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Tool Finder (every VDC command, searchable)

The suite updates itself at sign-in, so the tools change underneath you with nothing on screen to say so. These are the two notices that close that gap: what version am I on , and what changed . Both are dialogs, and both can be turned down from inside the dialog. Find Tool ( VDCTOOLS , the Help panel of every VDC tab) is the third piece: a search box over the suite's own ribbon - every button and drop-down item by tab and panel, names and tooltips searched, the commands added since the version this workstation last saw marked NEW ; the Where line says tab > panel > drop-down > button, Show on ribbon switches to the tab and flashes the button (1.120.0: the panel turns orange, the button goes Large and pulses for up to 12 s, and a status-bar balloon says where it is in words), double-click or Run starts one. Every ribbon tooltip title carries the command name.

Command VDCUPDATE VDCWHATSNEW VDCTOOLS · every VDC tab › Help panel

VDCTOOLS is part of Check for Updates (this workstation); the full section follows.

The suite updates itself at sign-in, so the tools change underneath you with nothing on screen to say so. These are the two notices that close that gap: what version am I on, and what changed. Both are dialogs, and both can be turned down from inside the dialog. Find Tool (VDCTOOLS, the Help panel of every VDC tab) is the third piece: a search box over the suite's own ribbon - every button and drop-down item by tab and panel, names and tooltips searched, the commands added since the version this workstation last saw marked NEW; the Where line says tab > panel > drop-down > button, Show on ribbon switches to the tab and flashes the button (1.120.0: the panel turns orange, the button goes Large and pulses for up to 12 s, and a status-bar balloon says where it is in words), double-click or Run starts one. Every ribbon tooltip title carries the command name.

What's New - the automatic one

  • Opens by itself the first session on a version this workstation has not seen - the version now running, what changed, and a button to the release page.
  • Lists every release between the last one you were told about and the one you are on. A week away comes back as one window with all of them, newest first.
  • A fresh install is recorded silently - nobody needs a What's New window for the version they just installed on purpose.
  • VDCWHATSNEW replays it for the version you are running, any time.
  • Turning the announcement off still records what you are on, so switching it back on later does not replay months of releases.

VDCUPDATE - the on-demand one

  • Installed on this workstation - the version this session actually loaded, which is not always what is on disk.
  • Available on the deployment share - the published version, read from the share's bundle manifest.
  • What's new - every release between the two.
  • Always checks and always shows an answer, including “you are running the current version” - a check that reports nothing is indistinguishable from a check that never ran.
  • On a synced seat there is nothing to do: the new build installs itself at your next sign-in, and the dialog says so. To get it now, close Civil 3D and run Update.bat from the share.

Settings (in the dialog)

  • Check for a newer version: Every startup / Once a day (default) / Once a week / Once a month / Never.
  • Show me what's new when a new version arrives: on by default - this is how new commands stop appearing unannounced.
  • Skip ‹version›: offered only when an update is waiting. Silences that one version; anything newer still gets a notice.
  • Settings: env VDC_UPDATE_SETTINGS, default %APPDATA%\VDC\Update\settings.json - point every seat at one file to set the house policy once.
  • Ribbon: Help panel on every VDC tab → Check for Updates.

Where the numbers come from

  • Installed version: the installed bundle's own PackageContents.xml.
  • Published version: the share's bundle manifest, located by the VDC_TOOLS_UPDATE_SOURCE env var Install.bat sets. Unset (a standalone seat) and the automatic check stays quiet.
  • Release notes: whats-new.json, shipped inside the bundle beside the manifest - the installed copy describes what you are running, the share's copy what you are about to get. Both notices read correctly with the network down.
  • A standalone seat with no share can be pointed at an HTTPS release feed (FeedUrl in the settings file). That is the only path here that touches the internet, and it is empty out of the box.
  • VDCUPDATE answers for this workstation; VDCVERSIONS answers for every workstation.

Dialog

Check for Updates (this workstation) dialog
Check for Updates (this workstation) - VDCUPDATE
Tool Finder (every VDC command, searchable) dialog
Tool Finder (every VDC command, searchable) - VDCTOOLS
VDCWHATSNEW - No dialog - opens the bundled What's New page.

When to use it

  • You want to know whether the behavior you are seeing is fixed in a newer build.
  • Before reporting a problem - so the version number is in the report.
  • You dismissed the What's New window and want to read it again (VDCWHATSNEW).
  • The notices are appearing more or less often than you want.

How to run it

  1. Run VDCUPDATE, or click Check for Updates on any VDC tab's Help panel.
  2. Read the two version lines: what this workstation loaded, and what is published on the share.
  3. Read What's New - it lists every release between the two, newest first.
  4. Set how often to look, then click OK. Cancel leaves the settings alone.
  5. What's New Online opens the release page in your browser for the full write-up.

Options

  • Check for a newer version: Every startup, Once a day (the default), Once a week, Once a month, or Never.
  • Show me what's new when a new version arrives: the What's New window on the first session after an update lands. On by default - this is how new commands stop appearing unannounced.
  • Skip <version>: shown only when an update is waiting. Silences that one version; anything newer still gets a notice.