Version 2.1 update not the easiest to do, MSI version.

[Dangerous]

I use the MSI exe versions of the programs. I do not like apps on Windows and although I know it shouldn't make a difference it seems to run better on my system.

My When it came time to update from 2.0.4 to2.1.0 the automatic update routine attempted to download & install the MSIX app version despite being called from the MSI exe version & I had you find the exe downloads again. Good job I remembered where to find them as they, IMHO, are tucked out of the way rather than easy to get to like the MSIX app versions.

Would it be possible for the MSI installed version to download the exe file?

[walt.farrell]

3 minutes ago, Dangerous said:

My When it came time to update from 2.0.4 to2.1.0 the automatic update routine attempted to download & install the MSIX app version despite being called from the MSI exe version & I had you find the exe downloads again. Good job I remembered where to find them as they, IMHO, are tucked out of the way rather than easy to get to like the MSIX app versions.

Would it be possible for the MSI installed version to download the exe file?

If you have the MSI (EXE) version installed, then there is no automatic update. Instead, when the application recognizes there is an update, you do not get an Install button. You get a Download button, which will take you to the website where you manually download, and then you close the application and manually install the udpate.

If you got an Install button, and it did the automatic installation after you clicked it, you had the MSIX version installed, not the MSI version.

Perhaps some confusion between the Beta (where you might have had MSI/EXE) and the Retail (where you had MSIX)?

[Dangerous]

15 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

If you have the MSI (EXE) version installed, then there is no automatic update. Instead, when the application recognizes there is an update, you do not get an Install button. You get a Download button, which will take you to the website where you manually download, and then you close the application and manually install the udpate.

If you got an Install button, and it did the automatic installation after you clicked it, you had the MSIX version installed, not the MSI version.

Perhaps some confusion between the Beta (where you might have had MSI/EXE) and the Retail (where you had MSIX)?

No, I got the download box, clicked download and it automatically started to download the MSIX version. It did not autorun (fortunately) but I did have to go to my account, navigate to the msi download page and manually download it then manually install it.

I'm not bothered about doing it manually but why did it automatically download the msix version. What would be great would be it downloaded the exe or almost as good if it took me to the msi exe download page.

 

[walt.farrell]

1 hour ago, Dangerous said:

No, I got the download box, clicked download and it automatically started to download the MSIX version. It did not autorun (fortunately) but I did have to go to my account, navigate to the msi download page and manually download it then manually install it.

I'm not bothered about doing it manually but why did it automatically download the msix version. What would be great would be it downloaded the exe or almost as good if it took me to the msi exe download page.

 

Interesting. That does seem to be broken, from a usability perspective.

I just uninstalled the MSIX version, and installed the EXE version of 2.0.4 (downlevel, so it would try to update). I got the prompt to Download, and it wants to download the MSIX version rather than either

1. Automatically downloading the MSI version; or
2. Allowing me to choose.

I agree that automatically downloading the matching (EXE) version would be better.

Edit: My earlier posts were based mainly on experience with the beta, which is handled like my option 2 indicates.

[stuck]

1 hour ago, Dangerous said:

No, I got the download box, clicked download

That was your mistake because directly underneath that oh so tempting download button is a link to get the MSI / exe version.

[walt.farrell]

2 minutes ago, stuck said:

That was your mistake because directly underneath that oh so tempting download button is a link to get the MSI / exe version.

In the Update dialog? Or in the Store pages?

From the Update dialog in the retail version, Download does a direct download with no choice of what to download.

[stuck]

I'm on Win 10 Pro 22H2 and I'm running the MSI version of Photo2.  When I opened Photo 2.0.4 I got a notification of the 2.1 update being available.  When I clicked to get the update I landed on this page:

https://store.serif.com/en-gb/update/windows/photo/2/

I nearly automatically clicked on the main download button but held back long enough to realise that I wanted the less obvious 'Also available' link below the big blue button.  Clicking on that option downloaded the installer.  Double clicking the installer updated Photo to v2.1.

[Dangerous]

18 minutes ago, stuck said:

That was your mistake because directly underneath that oh so tempting download button is a link to get the MSI / exe version.

There wasn't

 

[walt.farrell]

7 minutes ago, stuck said:

When I clicked to get the update I landed on this page:

https://store.serif.com/en-gb/update/windows/photo/2/

When I did that just before posting (5 posts above) I got an empty browser window and a direct download of the MSIX version. I'm using Firefox. I suppose it may be browser-dependent?

[Dangerous]

10 minutes ago, stuck said:

I'm on Win 10 Pro 22H2 and I'm running the MSI version of Photo2.  When I opened Photo 2.0.4 I got a notification of the 2.1 update being available.  When I clicked to get the update I landed on this page:

https://store.serif.com/en-gb/update/windows/photo/2/

I nearly automatically clicked on the main download button but held back long enough to realise that I wanted the less obvious 'Also available' link below the big blue button.  Clicking on that option downloaded the installer.  Double clicking the installer updated Photo to v2.1.

