Hi Eduardo,

I think I lost something in translation, but are you asking if it is ok to NOT install the NVDA 2021.3 beta ?  If so, then that is absolutely fine - Your previous version of NVDA will let you know when the final version is out* and so will I here as you noted.  We haven't had any serious reports of issues with the beta, so don't anticipate anyone should have any problems, but if you are a bit nervous about installing software before the stable version, then waiting is perfectly ok.

*The one caveat to your existing version letting you know about the new version is the issue which I think most here are already across - that the way our recent security certificate upgrade was done did not propagate out to everyone and so there are some users who will receive an error when they try and check for updates.  For those users, you can either:

- Live with it until NVDA 2021.3 comes out and then download and install that manually

- Download the Beta from https://www.nvaccess.org/post/nvda-2021-3beta2/ - run it (you don't have to install it) and from the help menu choose "check for updates" - that alone should fix it, you can then exit and go back to your old version.

- Download the add-on we put out in October.  I mentioned this in our In-Process blog at the time, which you can still find here: https://www.nvaccess.org/post/in-process-19th-october-2021/ - The add-on does exactly the same thing as checking for updates from the beta (and from future versions of NVDA).

Kind regards

Quentin.

On Mon, Nov 29, 2021 at 1:44 PM Eduardo Fermiano Luccas <25102008luccas@...> wrote:

I would like to discuss not installing NVDA 2021.3 now1: if I am using NVDA 2021.2, I do not have to install anything as I know I am using the latest NVDA, and when NVDA 2021.3 arrives I can download manually.2: if i'm using NVDA 2020.3, i can still download NVDA 2021.2 manually.3: we know there's no updates for now, so let's have no fear.4: if you're subscribed to this group, quentin will let you know about the release of NVDA 2021.3. waiting for your answers!

Sorry for the translation errors

--

Quentin Christensen
Training and Support Manager

Web: www.nvaccess.org 

Training: https://www.nvaccess.org/shop/

Certification: https://certification.nvaccess.org/

User group: https://nvda.groups.io/g/nvda

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Twitter: @NVAccess

Hi,

A birdy or two tells me that NVDA 2021.3 will be here sooner than we think, perhaps before Christmas. As Quentin said, it is up to you as to when you would like to install it. However, I strongly recommend Windows 11 users to install the upcoming NVDA release as soon as possible because it contains an important fix for users, specifically NVDA will not get stuck when switching between apps. There are more major changes scheduled for 2022.1, but that's getting ahead of the story - in particular, NVDA 2022.1 will resolve a long-standing issue where NVDA would not announce File Explorer status bar items but only on Windows 8.1 and later (Windows 8 is unsupported).

Cheers,

Joseph

Hi,

A birdy or two tells me that NVDA 2021.3 will be here sooner than we think, perhaps before Christmas. As Quentin said, it is up to you as to when you would like to install it. However, I strongly recommend Windows 11 users to install the upcoming NVDA release as soon as possible because it contains an important fix for users, specifically NVDA will not get stuck when switching between apps. There are more major changes scheduled for 2022.1, but that's getting ahead of the story - in particular, NVDA 2022.1 will resolve a long-standing issue where NVDA would not announce File Explorer status bar items but only on Windows 8.1 and later (Windows 8 is unsupported).

Cheers,

Joseph

Hi,

Actually, far from useless. December 6, 2021 is a credible date because:

1. There is a forum (hosted on Groups.IO) where NVDA translators hang out, and members were asked to finish 2021.3 translation by end of November.
2. After translators send in their final data, NV Access publishes release candidates, in this case I expect 2021.3 RC to be released anytime this week.
3. At least a week after the first RC is released, the stable version is released. If translations schedule holds, next week is when I expect NVDA 2021.3 stable version to come out. Things can change if folks discover a really serious problem that must be fixed right away.

I said "credible date" precisely because of point 3 above: things can change. A rule of thumb is that:

1. A given NVDA release will go through beta/RC phase for at least three weeks: two weeks while translators put finishing touches (translatable string freeze), then an RC week. NV Access can choose to declare string freeze (two weeks) right as they release beta 1 but typically developers have waited several days after releasing beta 1 to tell translators that they have two weeks to finalize translation data.
2. We can guess as to when the next stable version of NVDA might be released, which takes place within a week after end of translatable string freeze. Folks can "guess" this date not only because NV Access has documented this in many places (including in various In-Process blog posts), but also since things can change without notice.
3. For backwards incompatible releases, beta phase is longer - not only developers are finalizing the release, but beta is used by add-on authors to make their add-ons compatible. These days more add-on authors have realized that they must prepare their add-ons a bit early, going so far as willing to think about testing their add-ons against alpha releases (not often but happens; the practice of testing add-ons while using NVDA alpha builds is optional). I expect there will be announcements about NVDA 2022.1 after the new year.

Cheers,

Joseph