[GUI Plugin] Plugin Updater **Deprecated**

[kiwidude]

As of Calibre 0.8.6 this plugin has now been directly integrated into Calibre and the version on this thread is now deprecated. The zip file will be kept below for users with earlier Calibre versions for a short period of time, however there will be no ongoing support for issues that may arise or a guarantee for how long it may continue to work.

This plugin offers a GUI to make it easier for Calibre users to download and install new plugins or updates for any of the user-developed plugins that are found within this subforum. One to rule them all, so to speak...

Currently all end-user developed plugins are found as zip files attached to forum threads like this one. A sticky index thread summarises all the plugins available, their latest versions and links to the threads. As plugin developers we update the zip file attached to the first post when we issue a new version, and ensure the index thread is updated by notifying either myself or Kovid.

This plugin removes the need for users to continually visit this subforum just to find plugin updates with the manual download and install steps required. Instead a GUI dialog displays visually for you the current state of the plugins you have installed, with a simple button click to download an update or a new plugin and install it for you.

Main Features of v1.2.5:

• Display a list of all end user plugins available from the plugins index.
• Filterable using a dropdown to show plugins installed needing updates (default) or other criteria.
• Option to open the forum thread for that plugin in a web browser.
• Install or Uninstall plugins from the dialog, automatically downloading the plugin zip file for you as required.
• View version history for a plugin if available
• Enable/disable and configure your installed plugins
• Ctrl-click or shift/click on the Plugin Updater toolbar/menu to default to displaying all plugins rather than just updates available
• Run a check in the background at Calibre startup and every 4 hours, updating the plugin icon/name to show when updates are available for your installed plugins
• Allow users to make donations to the plugin developer

Special Notes:

• Requires Calibre v0.7.57 or later.

Installation Steps:

1. Download the attached zip file and install the plugin/add to toolbar/restart Calibre as described in the Introduction to plugins thread.

Paypal Donations:

• If you find this or any of my other plugins useful please feel free to show your appreciation. I have spent many hundreds of unpaid hours in their development and support so any encouragement for me to continue is appreciated!
  

Version History:

Spoiler:

Version 1.2.5 - 12 Jun 2011
Sort by plugin name for all views except Not Installed, which is sorted by release date descending

Version 1.2.4 - 05 Jun 2011
Change tooltip for the Donate message so it asks the user to use the right-click menu to Donate
Add to all tooltips the message to right-click for more options

Version 1.2.3 - 01 Jun 2011
Fix copy/paste error in new context menu where configure plugin was going to the forum thread.

Version 1.2.2 - 01 Jun 2011
Add a context menu moving many of the buttons off bottom of dialog onto it

Version 1.2.1 - 26 May 2011
Add support for handling gzip encoding being turned on

Version 1.2 - 15 May 2011
Check for plugin updates in the background at startup and every 4 hours, update icon if available
Add support for donation hyperlink to plugin developers in Plugin Index page
Handle invalid name/value pairs from imperfect editing of the forum index page

Version 1.1.3 - 23 Apr 2011
Add support for ";Deprecated: Yes" to highlight plugins that have reached end of life
Add reading of deprecated plugins from a special section at end of forum post
Support multiple comma separated targets for the "; Uninstall: xxx,yyy" forum page value
Mirror logic added by Kovid to ensure adding a plugin with same name as a built-in one is rejected

Version 1.1.2 - 09 Apr 2011
Support skinning of icons by putting them in a plugin name subfolder of local resources/images

Version 1.1.1 - 04 Apr 2011
Attempt to more gracefully handle a plugin that fails to be loaded when installed

Version 1.1 - 03 Apr 2011
Rewrite for new plugin infrastructure in Calibre 0.7.53
Add a Version History button for reading from SPOILER tags
Fix install button not disabled after last available update installed
Rename Uninstall to Remove plugin for consistency with Calibre dialog
Add buttons to toggle enabled status and show configuration dialog
If plugin launched with ctrl or shift key pressed, show all plugins

Version 1.0.2 - 24 Mar 2011
Fix prints debug statements

Version 1.0.1 - 20 Mar 2011
Fix selection bug if install two plugins in a row

Version 1.0 - 18 Mar 2011
Initial release of Plugin Updater plugin

[meme]

This looks great!

