Patches, Service Packs, and Hot Fixes

Question:

What are Patches and where are they found?

Answer:

Patches are fixes to known problems that have not been released to clients as part of a service pack. Patches are available only from a Lucity support representative

Question:

Do the Patches only write over older files?

Answer:

Mostly yes. With Windows Installer, there is no concept of old and new; only the version number is used when comparing versioned files. However, if a newer version (i.e. a Service Pack) already exists on a user's workstation, it will not be overwritten by a patch as we now always increment versions on our .dlls, .ocxs, and .exesx.

Question:

What are Hot Fixes and where are they found?

Answer:

Hot Fixes are fixes to known problems that have not been released to clients as part of a service pack, but have been bundled into their own installation and placed on the Clients Only Website for clients to download.

Question:

What are Service Packs and where are they found?

Answer:

Service packs are released by Lucity on a periodic basis to fix bugs (patches) and introduce product enhancements.  All clients that own a particular version are notified of service pack availability by email.  Clients will receive a link to download the service pack along with a description of how it's used. We also provide a Patch List in .pdf format that describes the purpose of each patch.  This will accompany the service pack. All service Packs are found on the Clients Only Website. Visitors to the site can view all patches available; however, customers will need to use their admin username (help desk login) to download the service pack.

Question:

In what order should I apply the Service Pack files?

Answer:

• We recommend the following:
  1. First, apply the Server Service Pack at the workstation that you will be applying the Workstation Service Pack.
  2. Next, apply the Workstation Service Pack at that same machine.
  3. Then, apply that Workstation Service Pack to all other workstations.
  4. Finally, apply the Services Service Pack at the server.

     Note: The Services Service Pack is the only one that is applied directly at the server.