Switching Between Versions of Revolution
A beginner's article on safely switching between two or more versions of Revolution.
If you have ever regretted upgrading or updating some software, there is a special feature of Revolution that will make you smile.
Revolution has a special feature that lets you update your version right within the application. You do not have to redownload Revolution in order to update it. A number of applications do this, but this is also when you have those "oh why did I upgrade!" moments. But not with Revolution!
With Revolution, you do not upgrade - instead, you are installing an alternative version that you can activate at any time. That's right. You can easily switch between any version you have downloaded and installed using this method.
Downloading a New Version
You don't need to download and reinstall Revolution. Downloading a new version is possible entirely within Revolution itself. Here's how.
Go to Help > Check for Updates...
If you see this, then you are all set - you have the latest version of Revolution. If you've been using Revolution for a while, chances are that you'll see something like this:
Go ahead and select Update. Its safe!
After you do that, an update checker will appear and begin to download the update.
Once its finished downloading, you will get a standard installer dialog. You should read over the new read me information.
If you select Save, you can save a text copy of the new read me to your computer.
So far its not all that different than downloading an installer and updating locally. Next see the real difference with Revolution.
Switching Between Versions of Revolution
If you've completed the previous steps, you will see the following:
Either choice is correct. If you select No, then nothing changes - except that the new version is available. If you select Yes, then the next time you start Revolution, this version will be the active one.
Go ahead and select Yes, then restart Revolution.
Still, this isn't all that different from just downloading an update, is it? After you restart Revolution, go back to the Help menu.
Select Help > Manage Versions...
Every entry listed is a different version of Revolution. In this case, I can switch back to Revolution 2.8.0-gm-4 if I like. And that doesn't wipe out any other version installed.
GM means "golden master". A golden master is the version of a product that is ready for public release.Go to the directory where Revolution is installled and you can see each version is installed into its own directory.
If you have used a new feature in your project that isn't supported by an older version, chances are it will generate an error of some kind.
I have used other development tools other than Revolution, and there have been times when updating the IDE ends up breaking a project, or changing/breaking code by "updating" it to the newest version. This doesn't happen with Revolution because you can always switch back to a version that you know works.
The author of this article is Taro Kodama, with translation and editing help from Chikako Hatanaka, Art Director for Meshbox Design.