VCDS 18.2.1 changelog

   #1  

A6Aussie

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Hi there,

I hope I am allowed to open a new Thread for this. This is the first time I've opened a new thread EVER... before I've always only recycled old ones! This time I couldn't find an existing Thread which asked about this.

Anyway, as the title says, I am after a changelog for the latest update of VCDS. I had a look around on the Ross-Tech site and found the product revision page (http://www.ross-tech.com/vcds/revisions.php) however that one stops at 18.1:

Release 18.1 published 25 January 2018

  • Info pending.

Is there a changelog ors similar? Basically I was just wondering if the control module map for my car had made it to the release :-).

Cheers :)
 
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Uwe

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There is no published change-log at the moment. Even if there were, it would not cover every nuance of changes in the label files. ;)

-Uwe-
 
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A6Aussie

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Ah okay, thanks for the info.

Is there a way I can see if a label file has been added for my vehicle? Sorry I am only new to all this (VCDS and Forums)... 3 Months or so...

Cheers
 
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DV52

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^^^^^ Uwe - I suspect that my question is probably bordering on heresy, but I ask for your brief indulgence as you consider the following:

Because I'm a relative new-comer to the heady and fascinating world of VCDS, I assume that Ross-Tech has always had a one-size-fits-all concept for it's software release versions. I've noticed when updating that the exe-file seems to delete and then re-load the label files for every vehicle type in what I assume is the full VCDS repertoire of cars (which is an impressively large list).

Having a diagnostic tool that is fully capable of accommodating such a wide variety of vehicles is doubtless of great value to professionals where any car can roll-into the workshop at any time. However, for the vast majority of "enthusiasts" (like me, and many other VCDS cable users - I assume), the huge VCDS-ready database is............ well, without wanting to sound too critical about an otherwise excellent device - of limited value. For this market sector, the likelihood is that the tool will be used for a small range of cars. I also assume that as new vehicles roll off the VAG assembly line in the future, the need to create new label files as well as the requirement to retain existing files into each SW release version will mean that the update exe file will continuously grow (I assume that this has happened over the intervening years since the fledgling VCDS SW version 1.0 was released).

So with the above as a context, has RT thought about "sectioning" the update file so that the user can decide which vehicle, or vehicle type to load into the software on their laptop/tablet/mobile phone? I'm not sure, but I suspect that the user can achieve a similar outcome by culling the database in the existing arrangement, but my question is about a different approach. I'm not suggesting that the availability of vehicle types be in any way restricted to users that have limited VIN devices.

I've not given any deep consideration as to how this option might operate, but I suspect that the update process would be a two-pass process where the new underlying VCDS software would be first loaded and the user would then request the database for specific vehicle types (including the option "ALL" - for professional workshop users). The updated label files for those vehicles that the user did not select would be remain available on the RT web-site, so additional vehicles could be loaded at any time. I suspect that that the process for updating will be more streamlined and for many (most?) users, the data transfer files will be much smaller - I think?

Interested in your thoughts - please

Don
 
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Zenerdiode

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(I assume that this has happened over the intervening years since the fledgling VCDS SW version 1.0 was released).

I remember a 'Release' of VAG-COM (notice I was careful not to say VCDS) that came with a note; boasting "...still able to fit on a 1.44MB floppy." :cool:

You see kids, this was a while ago. I'm talking way back, to a time of Windows98, Visual Studio, 00-Auto-Scan just being implemented and when Uwe did the coding. Yes, there was a time before 'smart' phones, when BlackBerries made delicious pies and jams, and laptop computers didn't have Wi-Fi cards. No USB sticks either, so you had to download VAG-COM on a desktop computer, with a bulbous monitor that had turned an awful beige, after getting your sister off the phone so you could dial-up the Internet. You then copied on to a 1.44MB floppy; so you could then transfer from the desktop to your laptop.

Only to find "General failure reading drive A", waiting for the drive to stop, ejecting the disk and like an Advent calendar, opening the little slidey door to find the minutest grain of dust had scored concentric circles on the surface of the disk. Of course that little bit of grit wouldn't be happy living in the disk, it had to find a new home on the disk drive head, so another four floppies brand new out of the packet got etched with the same concentric rings... :rolleyes:

Good times though. :)
 
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PetrolDave

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I've not given any deep consideration as to how this option might operate, but I suspect that the update process would be a two-pass process where the new underlying VCDS software would be first loaded and the user would then request the database for specific vehicle types (including the option "ALL" - for professional workshop users). The updated label files for those vehicles that the user did not select would be remain available on the RT web-site, so additional vehicles could be loaded at any time. I suspect that that the process for updating will be more streamlined and for many (most?) users, the data transfer files will be much smaller - I think?
Given that most (not all) users have high speed ADSL/VDSL/FTTH connections I don't see value to other than a tiny minority of VCDS owners in efforts to reduce the update size.

And I have to disagree with the apparent assumption that only professional users would want/need the updates for all vehicle types - many enthusiast owners help out friends/colleagues/social media contacts (for beer tokens :cool:) with diagnosis and retrofitting on many different (and unpredictable) vehicle types.

I do have a different suggestion - in much the same way that many AV programs have small daily(?) incremental updates I think it would be helpful if VCDS data file updates (that don't require a program update) could also be offered/pushed incrementally and as soon as available (weekly?) instead of having to wait for a full data update to be made available.
 
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hadez16

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Don,

I don't know if I get your point.
Are you placed in the outback with 33k dial-in modem?

Who should be the victim deciding which parts of the gigantic ASAM/ROD dataset is for which car? RT had to hire a bunch of autists for this.
 
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Sebastian

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@A6Aussie - At the present time there are no procedures in place to publish information about specific vehicle documentation changes (i.e. label file updates), in order to accomplish that we would need to change our internal procedures to a point where the administrative work would be in my view a little too excessive. That said, I am not saying it will never happen - just for the time being I don't see a specific label file changelog being published for customers.

If you happen to need specific coverage, please send a complete Auto-Scan to Labels@Ross-Tech.com and we'll review it and make sure to put any missing files etc. on our todo list. If you happen to have specific recommendations or feedback regarding existing label files, please make sure to include an Auto-Scan in your email as well as detailed information as to what needs to be addressed. Thanks in advance.


@DV52/Don - VCDS has a rather crude update mechanics at the moment and while we discussed more sophisticated methods in the past, there is no implementation planned. What I am reading between the lines, the time it takes to install the update is your concern - based on the size of the installed files, I am at least assuming that's not it. That time to install is related to the amount of small files, that is something we might tackle with incremental updates as well as something new Uwe and I have talked about a few weeks ago. The update process, the time it takes etc. applies to both VCDS and VCDS-Mobile - so streamlining the process surely is in our interest.

There are a few reasons which speak against your idea of selecting a model/platform. In many cases, control modules are used across several platforms and in order to make this work, each file would need to know which platform(s) it applies to. Something, which in the process will take a lot of time to be properly documented (the functional implementation shouldn't be a problem). Downloading files by demand (i.e. after an Auto-Scan) only makes sense with big files, which is not the case for us. In fact our number one use case, take VCDS offline and w/o any internet connection it will work just fine on any car. That's what I believe most of our customers are doing...

Who should be the victim deciding which parts of the gigantic ASAM/ROD dataset is for which car? RT had to hire a bunch of autists for this.

The ASAM/ODX database is actually not an issue, as that is already platform specific by design. The older label files are the issue with that...
 
   #10  

A6Aussie

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Oo wow, looks like I‘ve kicked off quiet some conversation 😅.

@hadez16: even in the outback we have either NBN (VDSL) or sat 😀. But it’s certainly not as fast as in the cities.

@Sebastian, thanks for getting back to me on that one! I already did all that and sent an email on 13/04/2018. Dana got back to me to say “thx” and that all info came through i think.

Now I was just curious to see if my stuff had made it to the latest update (can’t check it on the car currently) and hoped there was a way to easily see it (change log, list of all lbl files...), that’s all :-). Not asking for a procedure change or similar... haven’t even gotten my head around the current software 🤣.

Cheers
 
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Uwe

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I assume that Ross-Tech has always had a one-size-fits-all concept for it's software release versions.
Correct.

I've noticed when updating that the exe-file seems to delete and then re-load the label files for every vehicle type in what I assume is the full VCDS repertoire of cars (which is an impressively large list).
The trouble with "incremental" label (or .ROD) file updates is that sometimes new files come along that obsolete (or bifurcate) old files, and this can get quite messy. So we decided it's better just to wipe out all the existing files and install a clean set each time. That way we know we have a clean set, and not mish-mash that might yield unpredictable results.

I also assume that as new vehicles roll off the VAG assembly line in the future, the need to create new label files as well as the requirement to retain existing files into each SW release version will mean that the update exe file will continuously grow (I assume that this has happened over the intervening years since the fledgling VCDS SW version 1.0 was released).
Yes, the Installer file does continue to grow, but at the current ~42 MB, it really isn't very large when viewed in he context of other software. Heck, I've seen "driver" packages for video boards that are 10x that size.

