Other Migration issues from v2.30 to v2.40

[DarkShadows]

@JCarle

I just downloaded v2.40 and thought I'd take a look. (Boy, am I late to the party huh?)

First, I'm always a huge WUD fan, so your continued efforts are most appreciated.

Things I really like in WUD v2.40:

• The window can finally be resized!
  
• The update list can finally be sorted ascending or descending!
  

Second, I'd like to raise some issues I hope you will consider addressing.

Things I believe are missing in WUD v2.40:

• The update list cannot be sorted by any field other than Date.
  
• It would also be nice if the ID field (<update id> tags) was displayed and if the update list could also be sorted by ID. This would be useful since most updates use KB number for their ID. This makes it easy to find an update in a long list and click the link to read the article.
  

Things in WUD v2.40 that I believe are a step backward from WUD v2.30:

• In Tabs vs. Trees, the Trees always win with long lists.
  I maintain my own WUD download lists, which are much more comprehensive and more in-depth than those offered on the WUD website. I break apart Microsoft updates into the various categories Microsoft uses. I also add Product-related downloads that are not updates (Like Windows Powertoys and such). Below are the categories I use for Vista (and XP where applicable).
  

  <categories>
  	  <category id="1">Service Packs</category>
  	  <category id="2">Security Updates Critical</category>
  	  <category id="3">Security Updates Important</category>
  	  <category id="4">Security Updates Moderate</category>
  	  <category id="5">Hotfixes</category>
  	  <category id="6">Updates</category>
  	  <category id="7">Internet Explorer 7</category>
  	  <category id="8">Internet Explorer 8</category>
    <!-- category id="9"=Internet Explorer 9 (when it is RTM)-->
  	  <category id="10">.NET Framework</category>
  	  <category id="11">Windows Media Player 11</category>
    <!-- category id="12"=Windows Media Player 12 (when it is RTM)-->
  	  <category id="13">MSDownloads</category>
  	  <category id="14">Windows Defender</category>
  	  <category id="15">Tools</category>
  	  <category id="16">Power Toys and Extras</category>
  	  <category id="17">Media Center</category>
  	  <category id="18">Ultimate Extras</category>
  	  <category id="30">Windows Live</category>
  	  <category id="99">Other</category>
     </categories>

  I have thought about sharing my lists with the MFSN community, but I'm still working on a few things. But after seeing WUD v2.40 I don't think it is such a good idea to share my lists.
  In WUD v2.30 having as many categories I use isn't much of an issue, since the categories could be expanded and collapsed vertically similar to a folder tree. With all the categories collapsed, once could easily see most (if not all) of the categories at-a-glance or with very little scrolling (a re-sizable windows added to v2.30 would be awesome). And with the v2.30 color-coded boxes on the categories themselves, one could quickly see which categories needed attention.
  
  The WUD v2.40 Category Tab motif looks like a great idea at first. However, it is really only user-friendly when an update list uses just a few categories. The Tab motif quickly becomes unwieldy when using more categories (or even a few categories with long names); things start scrolling off the screen, and there is no way to see all the categories at once. And WUD v2.40 offers no visual feedback as to which categories are up-to-date or not.
  
  

• No Color Feedback, In-fact No Accurate Feedback At All
  I think this has been reported already, but for me, WUD v2.40 does not accurately report when an update is downloaded. Everything gets a check mark. I really liked the WUD v2.30 colored feedback
  NOTE: In the two images above, I deleted the IE8 download. Notice that WUD v2.30 communicates this correctly and WUD v2.40 does not.
  
• InfoTips are now a disaster
  The update lists I maintain also contain copious notes in the InfoTips (<Description> tags) for many updates (very useful for hotfixes, which are not required for all system configurations). Most of my InfoTips are between 4 and 6 lines long, but many are even longer.
  The WUD v2.30 InfoTips were much nicer both in their color and in their presentation of information--they are able to display several lines of text.
  
  The WUD v2.40 InfoTips are a step backward, all of InfoTips are all truncated after about a line and half of text.
  
  It would be nice to have the WUD v2.30 InfoTips in WUD v2.40. Also if there is some way to lengthen the delay before the InfoTip disappears that would be helpful. (Ideally, if the mouse is still hovering, the InfoTip would still be displayed).
  

I hope you will keep hosting WUD v2.30 b988 up on your web site.

Edited May 22, 2009 by DarkShadows

[jcarle]

Thanks for the excellent observations. I've taken notes on all of these things.

[gbmacman]

JCarle,

First, thanks for the great work.

I agree with DarkShadows. I have stayed with 2.3 for many of the reasons hes states, mostly the lack of download feedback. If I would do anything, add intelligence to skip files already downloaded even if checked. That wasn't in the previous version. I'm lazy and like to 'check all' so I don't have to sift through the categories and check them individually.

I would like more categories. It makes locating and integrating easier.

Let me know if there's anything I can do to help.

Gary