"not on your device"

Lee said:

What's the point of this new procedure?

The "point" of the change is to allow users this freedom to do things like create a "skinny installation," but there have been a few "bumps in the road."For years (and years and years!) a strong contingent of users have asked for the ability to choose which resources download to their installation.  FL has been reluctant to do so, but have recently relented.

If you desire to have all resources download but they are not, then something is (or was) wrong. I believe there was a bug (which has since been fixed) which caused new resources not to download when they should. Two things:

1. Filter your library for "not on this device" and manually download any which are not present. 

2. Go to preferences and make sure that "download new resources" is set to "yes." 

Except there may be reasons not to do so. A user may have already selected the resources (s)he already owned but wants newly acquired resources to automatically download. Hopefully your issue was part of the original bug and won’t be experienced again [:s]

But that isn't a compromise. The user who already decided not to download half of his resources would still be stuck. Your compromise only warns him first! 

Lee - I understand that you were frustrated. I get that. But your solution isn't a good one. Someone in your situation can easily filter their library, select all and click "download." That is a hassle, but a minor one. There is really little effort involved. 

On the other hand, someone who has chosen to be selective about their downloads but wants all new purchases to download is in a bind if your change is implemented. Yes they would be warned, but what help is that? If they have thousands of books download by accident they might have to spend HOURS trying to figure out which ones need to be kept or deleted. That would be a real inconvenience. 

Of course, all of these issues were part of the reason why FL was reluctant to move to selective downloads in the first place. [:P] I do empathize with those who need a "skinny" installation and for that reason am glad it was implemented. 

Lee said:

As an aside: once "download all resources" is switched to "yes", it would be more intuitive that the missing resources would be downloaded on executing an update. It's not the case now.

I think you misunderstand the preferences for downloading resources.

There is no option to "download all resources" with the implication that it could affect "missing" resources. The option (in Program Settings) is "Download New Resources". If that is set to NO, then new resources will appear in Library, but they are not downloaded to your device i.e. they are "cloud" resources. They cannot be distinguished in Library unless you use the Devices filter "Not on this device". As NO was the original default, it is understandable that one might regard them as "missing".

If that option is changed to "Yes", it won't cause a download of "cloud" or "missing" resources, as it only affects resources that you subsequently acquire by purchase or through a subscription.

The manner of your downloads is affected by the option "Automatically Start Downloads"; which is similar to the previous "Automatically Download ..." option. So, if a download starts after you changed "Download New Resources" from "No" to "Yes", it could include new resources. But it could also include updated resources and/or a software update.

Lee said:

How about popping up a list of resources which are not-there so the user at least is informed about potential problems? Or some kind of message to surface the issue?

The thing is: this is not an intuitive process

If a user selected a "skinny" installation, they would not want a "popup". It is not an issue, as they only have to filter Library for "Not on this device".

In catering for "skinny" installations, FL had to introduce an option for new resources, including those coming from a subscription. Unfortunately, the original default of "No" affected all users; especially those that updated to version 8.4 without knowing about the new process.