auto updater

[JohnG]

I'm designing a web site that will include resources as pdfs/word and ppt files on a weekly and monthly basis. Does anyone know of a piece of software that I can buy that can be downloaded to the users desktop (and run in their toolbar if possible) to inform them and let them download these files?

Any help would be great...

[zyex]

i've done a quick search looking for something like that and not found anything...

maybe you could just email the user what any updates are available...

[JohnG]

Thanks for your reply. Emailing may be the only answer, but with the potential of hundreds of people at various stages of the subscription I really need to find a piece of software that can do it. I have found something called autoupdate OCX, but its based around software updates so is a little complicated for my needs.

[zyex]

you can just write a script that will send the emails - when a document is added, an email is sent to everyone on the subscription list....

Using this method will mean that users get the messages at different times, so they can get the update when they choose.

Do you really want a few hundred users trying to connect to you server at the same time? Will your webserver and bandwidth be able to cope with that?

[JohnG]

Thnxs for that. Your right about the bandwidth, probably not large enough to handle that much at once. I dunno, I was just trying to think of a cooler way than something they may or may not read. Even if I don't follow the instructions I always notice the popup notices from the icons in the toolbars. Oh well back to basics I suppose.... :(