Is there any way to force users to new version of ...

henrique_vieira · 05-02-2022 12:36 PM

I have several problems with users with old versions and, due to the volume of active users, it is difficult to explain to them how to identify that the application is out of date and that it is necessary to use Reset Changes.

The problem is the same as discussed in this feature suggestion, but I don't know if something new has already been released to solve it: https://www.googlecloudcommunity.com/gc/Feature-Ideas/We-need-a-way-to-force -new-versions-of-an-app-on-users/idi-p/355438

If it is not possible, is there any way to prevent the user from using the application until it is updated? Users being able to use the outdated app is a problem that impacts a lot, as there is no error screen or any feature that prevents the use of the app. Is there any workaround, anything that can be done?

Thanks!

Steve

Not possible.

henrique_vieira

Thank you, Steve. Is it even possible to identify the users in some way? If it is possible to identify users who do not have the application in the latest version (or synchronized), it may be possible to develop some kind of solution that notifies them.

Steve

I am not aware of a good way to identify the versions of the app that are in use. The audit log records contain the app version used, but you've got to dig to find it.

MarcosL

Ask:

Will it work (although it is an inelegant procedure), to withdraw the permissions of all the users and later, as they report that they cannot enter the app, restore the permissions?

Steve

Withdrawing the permission (using the app editor) will only affect the users when the app tries to sync. If they're using the app offline, or if the app isn't configured to sync automatically, or if the user simply cancels the sync, the app permissions will never be sent to the app and the app won't know to block the user.

It's worth trying, but it's not guaranteed to work.

SkrOYC

@henrique_vieira wrote:
it is difficult to explain to them how to identify that the application is out of date and that it is necessary to use Reset Changes.

Hold on on that, Reset changes discard any add/update/delete that the user could have done. Generally, they shouldn't do that, ever.

You have two alternatives:

Plan your upgrades to your apps better. If you are going to change the sctructure of your app, make sure your users have synced their changes to the backend
Tell your users to make sure that the data is synced before closing the app

henrique_vieira

I know that Reset changes discards the unstored data, in the case of this specific application it doesn't create a big risk and is the fastest and most effective way for the user to get the latest version.

About the alternatives:
1. I'm trying to do it this way, but the volume of users is really big, there's always someone with this problem.
2. We have already reported this several times, but it still happens (the app has many users).

Thanks for the alternatives, but as I mentioned above, the fact that there are always some users with the problem and they continue to be able to use the application, creates a big problem.

Do you know any way to identify users who don't have the app synced and the latest version? If so, it might be possible to develop some notification to alert these users (even if it is deployed outside the AppSheet).

Rafael_ANEIC-PY

Hello @henrique_vieira, I highly suggest you use a "Launcher" app for running your applications if you plan to have any kind of sustained changes, a launcher app allows you to work on a separate copy of your app, and then when there's a change that you want to implement, you simply swap the deep link in your launcher to the new app, and the user won't even notice, you only will need to make sure the data on your back end is up to date.

Since the user only has the launcher itself installed, it will send him there every time he opens the app, so he will be forced to receive any updates that you've made.

henrique_vieira

Hello @Rafael_ANEIC-PY, thanks for the tip! Do you have any suggestions for dealing with users with the app in old versions?

Rafael_ANEIC-PY

If you're going to transition to the system I mentioned, yeah, remove their permission to use the old apps to that they move to the new launcher haha, that or notifying them I guess

SkrOYC

@MarcosL wrote:
Will it work (although it is an inelegant procedure), to withdraw the permissions of all the users and later, as they report that they cannot enter the app, restore the permissions?

If this means that you are going to wait until all of your users tell you they cannot access to start making changes... well, that would work, the only problem I see is that the period of unusage will be a little bit longer

Is there any way to force users to new version of the app?