Any plans for an auto-update (customer hub) type of application?

[safer]

First let me say that I really, really, love your plugins and want to thank you for providing such high quality stuff!

What I really don't like though is the update/patch process: having to track down the original download links, downloading multiple installers (one for each plugin format, 32/64 bit, etc), and then doing this separately for each product that has an update available. There were times where I've had to run over 30 installers to get up-to-date.

I've noticed some other companies starting to offer management-type applications for their software (UVI, Arturia, Native Instruments, and Toontrack are all examples), where new versions are automatically detected, downloaded, and installed quickly and easily and I must say, it makes a HUGE difference in the whole customer experience in my opinion.

Has anyone asked you for this type of thing before? And do you have any plans to develop something like this? (Consider this both an inquiry and a desperate plea for such an app).

Thanks,
Steve Ferraro

[Blue Cat Audio]

We have plans to improve the installation and update experience, but probably not as a single application. But we'll think about it!

[pumafred]

We have plans to improve the installation and update experience, but probably not as a single application. But we'll think about it!

Good! I am not happy with the applications other vendors are requiring. They start to accumulate in your PC! But I do like plugins that have a “check for updates” option.

[sinkmusic]

Good! I am not happy with the applications other vendors are requiring. They start to accumulate in your PC! But I do like plugins that have a “check for updates” option.

+1

[Tappistry]

We have plans to improve the installation and update experience, but probably not as a single application. But we'll think about it!

Good! I am not happy with the applications other vendors are requiring. They start to accumulate in your PC! But I do like plugins that have a “check for updates” option.

Most definitely. The amount of "update apps" once you get into just a handful of vendors gets a bit exhausting. Just a simple "check for updates" option that opens your default web browser up to the same download link that's in the product emails we receive would be a nice addition.

I also appreciate that Blue Cat also seems to be privacy-conscious about its users.

[safer]

I'd be ok with a "check for updates" button but the one-installer-per-plugin-format has got to go.

On the other hand, I still prefer the one-stop updating that an app offers. I may have even been against the idea at first, but I've grown to appreciate the convenience.

[Blue Cat Audio]

Most definitely. The amount of "update apps" once you get into just a handful of vendors gets a bit exhausting.

Yes, and some of them may actually cause performance issues, as explained in our article to optimize laptops for high performance, so we'd rather stay away from this.

Just a simple "check for updates" option that opens your default web browser up to the same download link that's in the product emails we receive would be a nice addition.

Yes, something like this or it could even download the update for you. Not sure yet!

I also appreciate that Blue Cat also seems to be privacy-conscious about its users.

Thanks! Some auto update apps are indeed also a way to gather information about customers, which we do not have plans to do.

[Tappistry]

One other suggestion for improvement, along the lines of installation organization:

When you have multiple Blue Cat plugins installed on a Windows machine, the Blue Cat Audio folder in the Start Menu becomes a bit cluttered and hard to navigate. (I don't know if this happens on OSX machines, so any of those folks can feel free to chime in here.) Every manual for each product is just named "manual.pdf." So if you try to access the manual through the start menu, it's like playing a game of roulette to hope you click the right one. Similarly, the "webpage" links that are thrown in there end up having the same issue.

The website links in the Start Menu are an arguably unnecessary addition, because I know how to get to each product's web page if I need to. Ultimately, they aren't hurting anything or taking up enough space for me to care about. The manuals, however, are different a story, as I use them frequently. What I ended up doing as a workaround, I do this for all my plugins, is save copies of the PDF manuals in a folder inside of my VST2 plugins folder for easy access. They're all named accordingly so I can find them easily.

For future installed versions of all of the plugins, I'd suggest either one of two improvements for the start menu:
1. Organize each plugin's file shortcuts into subfolders, so something like:
Blue Cat Audio\Late Replies\manual.pdf

2. Rename each of the manuals respectively so they can be found easily from the Start Menu, e.g. "BC Late Replies Manual.pdf."

In case anyone is wondering, yes I also use the manual buttons from inside the plugins. Sometimes, however, I may want to look up a feature or procedure of a BC plugin if I don't have it open to compare it to something else.

[Blue Cat Audio]

All links to manuals are actually already in a sub folder but for some reason in Windows 10 they decided to show only one level, hence the mess. So you are right, it is now necessary to change the names (this also includes uninstallers).

Consider it done for the next update: