Theme Updater & Backups | OOTS

Hello Concetto è Team! Thank you for your feedback, we had an issue impacting a small number of merchants when using the diff checker feature. We have now corrected it. We appreciate you choosing the Theme Updater app as the easiest and fastest way to update your Out of the Sandbox theme. We do provide free updates for the lifetime of your shop when you purchase one of our themes; the app (not required to update your theme) is only free for the first 12 months from the date of purchase. Thank you again for your feedback and support of Out of the Sandbox themes.

Hey there! Thanks so much for sharing this - we're pleased to hear the app and our themes are making life easier! Our themes are updated constantly, either with our own improvements or through adding support for new features of the Shopify platform itself (like the recent Product Media enhancements and Cross-Border improvements) - so, having a tool that makes getting the-latest-and-greatest as easy and quick as possible is crucial; we're glad the Theme Updater can help. Thanks again for sharing these remarks, all the best, and good luck with your online store! -The Out of the Sandbox Team

Hello! Thank you for the input on your experience with updating using the Theme Updater app; we apologize that it didn’t meet expectations! We take your input to heart as we continue to improve the app to make updating your theme faster and easier. It is true that updated versions of any Shopify theme you purchased are available for free - however, free updated themes do not possess your past setting configurations nor code customizations. While it is unfortunate that this requires the time-consuming process of reconfiguring the theme to retain your past set-up, you can optionally save this time by using the Theme Updater app, which will 1) obtain the most recent version of your theme, 2) apply your past setting configurations and 3) detect your past code customizations, all in one step, without you needing to do these steps manually. This is a tool we created to help our customers (Out of the Sandbox and Pixel Union theme users) through the complicated updating process; rest assured, your online store functionality can be retained without the Theme Updater app, but the manual updating process will take more time. The main features of the app are available for free for the first year after your Theme purchase, after which time an ongoing subscription begins, ensuring the app’s time-saving and convince benefits are available for the regular subsequent updates. Thanks again for the input, and feel free to get in touch ([email protected]) with any questions you have about updating your theme! All the best. -The Out of the Sandbox Team

Hello Ameyalli, Thank you for sharing these details! We're very sorry for the inconvenience here - the Theme Updater App was experiencing a temporary issue with certain versions, and we believe this version of Empire was impacted. The issue has been addressed, and attempting the update again should result in a more expected outcome. We have followed up on the support request as well, where we can continue the correspond if there's anything amiss with the update - feel free to let us know the version number of the Empire theme you're updating if the issue persists, and we'll get it squared away. All the best!

Hello The Gifted Panda, Thank you for sharing your review; it's valuable to us to see where our customers are dissatisfied with the app to see how it can be improved. Great to hear the app was helpful with your past updates; as you have experienced, the app saves time by obtaining the most recent version of the theme, carrying over your past settings, and helping with carrying over past code customizations; it sounds like some customizations were flagged as needing special attention, which the app does if automatically re-applying the customization to the updated code template would cause conflicts. While the app is free to use for the first year following a theme purchase (from Out of the Sandbox or Pixel Union), a subscription is required to continue to use the app as an updating tool following that year. While some merchants, like yourself, only update a couple of times a year, theme updates actually occur regularly throughout the year - to keep running the latest and greatest versions (including new features like Shopify's new Product Media capabilities, or upcoming Cross Border features) other merchants update whenever a new version is available. For merchants updating their theme upwards of 10-15 times per year, using the automated process of the Theme Updater App provides a significant time-saving benefit. If you find yourself doing manual updates regularly to grab the newest theme features and fixes, the app may be the better cost-effective choice to save you some time! Thanks again for your input, and best of luck with your online store! -Out of the Sandbox

Hi there Luis, Andrew here from Out of the Sandbox Support. Thanks for taking the time to provide that feedback! It looks as though we received an email from you, however it doesn't appear it was sent in via priority support which would explain the time taken before we got back to you. Priority support can only be accessed directly via the app: https://help.outofthesandbox.com/hc/en-us/articles/360026083613-Accessing-Priority-Theme-Support Sorry for any confusion there - we'll be sending along a separate email shortly to address any outstanding issues, so if you have any questions, please just reply there! Take care.

