Difference between revisions of "Documentation/DevGuide/Extensions/Updating Extensions"

Revision as of 14:23, 7 June 2010

>

(As of OOo 3.3)

An extension can be updated by either explicitly installing the extension or by running the update function in the extension manager. Updating an extension consisted originally in removing the installed extension and then installing the new version of the extension in the same repository. This meant that it was necessary to have write permission for the extensions folder of the shared repository for updating shared extensions. However, bundled extension could still not be updated by the extension manager, because this is exclusively done by the setup program.

However, in order to hide the complexity of the different repositories from the user and give them the best user experience, the extension manager will install updates for shared or bundled extensions in the user repository if necessary. That is, the installed extension will remain unchanged and the newer version is installed in a repository with a higher priority.

Users will be informed if there are newer versions of extensions which they currently use are available. It does not matter if the currently used extensions are from the user, shared or bundled repository. If there is a better version, then it is offered as an update. This allows users, to always obtain the latest versions of their extensions.

The updates, that is, the extensions with a newer version, will either be obtained from an online repository or locally, depending on which one have the highest versions. In the latter case, the newer version will come from the shared or bundled repository if there is one available. This is useful for the case when a user has installed an user extension and then a more current version is installed in the shared or bundled repository.

The following tables show scenarios where the user can update extensions. If a cell contains a “1” then this simple means there is an extensions installed. If it contains a “2” then this represents an extension with the same identifier then “1” but with a higher version. If there are several “2”s under each other then it is sufficient if just one of them has a higher version than “1”.

The first table shows the case where a user has no write permission in the shared folder. In all cases the update is installed in the user repository. The new version comes either from the shared, bundled or online repository, depending on which has the best version.