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Walkthrough 08 · 6 steps

Updating Tax
Resolution Hub

TRH updates itself quietly in the background. This walkthrough shows what that looks like, how to force a manual check, and what to do on the rare occasion an update fails.

Placeholder screenshots: every image block is a description of what the final annotated screenshot should show. Real screenshots with arrows and circles will be added before publish.
STEP 1
Auto-update on launch
Every time you start TRH, it checks the release feed on download.taxhub-usa.com in the background. If a newer version is available, it downloads while you work. You keep using the old version — no dialogs, no interruption. The new version applies on next restart.
SCREENSHOT 1.1
Shows: TRH main window with a small status chip in the bottom-right status bar: "Update 1.0.5 downloading (34 MB)…" changing after a moment to "Update 1.0.5 ready — restart to apply".
Annotations:
  1. RED ARROW pointing at the status chip
  2. YELLOW CIRCLE around the "restart to apply" text
  3. GREEN CALLOUT: "Non-blocking — keep working; it applies when you next restart"
Watch the bottom-right status bar. A small chip shows download progress, then flips to "restart to apply" when ready.
STEP 2
Manual check via Help → Check for Updates
SCREENSHOT 2.1
Shows: Help menu open with "Check for Updates…" highlighted. After clicking, a modal shows one of three states: "You're up to date (v1.0.4)", "Update 1.0.5 available — Download", or "Update 1.0.5 downloading…" with progress bar.
Annotations:
  1. RED ARROW at the Help menu item
  2. YELLOW CIRCLE around the "Check for Updates…" menu option
  3. GREEN ARROW at the "Download" button in the modal
If you want to force a check — for example right after we post a hotfix — click Help → Check for Updates. The modal stays up while the download runs.
STEP 3
Read the "What's New" notes
SCREENSHOT 3.1
Shows: Post-update splash screen on next launch: "Welcome to TRH 1.0.5". Three-column "What's new" layout with New Features, Fixes, and Known Issues.
Annotations:
  1. GREEN CIRCLE around the version number
  2. YELLOW ARROW at the "Full changelog" link in the bottom-right
  3. RED CALLOUT: "Every release has a Known Issues column — read it"
After an update applies, TRH shows a one-time "What's New" panel. Scan the Fixes and Known Issues columns — they often contain workarounds for issues you might hit that day.
STEP 4
Restart-to-apply prompt
SCREENSHOT 4.1
Shows: Non-intrusive toast notification in the bottom-right corner: "Update 1.0.5 is ready. Restart now, or it will apply next launch." with two buttons "Restart now" and "Later".
Annotations:
  1. GREEN CIRCLE around "Restart now"
  2. YELLOW ARROW at "Later" labeled "Safe — update sits on disk until you restart"
  3. RED CALLOUT: "No forced restarts. Ever. Your work is not interrupted."
The toast gives you the choice. TRH never force-restarts in the middle of your work — if you click Later, the update sits on disk and applies the next time you launch on your own.
Common mistakeWaiting days to restart. The app runs fine with a staged update on disk, but you're not benefiting from the fix until you restart. Make it a habit to restart TRH every Monday morning.
STEP 5
Verify the new version in Help → About
SCREENSHOT 5.1
Shows: Help → About dialog showing the logo, version number (e.g. "1.0.5"), build hash, license holder, and license expiration. Also shows a "Copy diagnostic info" button and a "Check for Updates" button.
Annotations:
  1. GREEN CIRCLE around the version number "1.0.5"
  2. YELLOW ARROW at "Copy diagnostic info" labeled "Paste into support tickets"
  3. RED CALLOUT: "Always verify version before reporting a bug"
Open Help → About and confirm the version number matches what the changelog promised. The "Copy diagnostic info" button bundles the version, OS, license, and last-error log into a string you can paste directly into a support ticket.
STEP 6
If the update fails — troubleshooting
Updates fail occasionally, almost always for one of three reasons: (1) the machine is behind a corporate firewall that blocks *.taxhub-usa.com or S3, (2) the user account lacks permission to write to the install directory, or (3) antivirus quarantined the downloaded package before Squirrel could apply it.
SCREENSHOT 6.1
Shows: Update error dialog: "Update failed to apply". Body text explains possible causes. Buttons: "Retry", "Download installer manually", "Copy error log", "Contact support".
Annotations:
  1. RED CIRCLE around the error title
  2. YELLOW ARROW at "Download installer manually" labeled "Always works — the full installer bypasses Squirrel"
  3. GREEN CALLOUT: "Running the full installer over an existing install preserves all your data"
Click Download installer manually to grab the full .exe from download.taxhub-usa.com. Running it over your existing install is safe — it keeps every client, transcript, and setting intact. If that still fails, click Copy error log and email it to support@taxhub-usa.com.
Common mistakeUninstalling TRH to "start clean". Don't. Just run the full installer on top — your data survives. Uninstalling and reinstalling can leave the license in a half-deactivated state.
Done. You understand the update pipeline end-to-end. For the deep dive on the release channel, see the Changelog. Having trouble with something other than updates? 09 — Troubleshoot common errors.
Not legal or tax advice. This content is published by Tax Resolution Hub for educational use by tax professionals. It is not legal, tax, accounting, or investment advice, and does not create an attorney-client or preparer-client relationship. IRS systems, forms, procedures, and statutes change — always verify against current IRM guidance, the client's actual transcript, and the facts of the specific engagement before acting.