to last forever but it did last a long time. A while back Doug Davison tolerated my foray into an extension to the FGUpdater called UpDEnhanced.

If you are one of the 12 people that bought it, I thank you greatly. However, I have been asked to discontinue my efforts on this extension. As such, Doug has offered to refund each of you the cost of the extension without care to purchase date. You need only contact support and ask for a refund. In an additional act of kindness, Doug has allowed me to retain my earning on the extension.

I suspect once I post this and reply to Doug's email that the UpDEnhanced license you have in your Forge account will be deleted, rendering the extension unusable. Doug's email is quoted below.


Hello Jason,

Thanks for identifying a possible issue. Our team is reviewing it now. We do want to remind you that reverse engineering and decompilation are prohibited under the EULA, so we'd ask that future reports focus on externally observable behavior.

I know you are interested in improving the FG experience as a super power-user. Your methods, however, often move beyond the officially supported methods and into an area that creates an unacceptable risk for us. We would ask that you constrain any extensions to standard LUA functions and that you request new APIs for enhanced functionality beyond this, versus injecting any DLLs or replacing any core application components.

The UPdEnhanced extension on the Forge was an interesting experiment, but I think even that is too difficult to manage and allow. Selectively blocking updates has some positive benefits for customers, but also enables some less desirable behavior - such as blocking the removal of refunded projects or cancelled art subscription products. There could be other issues we have not yet discovered as well.

We would ask you to keep this project de-listed going forward -- or delete it from the FG Forge. If any customers purchased this on the Forge, they can reach out to support and request a refund to their Forge account. You can still keep your royalties from any of those past sales.

If you have some other ideas for features that require additional APIs or functionality, please describe your needs in as much detail as possible, and our team will consider them for future updates. We won't be able to allow things that allow other external code, but we might be able to facilitate some things in a different way.

Thanks for your understanding.

-Doug

[Lo Zeno]

Speaking strictly for myself, I'm not going to ask for a refund. I've used this longer than many other extensions I paid for, so i think I got my money's worth out of it.

It's a real shame, because being able to selectively roll back extensions has been a real time saver multiple times for me.
Thanks for your work, Jason

[ddavison]

Thanks for your understanding Jason.

I've asked Josh to pull the list of buyers from the database so we can credit them on their accounts. This may take us a few days since we are coming into a holiday and the end of the work week right now. Please don't delete it yet because that may make it harder to pull that list.

-Doug

[jharp]

As always (and seriously) I'm open to a job offer. :)

Jason

[ddavison]

There is no need for anyone to request a refund for this item. All buyers have been refunded and should now see a credit on their Forge account equal to the amount they paid for the item at the time.