Allow parallel installs of different versions

[SeanAdams]

As each version of Alteryx is rolled out, it would be much easier for our users and admin team to validate the new version, if Alteryx allowed parallel installs of many different versions of the software.

So - our team is currently on 11.3 - if we could roll out 11.5 in parallel then we could very easily allow users to revert to 11.3 if there are issues, or else remove 11.3 after 2-3 weeks if no issues.

The same goes for versions which are in BETA.

This would be a huge help!

cc: @avinashbonu ; @Deeksha ; @revathi

[jdunkerley79]

You can install 2 versions (one admin install one user install). I regularly have current (as admin) and previous (as user).

[SeanAdams]

Hey @jdunkerley79 - absolutely agree with you about the 2 parallel installs  - however this does rely on having admin access to a machine, and it's limited to 2, and there are side-effects across versions.

What I'm looking for is the way that Visual Studio works - where I can have 3 versions running side-by-side, each of which keeps its code to itself so that there's no side-effect.   This will REALLY help with making sure we can test BETA versions; new releases; etc.

Microsoft introduced the ability to have .dll files within your local folder so that multiple versions of an app co-exist way back in the early 2000s, so this is definately possible - we just need to change the way that the Alteryx installer works (i.e. change the installer location; the references to DLLs; don't force-uninstall prev versions etc)

[revathi]

This would be super helpful for product owners who have to evaluate the new version before upgrading all the users in the firm. 

while one can definitely create a new desktop environment to test the functionalities in new version,

- it requires additional effort from users and is a demotivating factor for anyone to volunteer or take time to test the functionality. 

- having the application in existing desktop environment to check for compatibility with existing drivers and other configurations will be super helpful. (reduces post new version release issues) 

- Users who use Alteryx extensively can test the new version for various scenarios compared to what a product management team can perform and hence it is very important to enable all users of Alteryx to have multiple admin versions of the application on the same machine - with zero impact on their day to day activities. 

[Joe_Lipski]

How does this only have 11 likes? +100

[patrick_digan]

This would be very useful

[ydmuley]

This will definitely be a game-changer!! 

[SubratDas5]

This will be a great boon to test out new features for clients - by installing a beta, alongside the production ready instance and a development (user) installation as suggested by @jdunkerley79 . 

+100 for this idea. 

[Joe_Lipski]

Pleaseeeeeee

[Eli_B]

I agree, this would be very useful.

Remember though, once an existing workflow is opened in new version, you won't be able to open it in the previous version without modifying the workflow in Notepad (you need to open the workflow with notepad; at the top, the latest version the workflow was opened in will show, you need to change back to previous version).

Best to just create a copy of your workflows in a new folder so you won't have to do this if their are issues with latest release.

[CristonS]

This is not approved for the short term, but we will revisit this in the future.