Updating Help Builder to the latest version

Help Builder includes a mechanism for checking for the latest version and giving you the option of downloading and installing this latest version for you. This the check is automatic and happens occasionally during startup of Help Builder when it goes out to the West Wind Web site and picks up a small configuration file that contains the latest version info. If the version is out of sync with your currently installed version a dialog prompts you to download this new version.

Tip:
You can modify the update frequency on the Help Builder | Options | Administration feature page.

Updates are always downloaded from the Internet and so require an Internet Connection using Port 80 to the the West Wind Web site. The update can either be downloaded as part of an automatic update check or it can be manually downloaded and installed (in case security permissions don't allow automatic updates). The file download URL is:

http://www.west-wind.com/files/updates/wwhelp400_update.exe

The Exe is simply a self-extracting Zip file that can be executed and loaded into the Help Builder install directory.

Update Mechanisms

Version checks and updates can be performed in three ways:

• Automatic when Help Builder Starts
  
• Manually via the Help Menu's Check for Latest Version option
  
• Manual download and installation via Help Menu's Manually download Latest Update
  

Automatic Updates
Automatic updates occur when Help Builder starts and are controlled via the Update Frequency setting configured on the Options | Administration page. This process is the easiest and keeps you up to date when a new version becomes available. You can also manually initiate this process from the Help Menu and clicking on Check for latest Version.

The process follows these steps:

• Connects to West Wind site and checks for the latest version against a small version file
  
• If not in sync prompts you whether you want to update
  
• Downloads the update file (the EXE Zip Archive) from the Web site into the Updates folder
  
• Shuts down Help Builder and launches an Updater
  
• The updater unzips the content of the downloaded archive
  
• The updater then restarts Help Builder
  

Manual Download
You can also force Help Builder to let you download the file directly to your machine and basically perform the update manually. This might be necessary if the update process cannot be performed through the automated routine due to security configuration issues or possible lack of connectivity from within Help Builder due to firewall restrictions.

To manually download:

• Use the Help menu's Manually download latest Update menu option
  
• Save the file to a local directory
  
• Execute the downloaded file - it's WinZip archive
  
• Unzip the archive into the Help Builder installation directory
  

For all of these operations there are potential security restrictions involved that might require elevation of rights to administrator.