User must manually refresh the canvas app to see latest published version

[AlHal2]

I saw this question was posted last year, but haven't found an answer.  Does anyone have anything now?

When a new version of a canvas app is published, the users (over 1000) must manually refresh their browser (F5 or Ctrl+F5) in order for it to load the latest published version.  Since they don't know that a new version is published, they continue to use the old version until something causes a refresh on their end. 

I already have a globally variable that holds a manually created version number. (I've already been down the rabbit hole of not being able to use the built-in version number, so don't discuss that.) I display this manual version number, and that is how I know that the user doesn't have the latest version loaded.

Before I write a routine to trap for this, what does PowerApps offer to prevent/overcome this situation? How to force the user's browser to refresh every time they load the app? (Refresh inside the app is too late, as there are many other things that happen in the App.OnStart.) 

[BCBuizer]

Hi @AlHal2 ,

Since a while In-app notifications are given in case a user is not using the latest version, but that feature has its' limitations: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/maker/canvas-apps/save-publish-app#in-app-notifications...

[AlHal2]

The users of this powerapp are not computer literate.  They will see the refresh messages and simply click the cross to get rid of them.  I need to force them to use the latest version.

I suggest deleting the old app and inserting a new app, but that would require other changes to our deployment process which my boss does not want to do.

[BCBuizer · Accepted solution]

Hi @AlHal2 ,

In that case I suggest you publish the latest version number of the app in a data source somewhere. Using a timer or some other trigger like the OnVisible property of the home screen of your app, you can perform regular checks to see if the version number that is hard coded in the app matches the published version number. If it doesn't, the user should be taken to a screen saying they need to refresh the browser screen to be able to continue using the app.

[AlHal2]

Thanks.  We put the version number in a Sharepoint list.  Each time the user come to the home page the powerapp refreshes the sharepoint list and checks the version number.

[PowerunAppy]

Just in case you are listening, Microsoft, our Administrators would value a capacity on the Admin site to ensure that users logging on to our Intranet would get the most recent version of a PowerApp, rather than the last version to be loaded into the users' browser.

[BenoitGramond]

Indeed, it is not user friendly at all to have to refresh each time you launch the app. It should be a basic functionality to always have the latest published version.