Did a quick test - installation and un-installation of plugins and it worked perfectly.

[kiwidude]

Excellent, thanks meme for jumping on it so quickly. I figured as a fellow plugin developer you would be keen for any way to make it easier for users to keep updated. It can be a bit frustrating to know that a significant % of our users are either battling with long-since fixed bugs or missing out on loads of new features just because of the faffing or fear involved of installing/updating.

I've added a few notes to the plugins sticky index page too about how it needs to be updated.

[nynaevelan]

This is fantastic.

[chilady1]

You guys are TERRIFIC!!!!!!!!!! This just keep getting better and better. I love this site, specifically all the very hard work done by all the people who continue to make Calibre the best thing out there.

THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[anijh]

Very nice. Thanks.

I'm just starting to use Calibre plugins and this will be helpful.

[gbzdmo]

Very useful, I found one plugin that needed updating and added 2 more.
I installed on the tool bar and one thing I noticed that when you press the Close button it does not leave the Icon on the tool bar, it does reappear next time Calibre is started.
I am running on Windows 7 64 bit

[kiwidude]

Restarting Calibre is mandatory after installing any of the GUI plugins, be it a new one or updating an existing one. So long as everything works and appears as it should after that restart that is the important thing.

If that is not the case then if you can give me some step by step details of what you did to replicate it I can take a look.

[Perkin]

Oooh, very nice.

I even found that a few of the plugins I had were out of date.

Thanks a lot for this.

[gbzdmo]

Originally Posted by kiwidude

Restarting Calibre is mandatory after installing any of the GUI plugins, be it a new one or updating an existing one. So long as everything works and appears as it should after that restart that is the important thing.

If that is not the case then if you can give me some step by step details of what you did to replicate it I can take a look.

Once I had finished installing the plugins I wanted and restarted Calibre, I clicked on the ICON, decided there were no more I waned to install and pressed close without taking any action. the ICON was no longer on the task bar.

Is there some way of knowing if plugin updates are available without you having to press the Icon?

[loximuthal]

Thanks so much for this. Found a couple of updates I had missed.

[kiwidude]

Originally Posted by gbzdmo

Once I had finished installing the plugins I wanted and restarted Calibre, I clicked on the ICON, decided there were no more I waned to install and pressed close without taking any action. the ICON was no longer on the task bar.

That sounds rather strange, not something I can replicate nor knowing the code think of a cause. Are you sure you didn't accidentally uninstall the Plugin Updater itself when you went back into the updater dialog? What is the status of the Plugin Updater plugin right now - is it still installed, is it on any toolbars etc. Do you still get the same behaviour when you restart Calibre and open/close the dialog?

Is there some way of knowing if plugin updates are available without you having to press the Icon?

Right now, no. Kovid did ask me to expose an API from the code which would allow Calibre to check whether plugin updates are available, in a similar way I guess to how it checks whether a Calibre update is available. That plumbing is done, but it needs a full integration with Calibre to finish the job so that Calibre can notify you.

[jackie_w]

@kiwidude,

The current and only version of my GUI plugin, "Copy book cover...", is v1.1.1.

In your new Plugin Update plugin, it is displaying as
Installed: 1.1.1
Available: 1.1.0

These two numbers should be the same. How do I get this done?

[kiwidude]

@jackie_w. I have just updated the index thread to make it 1.1.1. When I first put it on there I couldn't see any version numbers in your post so I just took the value from the filename rather than looking inside the code.

In future, just drop a PM to either myself or Kovid to update the sticky index - if you take a look at it now you will see the instructions I posted in there yesterday.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by kiwidude

@jackie_w. I have just updated the index thread to make it 1.1.1.

Looks OK now, thank you.