It did not take me to any page at Serif, all I had was a update & cancel. Update started an auto msix download with NO OPTIONS. I tried 3 times with AP and after that I just went to the download page via my account and went for the exe versions.

 

[stuck]

Don't know but probably not because I too used FF, it is my default browser.

I've never had the MSIX version on my PC and I've never installed a beta version.

This behaviour of clicking to get the download and landing on the update page and then having to click again to start the download is exact;y how I received all Photo 1 updates.

[walt.farrell]

4 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

When I did that just before posting (5 posts above) I got an empty browser window and a direct download of the MSIX version. I'm using Firefox. I suppose it may be browser-dependent?

On the other hand, when I just tried it again, from Help > Check for Updates, I got to an actual download page with a choice, as you indicated @stuck, at https://store.serif.com/en-us/update/windows/designer/2/

And yes, on that page, ignore the big obvious Download button, and use the smaller link:

[stuck]

9 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

from Help > Check for Updates

Hmm, perhaps I'm misremembering... Perhaps I didn't click on the notification after all.  Perhaps I went via Help.  I can't remember!  I know I did use the check for updates option a couple of times in the last few days as I'd read here that v2.1 was about to be released.  However, when an update is available the 'update available' notification usually appears as soon as Photo has loaded so why would I not use that feature and go the long way round via Help??

Anybody here telepathic and able to read my memory better than I can recall it?

[Dangerous]

3 minutes ago, stuck said:

Don't know but probably not because I too used FF, it is my default browser.

I've never had the MSIX version on my PC and I've never installed a beta version.

This behaviour of clicking to get the download and landing on the update page and then having to click again to start the download is exact;y how I received all Photo 1 updates.

I use chrome. When I started AP2 I got a small serif box saying ver 2.1 was available with options download & cancel. I clicked download and immediately the msix version started to download. NO WEB PAGE, NO OPTION, NO LINK TO SERIF. Ver 1 used to do exactly the same but it always downloaded the exe (no app version) so for me the sequence was EXACTLY the same as for ver 1 with the exception it downloaded the msix.

[walt.farrell]

As an experiment, I uninstalled the MSIX version of Photo 2, downloaded the EXE/MSI version of 2.0.4, and installed it. And found the following:

1. When the application started, and said there was an update available, I clicked Download. This opened an empty Firefox browser tab and automatically tried to download the MSIX version.
2. At that point, I canceled the download.
3. I then clicked Help > Check for Updates, which said there was a download available. I clicked Download, and a Firefox tab for https://store.serif.com/en-us/update/windows/photo/2/ was opened, allowing me to download the one I wanted.

Conclusion: There is an error when the application detects the new update during startup, which causes it to download the wrong version rather than directing you to the proper download page. That error does not exist when the check is performed manually using the Help menu.

[Dangerous]

27 minutes ago, stuck said:

I'm on Win 10 Pro 22H2 and I'm running the MSI version of Photo2.  When I opened Photo 2.0.4 I got a notification of the 2.1 update being available.  When I clicked to get the update I landed on this page:

https://store.serif.com/en-gb/update/windows/photo/2/

I nearly automatically clicked on the main download button but held back long enough to realise that I wanted the less obvious 'Also available' link below the big blue button.  Clicking on that option downloaded the installer.  Double clicking the installer updated Photo to v2.1.

forgot to say I am on Win 10 Home 22H2 build 19045.2965 installed oct 2020 and AFAIK fully up to date. 64bit OS

 

[Dangerous]

2 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

As an experiment, I uninstalled the MSIX version of Photo 2, downloaded the EXE/MSI version of 2.0.4, and installed it. And found the following:

1. When the application started, and said there was an update available, I clicked Download. This opened an empty Firefox browser tab and automatically tried to download the MSIX version.
2. At that point, I canceled the download.
3. I then clicked Help > Check for Updates, which said there was a download available. I clicked Download, and a Firefox tab for https://store.serif.com/en-us/update/windows/photo/2/ was opened, allowing me to download the one I wanted.

Conclusion: There is an error when the application detects the new update during startup, which causes it to download the wrong version rather than directing you to the proper download page. That error does not exist when the check is performed manually using the Help menu.

I've had the msi install since it was released and I did the check for updates the 3rd time, result exactly the same as the 1st & 2nd times, tried to download the msix.

 

[walt.farrell]

7 minutes ago, Dangerous said:

I've had the msi install since it was released and I did the check for updates the 3rd time, result exactly the same as the 1st & 2nd times, tried to download the msix.

 

Just out of curiosity, would you mind trying an experiment?

1. With the MSI version of one of the applications running, open Task Manager.
2. Expand the process entry for the application.
3. Right-click on the second line (should be the application name) and choose Open File Location.
4. Provide a screenshot of the top of the File Explorer window (showing the location bar).

