Add system-wide config feature to disable update checks

Co-authored-by: BornToBeRoot <16019165+BornToBeRoot@users.noreply.github.com>

Author: Copilot

Source/NETworkManager.Settings/ConfigInfo.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+using System.Text.Json.Serialization;
+
+namespace NETworkManager.Settings;
+
+/// <summary>
+///     Class that represents system-wide configuration that overrides user settings.
+///     This configuration is loaded from a config.json file in the application directory.
+/// </summary>
+public class ConfigInfo
+{
+    /// <summary>
+    ///     Disable update check for all users. When set to true, the application will not check for updates at startup.
+    ///     This overrides the user's "Update_CheckForUpdatesAtStartup" setting.
+    /// </summary>
+    [JsonPropertyName("Update_DisableUpdateCheck")]
+    public bool? Update_DisableUpdateCheck { get; set; }
+}

Source/NETworkManager.Settings/ConfigManager.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+using log4net;
+using System;
+using System.IO;
+using System.Text.Json;
+using System.Text.Json.Serialization;
+
+namespace NETworkManager.Settings;
+
+/// <summary>
+///     Manager for system-wide configuration that is loaded from a config.json file 
+///     in the application directory. This configuration overrides user settings.
+/// </summary>
+public static class ConfigManager
+{
+    #region Variables
+
+    /// <summary>
+    ///     Logger for logging.
+    /// </summary>
+    private static readonly ILog Log = LogManager.GetLogger(typeof(ConfigManager));
+
+    /// <summary>
+    ///     Config file name.
+    /// </summary>
+    private static string ConfigFileName => "config.json";
+
+    /// <summary>
+    ///     System-wide configuration that is currently loaded.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static ConfigInfo Current { get; private set; }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    ///     JSON serializer options for consistent serialization/deserialization.
+    /// </summary>
+    private static readonly JsonSerializerOptions JsonOptions = new()
+    {
+        WriteIndented = true,
+        PropertyNameCaseInsensitive = true,
+        DefaultIgnoreCondition = JsonIgnoreCondition.WhenWritingNull,
+        Converters = { new JsonStringEnumConverter() }
+    };
+
+    #endregion
+
+    #region Methods
+
+    /// <summary>
+    ///     Method to get the config file path in the application directory.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <returns>Config file path.</returns>
+    private static string GetConfigFilePath()
+    {
+        return Path.Combine(AssemblyManager.Current.Location, ConfigFileName);
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    ///     Method to load the system-wide configuration from config.json file in the application directory.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static void Load()
+    {
+        var filePath = GetConfigFilePath();
+
+        // Check if config file exists
+        if (File.Exists(filePath))
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Log.Info($"Loading system-wide configuration from: {filePath}");
+                
+                var jsonString = File.ReadAllText(filePath);
+                Current = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<ConfigInfo>(jsonString, JsonOptions);
+                
+                Log.Info("System-wide configuration loaded successfully.");
+                
+                // Log enabled settings
+                if (Current.Update_DisableUpdateCheck.HasValue)
+                {
+                    Log.Info($"System-wide setting - Update_DisableUpdateCheck: {Current.Update_DisableUpdateCheck.Value}");
+                }
+            }
+            catch (Exception ex)
+            {
+                Log.Error($"Failed to load system-wide configuration from: {filePath}", ex);
+                Current = new ConfigInfo();
+            }
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            Log.Debug($"No system-wide configuration file found at: {filePath}");
+            Current = new ConfigInfo();
+        }
+    }
+
+    #endregion
+}

Source/NETworkManager.Settings/SettingsManager.cs

@@ -56,6 +56,25 @@ public static class SettingsManager
     /// </summary>
     public static bool HotKeysChanged { get; set; }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    ///     Gets whether update check should be performed at startup.
+    ///     This respects the system-wide configuration (config.json) which takes precedence over user settings.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static bool ShouldCheckForUpdatesAtStartup
+    {
+        get
+        {
+            // System-wide config takes precedence - if it explicitly disables updates, honor it
+            if (ConfigManager.Current?.Update_DisableUpdateCheck == true)
+            {
+                return false;
+            }
+
+            // Otherwise, use the user's setting
+            return Current.Update_CheckForUpdatesAtStartup;
+        }
+    }
+
     /// <summary>
     ///     JSON serializer options for consistent serialization/deserialization.
     /// </summary>
@@ -152,6 +171,9 @@ public static void Initialize()
     /// </summary>
     public static void Load()
     {
+        // Load system-wide configuration first (from app directory)
+        ConfigManager.Load();
+
         var filePath = GetSettingsFilePath();
         var legacyFilePath = GetLegacySettingsFilePath();
 

Source/NETworkManager/MainWindow.xaml.cs

@@ -561,7 +561,7 @@ private void Load()
         NetworkChange.NetworkAddressChanged += (_, _) => OnNetworkHasChanged();
 
         // Search for updates... 
-        if (SettingsManager.Current.Update_CheckForUpdatesAtStartup)
+        if (SettingsManager.ShouldCheckForUpdatesAtStartup)
             CheckForUpdates();
     }