Hello XBODY UK, Thank you for highlighting your experience with the Theme Updater App and your Out of the Sandbox themes. I have some details to share with hopes I can clarify a couple aspects of your remarks for you and other merchants interested in our Themes and updating tool: - On the Shopify platform, updated theme files are free if you have previously purchased a theme. Whether from the Shopify Theme Store or from our site, updated default versions of the theme you purchased are available free of charge upon request (or from revisiting the Theme Store listing for purchases from the Theme Store) - You do not need to pay to update your theme on Shopify; with the normal process of updating (installing the new version, reconfiguring settings, manually carrying over past code customizations), updating a theme has no direct cost involved - however, this process can be time-consuming, and past customizations may need special attention from a developer - The Theme Updater App is totally optional to use; the app provides time-savings and convenience by addressing the steps of a manual update automatically (by automatically obtaining the most recent version of the theme, automatically carrying over past theme settings, and detecting past code customizations while assisting with carrying them over to the new version) - The Theme Updater App's updating feature can be used for free for a year following the purchase of a theme, so you can enjoy the time-saving and convenience benefits while figuring out if you value these benefits to justify an ongoing subscription following the free year Thanks again for the remarks - we understand there's a need to make this point clearer: the Theme Updater App is NOT required to update your theme - the app is a tool to automate parts of the update to make the updating process faster and easier (which requires a subscription to use after the first year of owning the theme). I hope this helps, and clears up similar concerns for other customers! Feel free to reach out to our Support team with any other questions this brings up. :) We wish you all the best with your online store! -Out of the Sandbox

Hello Security Bollards Direct Team, We’re sorry for the frustration here. We do our best to respond to support requests within 24-48 hours (business days) however, it’s possible that there might be some delays caused by increased traffic. I have reviewed your most recent correspondence with our support team. We’re sorry for the delay you experienced but it should be noted that the requests you sent to us were not sent through the Priority Support channel. The Pro Plan subscription for the Theme Updater app grants you access to the Priority Support channel. To access this channel, you can open the Theme Updater app and select Actions > Contact Priority Theme Support. If the support request is not sent through the app with the Contact Priority Theme Support button, your request will be sent to the general support queue, instead of the priority channel. We have more information about accessing Priority Support for you here: https://help.outofthesandbox.com/hc/en-us/articles/360026083613-What-is-Priority-Theme-Support- I hope this clears things up, please do not hesitate to reach out to us in the Priority Channel if you have any additional questions about the theme or the Pro Plan. All the best, The Out of the Sandbox Team

Hello ACU Precision Sheet Metal team, Thank you for taking the time to leave that great review and we’re glad to hear the app worked well for you! We’re always looking to improve our support while also keeping the Updater App competitive in pricing and feature offerings. Hopefully the app continues to help you, and if you’re currently using the Pro plan, you can also take advantage of our Priority Support feature should anything come up! If there’s anything else we can help with, please don’t hesitate to get in touch and we’d be happy to help! Sincerely, The Out of the Sandbox team.

Hi there Eighty Sixed team, Thanks for taking the time to reply and providing that feedback. While we can definitely understand the frustration with the changes made to the subscription model for the Theme Updater App, it’s important to note that we will still be providing free lifetime updates on all of our themes. If you choose not to use the Theme Updater app, you can still update your theme the free method following Shopify’s normal updating process, where the new version is added to your ‘Themes’ panel and reconfigured manually. This is how all themes are updated across Shopify as the Updater App is an exclusive feature/offering for our themes. You can find instructions here on how to access those files, depending on where you bought your theme: https://help.outofthesandbox.com/hc/en-us/articles/115007099548-How-to-Update-Your-Theme#alternative-method Ultimately we will continue to offer free updates regardless of whether or not you choose to use the app. Hopefully that helps clear up any confusion, and please don’t hesitate to reach out should you have other questions regarding that or anything else! Take care. Sincerely, The Out of the Sandbox team

Hello The Architectural Forum, Thank you for taking the time to review our app. We understand your frustration, but we wanted to follow up on this review to clarify a point regarding the update process. Purchasing a theme comes with free updates for life. These free updates come in the form of brand new files of the latest version of the theme. The new version of the theme does need to be rebuilt, as is the standard process for updating any Shopify themes. Our Theme Updater app was developed to provide a shortcut for updating. The app can update a copy of your theme while preserving your home page sections and theme editor settings. We have recently implemented a subscription fee for the app, but all new theme purchases come with a free year of the app’s Basic Plan. The free year begins from the date the new theme file is registered in the app, a process which is necessary to unlock the updating feature. So in short, any purchase of our themes comes with the guarantee of free updates for life following the normal Shopify procedure for updating. The app is also free for the first year with the theme, after which, a subscription is required to continue using the Theme Updater app. We’d be happy to answer any additional questions you have regarding updating the themes, or any shop-specific questions you might have. You can reach out to our Help Centre here: https://help.outofthesandbox.com/hc/en-us/requests/new. All the best, The Out of the Sandbox Team