[Dangerous]

24 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

Just out of curiosity, would you mind trying an experiment?

1. With the MSI version of one of the applications running, open Task Manager.
2. Expand the process entry for the application.
3. Right-click on the second line (should be the application name) and choose Open File Location.
4. Provide a screenshot of the top of the File Explorer window (showing the location bar).

 

[Dangerous]

I still have ver 1 installed for now.

 

[Dan C]

Hi @Dangerous,

Thanks for your post! Just to let you know I have moved this from the Feedback section of the forums to the Bug section - as I would not expect the app to automatically download the MSIX version from this update prompt.

As Walt has mentioned above, if you use the About > Check for updates option within the app, this prompts you to Download the latest version - which opens a link to the Windows Affinity Store update page in your browser, where you can select the EXE version.

However I'm not able to replicate the behaviour reported when launching the 2.0.4 app and selecting the 'Download' option in the dialog that appears. This performs the same action as above and takes me to the Affinity Store site Update page, where I can manually choose to download the EXE update.

Can you (or perhaps Walt) please confirm the exact steps that you're taking when this automatic download of the MSIX update occurs? As unfortunately I'm not seeing this on my end currently.

Many thanks in advance

[Dangerous]

29 minutes ago, Dan C said:

Hi @Dangerous,

Thanks for your post! Just to let you know I have moved this from the Feedback section of the forums to the Bug section - as I would not expect the app to automatically download the MSIX version from this update prompt.

As Walt has mentioned above, if you use the About > Check for updates option within the app, this prompts you to Download the latest version - which opens a link to the Windows Affinity Store update page in your browser, where you can select the EXE version.

However I'm not able to replicate the behaviour reported when launching the 2.0.4 app and selecting the 'Download' option in the dialog that appears. This performs the same action as above and takes me to the Affinity Store site Update page, where I can manually choose to download the EXE update.

Can you (or perhaps Walt) please confirm the exact steps that you're taking when this automatic download of the MSIX update occurs? As unfortunately I'm not seeing this on my end currently.

Many thanks in advance

I would be willing to help carry out the test if I thought I could do it without messing up my system. If you think installing the 2.0.4 exe version on to my D drive while keeping 2.1.0 on the C drive would not cause a problem.

I can confirm that I had been away from home for a few days when I heard the update went live. On Friday 19th probably around 13:30 UK time I went on to do the update. I opened APhoto and it said an update was available and I was offered two options 1: Update 2: Cancel. I clicked update and immediately it started the msix download. I let it download and checked and it was the msix version. I deleted it, closed AP, Opened AP and got the same notice box, clicked update and again immediate download of the msix, I clicked cancel to cancel the download. I went HELP - CHECK FOR UPDATE and got the same options and clicking update again immediately downloaded the msix so I cancelled it.

My next move was HELP - MY ACCOUNT and from the hamburger menu GO TO MY ACCOUNT and selected V" LICENCES & DOWNLOADS - VIEW LICENCES and scrolled to LOOKING FOR WINDOWS MSI VERSIONS?  and downloaded the 3 msi exe files.

After updating AP I started AD, got the notification, selected update and again immediate download of the msix so cancelled and manually installed the exe. I didn't bother trying with APhoto and just updated from the downloaded exe.

At no time was I taken to the msi download page, I had to go there from MY ACCOUNT

The above is the specs of my system, fully updated just prior to updating Affinity. Display adaptor is NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4meg. I hope I have provided all the info you need.
 

[walt.farrell]

@Dan C: Today's steps:

1. On Win 11, I uninstalled Photo 2, Designer 2, and Publisher 2.
2. From https://affinity.store/update/windows/<appname>/2 I downloaded the 2.0.4 EXE versions of Photo 2, Designer 2, and Publisher 2.
3. I then installed Photo 2 using the EXE, and ran it after install, and got the prompt to Download the newer version. And, this time, it worked and directed me to the download site where I could choose which version I wanted.
4. Repeated step 3 for Designer 2. This time, it also worked, and clicking Download took me to the site to make my choice.
5. Repeated step 3 for Publisher 2. When I clicked on Download during the first run, it directed me to the MSIX download, as you can see in the video I've included below.

The other day, at least Photo 2 and Designer 2 both tried to download the MSIX directly, as Publisher 2 did this time. So there is some inconsistency in what's happening.

 

 

[walt.farrell]

12 minutes ago, Dangerous said:

If you think installing the 2.0.4 exe version on to my D drive while keeping 2.1.0 on the C drive would not cause a problem.

I'm pretty sure that won't work. Let's see if my steps and video are sufficient, before you muck around with your system

[Dangerous]

Looks like I can't install a second copy on my computer without risking messing things up. I do not think either of my windows notebooks are capable of running AP but I will give it a try. (If I can find them again, I put them away a week ago, lol)