If on a subscription, does FM automatically update or can I choose to remain at a specific build?

[Two-fer]

Good morning,

We currently run FM12. Our parent company in Japan was able to update to FM2019 (perpetual license) about 6 months ago, but so far we are unable to find anything but a subscription. If we have to settle for a subscription, is it possible to keep FM from updating? (I don't want to be in a situation where in 10 years I am running FM2031 while Japan is still running FM2019).

Thanks! 

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

AFAIK FM will not auto-update to the next version even on subscription - you still have to download each version. However, you're going to be stuck with getting FM2020 while head office is on FM2019, because FM2020 is the only version available now. Head office should have snapped up 2 (or more) copies of FM2019 - one for them & one for you to stay in synch. But that may not be important in your operation.

[Two-fer]

Thanks Jeff. As long as FM doesn't automatically update, we will be OK. 

We don't collaborate that much, and I leverage Japan's content and not vice-versa, so being just one version ahead won't be too heinous.  😃 

[Stefan Gentz · Accepted solution]

As of now, new updates are not automatically installed. You just see a notification in the Welcome Screen that a new update is available and can then trigger the update process manually.

However, the more important question is obviously if you and your parent company in Japan really want to work in 2031 with a by-then 10-year-old software 😉 

[Two-fer]

Perfect!

As for running old software, stability, risk-aversion, and budgets trump everything else in Japan, and we here in the US try to maintain the same version as Japan. Both of our companies have been running FM12 (unstructured) since 2012 or so because it has been a stable platform. (Before that, we had upgraded from FM7 to FM12.) Because my parent company has to output 100+ 400-page manuals for the machinery it ships out every month, they do not want to upgrade until they absolutely have to, and they cannot take the chance of upgrading often and finding bugs that might stop them in their tracks. So yes, we only upgrade every 8~10 years. (Yes, not really 'best practices.'  But please note that our parent company was also kept a mainframe up and running somehow until 2010....)