Hi OchelariDirect — thank you sharing your feedback and concerns! We understand that updating a Shopify theme by uploading the updated version and reconfiguring the settings can be time consuming, so we have been working hard on improving and maintaining the Theme Updater App, adding new features and support for more themes, and want to keep offering you the time-saving convenience of updating without needing to reconfigure your settings. We understand your grievance with the change in pricing, and hope the subscriptions options we're offering line up with how you value the app, so we can continue to offer you the fastest updating experience possible. Regular updates via the standard Shopify updating process will remain free, and in addition to that, the first year of the TUA Basic plan is free with each theme registration. So if you do happen to upgrade to Flex, you would have a year of free use from the date you register your new theme! Please feel free to reach out to us directly here: https://help.outofthesandbox.com/hc/en-us/requests/new for any additional questions about the Theme Updater app, the Pro Plan or any other theme questions in general. All the best, The Out of the Sandbox Team

Hello Peaches and Screams, We appreciate the input on your experience with Out of the Sandbox, the Flex theme and the Theme Updater App - we're sorry limiting of free access to the Theme Updater App to the first year of use has created this experience! To keep the details of the various products separate, the Flex theme ($450USD) while rich in settings and features, can be updated through the normal updating method, which is the same process as initially installing and configuring the theme - we stand by the notion that this can be accomplished by any Shopify user, and we continue to make the robust feature-set easier and easier to configure (with pre-built demos included with the theme .zips). While a normal update on Shopify does generally involve reconfiguring settings, it is the method available to all Shopify themes - we haven't made this process intentionally difficult, but seek ways to make the process easier and faster. The Theme Updater App is a tool for making parts of the Shopify updating process automatic - in particular, obtaining the new version of the theme, carrying over past setting configurations, and detecting code customizations are conducted automatically. With the changes to the pricing plans, this tool is available for free for the first year of usage (based on the theme's registration date through the app) - following the free year, a number of flexible subscriptions options are available for users who value the time-savings the app offers. Rest assured, at no point in the use of any Out of the Sandbox theme (including Flex) is the Theme Updater App required! Updated theme files continue to be available for free and using the Theme Updater App to update the theme is optional. To note, if you're a user of the Flex theme, which was released in Aug 2019, the free trial of the Basic Plan of the app should be available to you, based on the registration date of your Flex theme which would still be within its first year. If you're looking for any assistance with accessing the free trial feel free to contact the Out of the Sandbox Help Center - [email protected] Sincerely, The Out of the Sandbox Team

Hello Bella Lino Linens! Thank you for the review, for updating the review with your more recent remarks, and for sticking with Out of the Sandbox for your theme choice on Shopify. We're glad we had a chance to look into this issue deeper, and we share your concerns around theme updates when working with customizations and apps. As themes, apps and the Shopify platform change over time, updating and ensuring compatibility can become complex and time consuming. While the Theme Updater App can make some of these updating steps quicker and easier (obtaining the new version, carrying over previous setting configurations, carrying over compatible code customizations), some aspects of updating still require special consideration (especially app installations and more complicated code customizations). Unlike the Wordpress platform where much of the updating process occurs automatically affecting themes and the platform simultaneously, updates on the Shopify platform generally require a number of manual steps. The Theme Updater App is unique to Out of the Sandbox (and Pixel Union) themes, and offers time-savings by addressing some of these manual steps automatically - however, it remains that past app installations and code customizations may require special attention (from app support or a custom developer, depending on the nature of the modification) to ensure compatibility with a new version of the theme, like in the normal updating process on Shopify. We take this review to heart, and will continue to improve the experience of the Theme Updater App to make the outcomes and expectations clearer - the Shopify ecosystem is vast, and offering an updating tool that can ensure ongoing compatibility with the wide array of apps and customizations is an ongoing challenge; trust that Out of the Sandbox is in your corner for making this process as easy and quick as possible! Sincerely, The Out of the Sandbox Team