Add "Build" version to splash screen / about screen

[Sonny Sonny]

It could be easier to follow up the version with this minor change I guess.

E.g: "2.1.0 - Build 1709" instead of "2.1.0"

[GarryP]

The build number was shown in the Splash/About pop-up in V1 but it was removed for V2 (I don't know the reason for this).

Can you say why this would be useful information for the user to see in either of these two circumstances?

[joe_l]

3 hours ago, Sonny Sonny said:

It could be easier to follow up the version with this minor change I guess.

A bit more hidden, but you can see the build number top right using the My Account button.

[Sonny Sonny]

55 minutes ago, joe_l said:

A bit more hidden, but you can see the build number top right using the My Account button.

So this is more weird

[walt.farrell]

3 hours ago, Sonny Sonny said:

So this is more weird

Why is it weird? It's where Serif has decided to expose that information.

[Alfred]

58 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

Why is it weird? It's where Serif has decided to expose that information.

What’s weird is that Serif has suddenly decided to hide information that used to be more readily accessible.

5 hours ago, GarryP said:

The build number was shown in the Splash/About pop-up in V1 but it was removed for V2 (I don't know the reason for this).

Build numbers are shown on the splash screens for all of Serif’s legacy ‘Plus’ applications.

[Circulus]

Perhaps they are hiding the build numbers to have the possibility to run different patch numbers per os vs store or msix vs msi versions

[Dan C]

5 minutes ago, Alfred said:

What’s weird is that Serif has suddenly decided to hide information that used to be more readily accessible.

As I understand it, having this information readily accessible on the splash screen lead to customer confusion in our wider userbase and therefore was simplified in the opening splash screen and 'About' dialog.

I appreciate that power users here on our Fourms may want this information to be presented when opening the app, but unfortunately this is not always best for all users, hence the change.

Therefore I believe we decided to include the in-depth information within the Account dialog instead, alongside the OS version and user ID, as our support team can then receive all this information within a singular screenshot, greatly reducing confusion for this wider userbase.

[MikeTO]

Adobe doesn't show the build # in the splash screen, either, presumably for the same reason. Splash screens don't display long enough these days to read the version numbers anyway. If you're seeing the splash screen for more than a second then that may be a sign that you need a new computer. 🙂 I'm just joking.

However, the version number is normally available in the About screen which doesn't have to be identical to the splash screen. I can't think of any major app that doesn't do that.

[fde101]

5 minutes ago, MikeTO said:

Splash screens don't display long enough these days to read the version numbers anyway.

There was a time when displaying a splash screen was actually a violation of Apple's Human Interface Guidelines for the Mac.

They seem to have relaxed this in more recent versions, but point being, their presence is not favored in modern application design.

The Affinity apps load fast enough that the splash screen could easily be (and therefore should be) eliminated completely.

[walt.farrell]

32 minutes ago, Alfred said:

What’s weird is that Serif has suddenly decided to hide information that used to be more readily accessible.

As I understand it, the build info was only present on the Splash Screen for V1 on Windows; not on Mac or iPad.

Now in V2 it is consistent.

[Pšenda]

11 hours ago, Sonny Sonny said:

"2.1.0 - Build 1709"

What good would knowing Build be good for?
In the case of the production version, only the first three digits are interesting, which clearly determine the SW version.
Only with Beta, the individual versions are also different from the Build version, and that is why they are listed here on the forum.

[Alfred]

3 hours ago, Alfred said:

Build numbers are shown on the splash screens for all of Serif’s legacy ‘Plus’ applications.

 

2 hours ago, MikeTO said:

Splash screens don't display long enough these days to read the version numbers anyway.

The splash screen in a Serif legacy application remains visible until dismissed by the user.

[Pšenda]

9 hours ago, Dan C said:

lead to customer confusion

So is it ok to provide the Build information in the update prompt?

[Sonny Sonny]

5 hours ago, Pšenda said:

So is it ok to provide the Build information in the update prompt?

Agree.

//

Agree splash screen is not necessary. But "About" screen is necessary, I guess. Because Affinity is currently in a stage of developing additional features, each new "build" version includes new functionalities, but it may also have bugs and may not be entirely stable. Sometimes users need to make sure which version they are using. Currently, the version details are displayed on the "Account" popup page, but typically, in most software, users go to the "About" section to view this information. In the future, when Affinity has become stable and there are fewer changes in terms of features, it is possible that users will be less concerned about the version they are using. This topic is just a small suggestion from me.

[Pšenda]

2 hours ago, Sonny Sonny said:

Agree.

//

Agree splash screen is not necessary. But "About" screen is necessary, I guess. Because Affinity is currently in a stage of developing additional features, each new "build" version includes new functionalities, but it may also have bugs and may not be entirely stable. Sometimes users need to make sure which version they are using. Currently, the version details are displayed on the "Account" popup page, but typically, in most software, users go to the "About" section to view this information. In the future, when Affinity has become stable and there are fewer changes in terms of features, it is possible that users will be less concerned about the version they are using. This topic is just a small suggestion from me.

As I mentioned earlier, all new production releases (and it doesn't matter if they have few or many changes) are always differentiated at the level of the third version number (2.0.0 - 2.0.4, 2.1.0). The build version is therefore completely irrelevant for users (except beta version, which is not intended for regular users).

[Dan C]

11 hours ago, Pšenda said:

So is it ok to provide the Build information in the update prompt?

Yes, as this prompt is not shown on every run-up of the app (provided you actually do update) & is required when we are not releasing 'major' updates, as otherwise we receive emails asking "why am I being asked up updated to 2.1.0 when I already have that version?". Therefore the update dialog needs to specify the build to show it is a later release.

20 hours ago, MikeTO said:

However, the version number is normally available in the About screen which doesn't have to be identical to the splash screen. I can't think of any major app that doesn't do that.

5 hours ago, Sonny Sonny said:

But "About" screen is necessary, I guess. Because Affinity is currently in a stage of developing additional features, each new "build" version includes new functionalities, but it may also have bugs and may not be entirely stable. Sometimes users need to make sure which version they are using. Currently, the version details are displayed on the "Account" popup page, but typically, in most software, users go to the "About" section to view this information. 

In regards to the 'About' dialog - it's my current understanding that this is simply the same dialog that is shown as the loading splash screen, hence the same version number is displayed at this time, but I can also see good reasoning for the 'About' dialog to include the build number so I will raise this with our dev team for consideration