Question

How to I install the latest update for PowerCADD

Requirements

PowerCADD v7 or newer, Mac OS^? X, and an Internet connection

What To Do

PowerCADD uses an special updater application to automatically install the latest updates, in the correct location, on your computer.

Stage One: To check if an update is available, do this:

1. Launch PowerCADD by double clicking the application icon
2. Choose Help menu → Updates...
3. If you see this dialog box, you have the most recent update. Simply press OK. You have the latest version and do no need to do anything at this time


4. If you see this dialog box, you should click Download and proceed to stage two described below.

1. after pressing Download at the end of Stage 1 described above, the PowerCADD updater application will appear:


2. press Update to automatically update any PowerCADD modules with the most current versions.
• Caution: This automatically replaces the current version with the most current one. A backup is not preformed unless you follow the steps noted below
3. PowerCADD will automatically Quit and the updater application will provide a progress dialog as to the current state of the update
4. the next time you launch PowerCADD, you'll see the License Agreement dialog. Press Agree to begin using the most current version of PowerCADD

Recommended step: Backup as part of the update process

As noted in Stage 2 above, the PowerCADD Update Application provides you the option to backup your current installation of PowerCADD before proceeding with the update. We strongly recommend using the automated backup process as it allows you revert back to a previous installation of PowerCADD in the event of a problem.

To backup PowerCADD as part of the automatic update process, do this:

1. In Stage Two, step 2, press Settings instead of Update. The updater applications, settings panel will appear as shown here:


2. check the Backup Before Update box
• optional: press choose if you installed PowerCADD someplace other than your Applications folder and select it's location on your hard drive.
3. do not adjust any settings in the upper portion of the dialog box
4. Press OK to proceed with the automated update as described in Stage Two above.
5. A new folder named PowerCADD 7 is created with the most up to date files. Your previous copy of PowerCADD will be in backup folder with a date and time stamp. For example, the backup version will be here: Startup Disk → Applications folder →PowerCADD 7 backup 1.24.06, 4.32.24 PM folder. The text backup along with a month.date.year date stamp (example: 1.24.06) and a hour.minute.second time stamp (example: 4.32.24 PM) is appended to the end of the old PowerCADD 7 application folder name

Also updating WildTOOLs?

If you are also updating WildTOOLs, always perform your PowerCADD update first. The WildTools update is a manual process and requires you to replace a specific folder inside the PowerCADD application folder as described in a related article in this section of our website.

What to do with your backup copy of PowerCADD

If you opted to backup your old copy of PowerCADD as part of the update process (and we're sure you did), we recommend compressing the backup copy. Why compress it? By compressing the folder it will not only take up less space on your hard drive, but it will also prevent that old version of PowerCADD from accidentially launching. That one simple step can save you a lot of confusion later if you don't realize which version you may have launched.

How many backup versions should you keep? Well, that's up to you but at a minimum we recommend keeping at least one version back. For example, if you have been using PowerCADD v7.01 with success for quite some time, and there's an update to 7.02, we recommend keeping 7.01 until 7.03 is released. After updating to 7.03, and being confident all is well, we would keep 7.02 and get ride of 7.01. That's a minimum -- it's not a bad idea to keep two versions back as a safety net. In our case we confess to keeping ALL versions on an external drive for regression testing but we confess to being a bit over the top when it comes that sort of thing

Additional Recommendations

In addition to keeping a backup of earlier PowerCADD versions as described earlier, we also recommend a few Mac OS X house keeping chores at the same time as you perform an update. Here are a few house keeping recommendations:

• Take the time to back your PowerCADD preferences and related customized files. Simply back the entire PowerCADD Preferences folder located at UserID → Library → Preferences → PowerCADD folder.
• After updating PowerCADD, Quit ALL open applications then launch Apple's Disk Utility.app (Applications folder → Utilities → Disk Utility) and Repair Permissions on your Startup Disk. Mac OS X is Unix and file and folder permissions are important for optimal system and application performance.
• Use an application like YASU to cleanup your system cache files and perform other general system maintenance.
• Restart your computer after doing all the system house keeping chores noted above
• If it's been a while since you did any hard disk or directory maintenance, now might be a good time to do that too using an application like Disk Warrior or Tech Tools Pro. (see our related articles in the Mac OX Learning Center on this website).
• If you don't regularly backup your hard drive and data files, now would be a very good time to backup if for no other reason that it's good practice to do so on a regular basis

The above recommendations aren't required as part of a PowerCADD update, they're simply good house keeping tips that are worth taking the time to do on a regular basis. Since you're already taking the time to update PowerCADD, why not take the time to make sure the rest of your system is in top working order too. It doesn't take that long and it's a lot like doing motorcycle maintenance -- since we're already greasy and dirty from changing the oil we might as well clean and lube the chain and do all those other little chores to feel confident when we head out on our next ride.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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