[StrategyOnline Accessories]
    PlugITInstall=2.50
    J-FaxInstall=1.21
    J-FlowInstall=1.97

That simply tells us the currently installed version numbers for those three products. We use the “Install=” command to identify the currently installed version, as shown in the example above (i.e. “PlugItInstall=2.50″).

“Install=” is the only required command that MUST be in the INI file. We have added several other commands that you can use, but these are all optional.

Here is an example of the optional commands, which are then discussed below the example.

    [StrategyOnline Accessories]
    J-FaxInstall=1.21
    J-FlowInstall=2.50
    J-FlowUpdaterExe=c:\program files\strategy\jflow\webupdate.exe
    J-FlowDisplayText=Ultimate Flow
    J-FlowExpiryDate=2009-12-31
    J-FlowLocalDocumentation=C:\C55\3rdParty\Docs\JFlow\JFlow.PDF
    SupplierForumName=StrategyOnline
    SupplierForumURL=http://www.strategyonline.co.za/forum?login=JoeBlogs

The first two lines of this example simply identify the currently installed version numbers for J-Fax and J-Flow. Everything below that is optional, as outlined next:

[Product Name]UpdaterExe

Normally Clarion Desktop will download new product versions from an internet address. Some products (such as Clarion Handy Tools) have their own “Web Updater” tool which is installed on users computers, and which needs to be run in order to download updates. If a product has a local “Web Updater” program, then you can use the “UpdaterExe” command to identify that EXE. When a user clicks on the “Download” link in Clarion Desktop your “Web Updater” EXE will then be called.

[Product Name]DisplayText

This command lets you specify a different “display name” for a product. In the example shown above I have a product called “J-Flow”. That’s the “real” name of the product, and that’s what I would need to enter into the ClarionDesktop.com database. However, if for some reason I want Clarion Desktop to display a different name for that product under the “My Products” section of the Clarion Desktop main screen, then I could use the “DisplayText” command to set an alternate display name. In this example my users would not see “J-Flow”, they would instead see “Ultimate Flow”.

[Product Name]ExpiryDate

Some products are sold on a subscription basis, and expire on a certain date. You can use the “ExpiryDate” command to enter the date that a users product will expire. This date is then displayed next to the product name on the Clarion Desktop home page, so that your users can easily see when their product will expire. It is vital that you use the date format (YYYY-MM-DD) when using this command.

Product XML Feeds

As discussed here, the agreed upon Product Data XML Feed structure is as follows..

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" ?>
<clarionaccessories>
<producer>
<name>StrategyOnline</name>
<website>http://www.strategyonline.co.za/</website>
<item>
<product>J-Flow</product>
<latestversion>1.85</latestversion>
<latestreleasedate>2007-02-03</latestreleasedate>
<compatibility>Clarion 5 and 6</compatibility>
<latestreleasecomments>Several bug fixes</latestreleasecomments>
<homepageurl>http://www.strategyonline.co.za/jflow/index.php</homepageurl>
<downloadurl>http://www.strategyonline.co.za/ftp/public/jflowsetup.exe</downloadurl>
<buynowurl>http://www.strategyonline.co.za/jflow/buy.php</buynowurl>
<priceusd>99.00</priceusd>
<description>Add flow diagrams to Clarion.</description>
<autocreate>0</autocreate>
</item>
<item>
(You would add your next product here.)
</item>
</producer>
</clarionaccessories>

Examples of live XML feeds can be seen from StrategyOnline, Icetips, Ripley Software, Clarion Magazine, Clarion ProSeries, and Tracker Software.