How to Check for Available Updates

Applies to TestComplete 14.71, last modified on April 22, 2021

Checking Procedure

By default, every time you launch TestComplete, it connects to our web site to check if a patch or a newer version of the product is available. This feature allows you to automatically check whether an update is available on our web site without visiting it.

If an update or a patch is found, TestComplete displays a notification message about this. To install and use an update, you need to have a maintenance subscription. If you have an active maintenance subscription, the notification message box will contain a button for downloading and installing the update. Simply click this button and follow the instructions you will see on screen. Alternatively, you can download the newer version manually (see below).

If you do not have a maintenance subscription, or if automatic download and installation are not available for some reason, the notification message will contain a link to the web site where you can learn about the changes. You can check if an update is available to you on the My SmartBear portal (see below). If the update is not there, then contact the SmartBear Sales Team to get the update’s installation package.

Notes

  • To disable automatic checking for updates at TestComplete startup, disable the Check for updates at startup option in the Tools > Options > General > Show Again Flags dialog.

  • At any time, you can check for available updates manually by selecting Help > Check for Updates from TestComplete’s main menu.

  • The requests sent to the SmartBear website do not contain personal information. They include only information about the product version you own and license activation information.

  • Patches are available to all product users. To install them, no maintenance subscription is needed.

Updates’ Location

You can download and install the product versions and patches available to you from our web site:

Web Browser Updates

New versions of Firefox and Chrome are released quite frequently. You can check for updates manually or automatically.

Manual

To check if an update has a newer available version manually:

  • From the TestComplete main menu, select Help > Check for Updates. If TestComplete finds plugins that support the new browser versions, it will display a notification message.

  • In the message box, click Yes, I want to download and install this update now to install the update.

You can also download the updates manually from the SmartBear web site:

We recommend that you close all the Chrome and Firefox processes before installing an update.

Automatic

You can check for and download browser updates automatically. This helps you save a lot of time if, for example, only system administrators are authorized to install software in your organization, or if the organization has a number of test machines with TestComplete installed that performs distributed testing. In these cases, the updates will be installed for all TestComplete users of the organization.

To check for available updates automatically:

  • Close all the Chrome and Firefox processes running in the operating system.

  • Close TestComplete if it is running.

  • Run the AutoUpdate utility with the /InstallAvailablePatches command-line argument. The utility is shipped with TestComplete and resides in the <TestComplete>\Bin folder.

    • TestComplete 64-bit:

      "c:\Program Files (x86)\SmartBear\TestComplete 14\x64\Bin\aqAutoUpdate.exe" /InstallAvailablePatches

    • TestComplete 32-bit:

      "c:\Program Files (x86)\SmartBear\TestComplete 14\Bin\aqAutoUpdate.exe" /InstallAvailablePatches

    TestComplete Auto Update dialog

    The utility will check for available patches, install new ones (if any), and will then exit.

    To install the updates, the utility requires administrator privileges.

    In addition, when launching the utility, the operating system shows a dialog box asking for your permission to run it. Closing this dialog box cannot be automated. Close it manually or configure the User Account Control (UAC) settings so that the operating system does not show the dialog (this may reduce your operating system security). See Using TestComplete With Administrator Privileges.

Tip: You can use Windows Task Manager to schedule checking for updates.

Contacting the Sales Team

If an update is not available to you for some reason, contact our Sales Team:

If you contact the Sales Team via the web form, then when submitting your request, use the Sales Inquiry request type. This will help us process your request faster.

See Also

Show Again Flags Dialog

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