Any way to do a mass block update for the whole website at once?

Ask the community
1

Hi all,

Is there a possibility to do a mass update of all blocks at once?

Background for my question: I’m using (too) many blocks on my website - and with (nearly) every block I select I see a notification that a block update is available. That’s fine, but updating these blocks one at the time is a tedious process.

Regards,
Thijs

2

From my Softr GPT bot: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-4Oc228mn2-softr-airtable-make-stripe-app-builder

Absolutely, managing numerous blocks and their updates on a Softr website can indeed be a bit cumbersome if done individually. However, as of my last update in April 2023, Softr doesn’t offer a direct feature for mass updating all blocks at once. Typically, updates need to be applied block by block.

But, there are a few strategies you might consider to streamline this process:

  1. Regular Maintenance Schedule: Instead of updating blocks as soon as updates become available, you might schedule regular maintenance windows. This way, you can update all necessary blocks in one session, perhaps weekly or monthly, depending on your needs.
  2. Template Utilization: If you find certain block configurations work well for you, consider saving them as templates. While this won’t automatically update blocks, it does speed up the process of replacing outdated blocks with updated templates.
  3. Feedback to Softr: If the process is becoming a significant issue, providing feedback to Softr is a good step. User feedback often drives the development of new features, and a mass update feature could be beneficial for many users.
  4. Streamlined Workflow: Create a systematic approach to updating your blocks. For instance, you could start from one end of your site and move systematically to the other, ensuring no block is missed and updating becomes a more structured process.

While these strategies don’t provide an immediate solution to mass updating, they can help manage the process more effectively. Remember to keep an eye on Softr’s updates and community forums, as new features are regularly introduced based on user demand and feedback.

1 Like
3

Hello there!

Thank you for your message.

Currently, we don’t have an option for bulk updating blocks either on a single page or throughout the entire application. The only available way is to manually and regularly updating the blocks individually to prevent potential issues caused by outdated blocks.

I completely understand your concern, especially when dealing with numerous pages and multiple building blocks, as it can indeed become a tedious task. Unfortunately, at this time, there isn’t an alternative solution. However, we do have feature requests related to this matter in our backlog, and we hope to address this in future updates.

1 Like
4

Just consider that a mass block update could easily break your app, and you wouldn’t know where to start to look for errors. Specially when you have hundreds of blocks.

I don’t even know what to suggest to softr team about the optimal approach to handle this critical process.

One very small feature request to start, would be to know what block version we are currrently using, and the MOST IMPORTANT when there is a need to fix some block isuues, do not force us to update. Just fix the broken version without any intervension from our side.

Many times I have had to update blocks because they dont work the way they should and not because they come with new features. Features that I dont need…yet or are not relevant for the current project.

I am saying empowering users to update blocks should be more aimed to access more features rather than fixing performance. Performance should be fixed by default without our intervention.

1 Like
5

Hi all,

Thanks for your response.

Acjnas thank you for mentioning the risk of errors due to block updates… I asumed block updates are rigorously tested by Softr prior to release, so this wouldn’t even be possible. But perhaps its best to take this risk into account when updating the blocks on the website.

What is the best approach to make sure that any errors are resolved BEFORE these are published/visible on the ‘live’ website?

What I can think of are a couple of options - but I’d like to be advised on the best approach:

  • Option 1: make a shadow copy of the website and perform the updates and testing there. And if tested successfully then make the shadow copy the main website, which will help to prevent double work of manual updating.
  • Option 2: make a backup first and then update the main website and test in preview mode?
  • Option 3: something else?
6

Hi @thijs & @ndgranberry :wave:

We plan to introduce an auto-update feature that seamlessly integrates the latest enhancements into your blocks, including bug fixes, new features, and minor tweaks.
:exclamation: Rest assured, major updates introducing significant changes to your blocks will NOT be automatically updated.

:point_right: If you’re interested in being one of the first ones to try this out, send me a DM, and I’ll get you on board!

1 Like
7

Hi @gedastava,

Thank you for this opportunity, but considering that I cannot afford any large scale errors I’ll pass. But if there are other new functionalities I’d probably be willing to participate in your pilot.

Thanks again.

Thijs

8

The best way (currently) to ensure that updates deploy only things you want is to duplicate a block, update it, then check it out. @acjnas is spot on about what updates should do and should not, especially when it comes to performance and bug issues done in the background (instead of in an update). There have been times where I’ve noticed a bug, and instead of reporting it, I updated the block to get rid of it. This fixed the problem, but what if I wanted to keep the previous version of the block?

I brought up a similar topic over a year ago, after finding random blocks that had essentially expired: