Early Visibility Program

Before a GrabCAD Print update is available to the general public, it is released to a small group of users in the Early Visibility (EV) program. If you are interested in joining this program, please read this article to see that you meet the requirements, and then contact print@grabcad.com. 

Requirements

Users who participate in the EV program must...

• ...be using GrabCAD Print in an online environment. The EV program does not support users using GrabCAD Print in offline mode, since your login credentials are what triggers the update. 
• ...use their printers on a daily basis.
• ...be willing to respond to communications with the GrabCAD team in a prompt and thorough manner.

Purpose

The EV program lets users test the upcoming release in their environment before it's generally available. The update goes through the complete round of internal tests before being released to users on the EV program. Making the EV version available to a set of users allows us to get early feedback on the latest release to address any potentially critical issues before the General Availability release.

The EV program also allows companies who have a lot of GrabCAD Print users to do their own early testing before the rest of the company updates, to ensure that everything will go smoothly.

Release Schedule

For now, GrabCAD Print offers updates on a monthly cycle. 

Notification of availability

Customers on the EV Program will receive an update of GrabCAD Print around the middle of the month. They will be notified via email that a new version of GrabCAD Print is available for Early Visibility. This email will also contain the release notes.

Updating GrabCAD Print

Users who are on the EV Program will have the update available to them in GrabCAD Print. Links to the EV version of GrabCAD Print and the Job Manager will also be available via the release notes email.

If you are a PolyJet user, you will also need to update the Job Manager before you can print to your PolyJet printer. You can use the normal update process to do this, but if you need a download link for this for any reason, it is provided in the email mentioned above. 

Note that the release notes article and the "What's New?" pop-up in the app will still refer to the previous version. Additionally, the download link on print.grabcad.com will still point to the previous version. 

Follow up

Customer support will reach out to customers during the EV period to collect your input. We want to ensure that you had a seamless experience updating to the latest version of GrabCAD Print.

General release

Around the end of the month, the update is released to the general population, and the announcement email is sent to all customers. If no issues are found with the EV version, users who are on the EV program do not update at this time, as they are already on the latest version.

Frequently asked questions

How do I join or leave the EV program?

Contact us at print@grabcad.com.

Is the EV version safe to use in my production environment? 

Yes, the EV version is safe to use as it has gone through our testing processes. 

Should I do anything special while testing the EV version?

No, just print your jobs normally, and enjoy the new features! Just please be ready to respond when GrabCAD Print Support contacts you to check in.

What if I discover an issue while using the EV?

Please contact us with Help > Give Feedback and explain what you see, and the steps you took to get there. You can attach screenshots to this message, which can be very helpful.

What if something goes wrong and I need to roll back to the previous version?

First, contact us at print@grabcad.com to let us know what's happening. Then, uninstall GrabCAD Print (and the PolyJet Job Manager if applicable) and download the previous version from print.grabcad.com. When you launch this version, the update to EV will begin downloading, but you can hit Cancel on this to stay on the old version. 

What if I am on the EV program and my colleagues are not?

GrabCAD Print project files (.PRINT) are not forwards compatible, so if you create a project with the EV version, only the EV version will be able to open it. Therefore, it's good to make sure you and your colleagues are all on the program together, if you frequently exchange project files.