So with the above as a context, has RT thought about "sectioning" the update file so that the user can decide which vehicle, or vehicle type to load into the software on their laptop/tablet/mobile phone? I'm not sure, but I suspect that the user can achieve a similar outcome by culling the database in the existing arrangement, but my question is about a different approach. I'm not suggesting that the availability of vehicle types be in any way restricted to users that have limited VIN devices.
First, tablets and mobile phones don't run the "classic" VCDS; you don't have to install any software on them at all to run VCDS-Mobile on them, so that's an entirely different ball of wax. Laptops: In an age where a 64 GB "hard drive" is pretty much the low end, I'm not too worried about taking up 100-150 MB of storage on someone's computer. So what would this strategy gain us (or you)?

I've not given any deep consideration as to how this option might operate, but I suspect that the update process would be a two-pass process where the new underlying VCDS software would be first loaded and the user would then request the database for specific vehicle types (including the option "ALL" - for professional workshop users). The updated label files for those vehicles that the user did not select would be remain available on the RT web-site, so additional vehicles could be loaded at any time. I suspect that that the process for updating will be more streamlined and for many (most?) users, the data transfer files will be much smaller - I think?
Yes, we did take this sort of approach to the ASAM data for VCDS-Mobile on the HEX-NET. The HEX-NET only pulls down ROD files from the server for modules it knows it needs them for, by virtue of having "seen" (been connected to those modules). The downside to this is that the first time you connect to a car (or module), you don't have the data. After you've scanned a new car the first time, you then need to check for updates to get the relevant data. This is OK for someone like yourself who only uses the product on a very limited number of cars, but it's simply not acceptable to professionals. It was also a serious PITA to get this process working well/reliably.

-Uwe-
 
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...
The HEX-NET only pulls down ROD files from the server for modules it knows it needs them for, by virtue of having "seen" (been connected to those modules). The downside to this is that the first time you connect to a car (or module), you don't have the data. After you've scanned a new car the first time, you then need to check for updates to get the relevant data. This is OK for someone like yourself who only uses the product on a very limited number of cars, but it's simply not acceptable to professionals. It was also a serious PITA to get this process working well/reliably.

-Uwe-

You mean VCDS-Mobile, or HEX-NET in general? :confused: :thanks:
 
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Uwe

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You mean VCDS-Mobile, or HEX-NET in general? :confused: :thanks:
I mean VCDS-Mobile. When you use a HEX-NET with the "classic" version of VCDS running on a Windows PC, VCDS does not care what ROD data is or is not stored on the HEX-NET.

-Uwe-
 
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DV52

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Does not compute :P

iichel: On this forum and given the unbelievable, but totally awesome expertise of many of the truly "veteran" forum members - I consider my meager participation to be embryonic at best!! And, almost all of my 2,000-ish posts have been seeking, not giving advice!

But thank you for your assumption

Don
 
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DV52

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Don,

I don't know if I get your point.
Are you placed in the outback with 33k dial-in modem?

hadez: LOL- no not in the outback - I'm in Melbourne which is the capital city of Victoria (which is on the southern most part of the mainland of Australia - just north of the island of Tasmania).

But given Sebastian and Uwe's responses (thank you both) I'm more informed about why RT does stuff as it does.

I will go stand in the naughty corner of a bit and contemplate my next inane question - not!! ;)
Don
 
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Uwe

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I will go stand in the naughty corner of a bit and contemplate my next inane question - not!! ;)
I can assure that's not necessary or even desirable.

Asking why we do things a certain way can sometimes make us wonder whether the way we've always done it is really optimal.

-Uwe-
 
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JSWTDI09

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.....First, most tablets and mobile phones don't run the "classic" VCDS; .....

Fixed this for you. I routinely run "classic" VCDS on a little Dell tablet (a Venue 8 Pro running Windows 10) with a wi-fi connection to a HEX-NET in AP mode.

Have Fun!

Don
 
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iichel

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iichel: On this forum and given the unbelievable, but totally awesome expertise of many of the truly "veteran" forum members - I consider my meager participation to be embryonic at best!! And, almost all of my 2,000-ish posts have been seeking, not giving advice!

But thank you for your assumption

Don

Now you're being too modest and I'm going off topic. But bear with me, there is light at the end of this message. Useful light.

I've read more than enough from your hand on VWvortex to know you're more than just any old (no pun intended) idiot that accidentally heard the word VCDS somewhere. ;)
I regularly link people that are in search of MQB codings to your PDF, it even has its own spot in the holiest of holy folders on my PC, my Google Drive. With its own altar, of course.
--> https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxYPVjrU9nh3SF9TbGdKYVJ3eEE
 
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NZDubNurd

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Don,

Just a week or so back, I was seriously considering PMing you. I didn't recall seeing any recent posts from you! I thought you may have gone "walkabout".

Glad you're back anyway :thumbs: I like your style.
 
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