Please follow the format below for requesting a feature.
The problem that this feature will solve:
Make applying Shapr Macintosh software updates less time consuming and disruptive.
Brief description of the outcomes that you expect from this feature:
Conform to modern Macintosh norms for ease of applying software updates - reduce the time and manual process of frequent Shapr software updates.
All other professional (and other) Macintosh software I use (non-App Store software) makes use of what appears to be a standard Macintosh update mechanism (with frameworks from Apple supporting it, I assume, as they are all implemented essentially the same) that simply requires me to click on an acknowledgement that I want to perform the update. Then it downloads the update and performs the update. Period. Or, for software from the Apple Store, simply acknowledge the update and it also applies with no further intervention from me.
Shapr, on the other hand, requires me to perform an outdated manual Macintosh software update process: download the update file (with an auto-launch of my browser) and save it on my hard drive. Find it with the Finder on my hard drive. Then quit Shapr. Then throw the current version of Shapr into the trash. Then open the downloaded .dmg. Then drag the new version of Shapr into the Applications icon. Then delete the .dmg file (if I wish). Then relaunch Shapr.
Every single time there is an update.
(Then multiply that by your number of Macintosh Shapr users.)
I run Shapr every couple of weeks (that is the frequency with which I need to design parts). With the (otherwise appreciated) short update cycle for Shapr I can almost guarantee that each time I start a design I first have to interrupt myself to go through this manual update process; an update is always waiting. What should be a good thing (frequent updates) becomes an interrupting-my-workflow pain point. I just want to get my design done and print it. And frequently I am sitting down with a fresh design, and even some measurements, in my head that I then do/might lose. I have to turn to a piece of paper and start jotting down the measurements instead of getting quickly into Shapr to sketch them in. (Of course I could ignore the update, I assume this is not what Shapr would like to see happen and it isn’t what I’d prefer, wanting to benefit from improvements and bug fixes.)
If this were still the norm for Macintosh software…well then I guess it would be easier to accept with Shapr. But this is the (in my case, lone) exception; all the other software I run has moved on (years ago) to implementing the smooth one-click process – large software companies and one-person shops. This more modern process fully respects the software user’s time. I’ve been waiting for Shapr to implement it for years, resenting it each time I have to do the old-fashioned manual process instead.
Please implement the standard Macintosh software update mechanism so that we can fluidly apply updates and fully appreciate them, rather than experiencing unwelcome multi-step manual interruptions of our workflow with each update. I truly want to look forward to these updates as I do with other professional (and other) software. (And quite frankly, Shapr blows most others out of the water for frequency of welcome updates, which creates an irony, as what is a strong positive also becomes a constant irritant.)
Is this a workflow blocker for you? Is this why you can’t use Shapr3D for work? Is this slowing you down?
Yes. I use it anyway but notice the slowdown and “pain” of the update process. Yes.
What can’t you achieve without this feature?
A quick open of Shapr to begin work on a new design. Instead there is frequently a three or four minute, multi-step interruption to download and install (replace) the waiting software update manually.
