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Updates and your licence

See which versions your licence covers, what happens when a version is newer than your licence, and how to keep updating.

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Checked against Pop Dispatch 0.1.0

Every update is included while your subscription is active, and a lifetime licence includes every update for good. You will be able to see the release date of your version, the date your updates run to, and what to do if a version is newer than your licence.

Before you start #

  • You are the owner or an administrator.
  • You have your licence key and have entered it in Settings, Licence.

What is covered #

  • A monthly or yearly licence covers every version released while the licence is active. Its updates end on the day the licence ends.
  • A lifetime licence has no end date and covers every version released at any time.
  • Every build carries its release date. A build is covered when its release date is on or before the last day your updates run to.

Steps #

  1. Read the licence details from the server (GET /licence). They include the release date of your version and, for a licence with an end, the date your updates run to. The Settings, Licence screen in the apps does not show these two dates yet.
  2. An update check can ask whether an update's release date is covered (GET /licence/update-covered). A covered update installs as usual.
  3. If an update falls after the date your updates run to, renew your licence and check again. Renewing moves the date forward at once.
  4. If you installed a version that your licence does not cover, Pop Dispatch starts, shows a plain message with both dates, and keeps your records open to read, export and back up. New work waits. Renew your licence, or install the version you had before.
Technical details
  • GET /me and GET /licence include release_date (YYYY-MM-DD, UTC) and updates_until (the end of the covered updates, empty when there is no limit). GET /licence also says whether this build is covered.
  • GET /licence/update-covered?release_date=YYYY-MM-DD answers whether a release is covered, so an update check can ask before it offers a download. The app engine has the same helper, update_covered, and release_date.
  • Whole days are compared. A release on the last covered day is covered.
  • The release date is stamped when the program is built, from the release script's date, the date of the version tag, or the date of the source commit, never from the clock of the building computer.
  • The licence file's updates_until decides for a licence that has one. A licence with an end date and no updates_until uses its end date. A lifetime licence ignores updates_until. A licence with neither has no limit.
  • A lifetime licence keeps the other paid rules: the device limit, a check with the licence server at least every 45 days, and the clock checks.

If something goes wrong #

  • "This version of the app came out on ... after the updates your licence covers ended": renew in Settings, Licence, or install the earlier version. Your records are safe and exportable meanwhile.
  • The updates date is empty: the licence has no limit, which is the case for a lifetime licence.

Updates on the Mac and Windows #

The website serves update installers to a licence key only, so the Mac and Windows apps send your key with the download request, and only to thepopstreet.com over https. The key never goes in an address and the app keeps no copy on disk: after you sign in as an owner or manager, the app asks the office server for it and keeps it in memory. Before it offers an update, the app checks whether your licence covers the release date. When it does not, the app says so in plain words: the version, the day it came out and the day your updates run to. Renew or extend your licence to get that version, or keep using the one you have. A Mac used only by a dispatcher or an advisor holds no key, so it asks you to sign in once as an owner or manager before it can download.