Managing a Chameleon Update Server

An update server is not required to use Chameleon but it is nice if you publish or maintain a large number of plug-ins. Currently, Black Knight does not offer a public update service so you will need to run your own server on either a private LAN or public web server.

Server Requirements

• A web server running at a well known location that is accessible by the Chameleon clients that you wish to update.
• Directory browsing enabled on the server.
• A method of zipping the files (.zip format) that you wish to send to the client.

Server Configuration

Chameleon uses a modified version of the Sharp AutoUpdater component for distributing and installing automatic updates. This is a relatively simple and straightforward automatic update component that simply downloads and unpacks a zip into the top level directory of the application. Only files contained within the zip will be updated. Please see the Sharp AutoUpdater documentation for specific information on how automatic updates work.

Follow these steps to set up a Chameleon update server:

1. Enable directory browsing on the target http server.
2. Create an .xml file on the server similar to the example below:
   
   

      <VersionConfig>
         <AvailableVersion>1.0.0.2</AvailableVersion>
         <AppFileURL>http://servername/update.zip</AppFileURL>
         <ChangeLogURL>http://servername/change_log.html</ChangeLogURL>
      </VersionConfig>

   In this example, AppFileUrl should contain the http path to a zip file containing the update. ChangeLogUrl contains the path to an .html document detailing the updates provided in the update. The version number is present to tell clients whether they are up to date or not.

   With Chameleon, the update version is referred to as a Revision because automatic updates can be applied to more than just a single file version. This number is held in a text file called update.config. The current revision number can be viewed in the about box. Chameleon's revision number will be updated to the version number specified by the update server.
3. Place this .xml file on the web server.
4. Enable and configure remote updates using the Configure Automatic Updates Window from within the Chameleon client. Automatic updates will need to be configured for each client. As an administrator, if you would like to push the configuration out to clients, it may be easiest to configure updates once and then copy the updater.config file located in
   'C:\Program Files\Black Knight Technology\Chameleon\Chameleon\' to each client machine.
5. To publish updates, place the modified files in a zip file and place that file on the server at the location indicated by AppFileURL.

Additional Notes

Only the files contained within the zip will be updated. If you are in an environment where users may miss an update, you should include all updates since the initial installation in the zip.

Zip updates from within the update folder, not at the folder level. If deploying an update by hand you should be able to copy the update zip into the primary Chameleon folder, extract the zip, and see the files included in your update replaced. No additional moving or copying should be required.