Sumatra PDF Portable 0.8 has been released. It's the lightweight Sumatra PDF viewer packaged as a portable app, so you can view PDFs on the go. This release updates Sumatra PDF to the latest version adding in more languages, search, table of contents, printing improvements and more. It's packaged in PortableApps.com Format for easy use from any portable device and integration with the PortableApps.com Suite. And it's open source and completely free.
Read on for more details...
Features
Sumatra PDF is a slim, free, open-source PDF viewer for Windows. Sumatra has a minimalistic design but still has most of the features you need from a PDF viewer. It's small and starts up very fast.
New in This Release
Sumatra PDF has been updated to the latest release adding in better multilingual support, improved printing, PDF table of contents, search and several performance and stability enhancements. The installer and launcher have also been updated and are now digitally signed to ensure integrity.
PortableApps.com Installer / PortableApps.com Format
Sumatra PDF Portable is packaged in a PortableApps.com Installer so it will automatically detect an existing PortableApps.com installation when your drive is plugged in. And it's in PortableApps.com Format, so it automatically works with the PortableApps.com Suite including the Menu and Backup Utility.
Download
Sumatra PDF Portable is available for immediate download from the Sumatra PDF Portable homepage. Get it today!
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Comments
Great! These are getting up
Great! These are getting up quick now, good job.
thanks john
keep it up
Nice.
The Sumatra update is nice, good choice.
Writes settings to AppData
I just discovered that this package creates a folder in %AppData% and puts a file called sumatrapdfprefs.dat in there...
but it
deletes it after you close it, doesn't it?
Not really...
I just tried, and no, the folder remains in AppData after Sumatra gets closed. Also, when I delete it manually, all settings are lost the next time Sumatra starts, so it *does* save its settings in there.
Cool
I found a bug but Ill do a separate post.
Is it just me?
OK, since no one else has posted about this, I must be about the only one to have this problem. Maybe someone can advise anyway.
Here is what happens: Whenever I launch Sumatra Portable, a folder is created in [User]/Application Data. It's empty at first, and it remains empty, but when Sumatra closes, a file called sumatrapdfprefs.dat is created in there. This is the same with 0.8 Rv 1 and Rv 2. Any ideas?
The same happened to me
but the Revision fixed it.
Do you have a sumatrapdfprefs.dat file in /SumatraPDFPortable/App/sumatrapdf?
I guess re reinstalled it a couple of times but did you delete the whole SumatraPortable folder and reinstall?
I didn't read the whole post so don't be mad at me if you already tried it and posted about it
Thanks for your help.
Why on Earth should I be mad? :o
To answer your question: I did find the file in this directory, but it was a couple of days old, so it was apparently created when I first extracted the .paf file and hasn't been used since. I deleted this file, re-launched Sumatra, and the new file appeared in %AppData%/SumatraPDF/ (as before), there was no change in /SumatraPDFPortable/App/sumatrapdf/.
Perhaps I should mention three more things:
1) Before John's portable version, I was using the official "semi-portable" non-installer version from http://blog.kowalczyk.info/software/sumatrapdf/, which actually behaved in exactly the same way. Could this issue be something left behind by this version?
2) I don't run my portable apps from a portable drive, but usually from my local c: drive (and only move them to other devices sporadically when I know I'll be using someone else's computer.)
3) Due to the above, I don't use the PortableAppsSuite launcher either, but always launch stand-alone apps (or have them launched by opening associated files - I set Sumatra as my default PDF viewer, but have changed that in the meantime.)
I hope any of the above helps to identify the problem. Thanks in advance and I promise not to be mad!
At the risk of asking the
At the risk of asking the obvious: there were two versions released in quick succession; the second one because of several minor problems with the first. Have you confirmed that you have the latest one?
Second, are you opening it from the SumatraPdfPortable.exe program every time, or are you making file associations or shortcuts that use the SumatraPDF.exe program directly?
I think I have the latest version (0.8 Rv 2)
If you mean 0.8 and 0.8 Rv 2, yes, then I do have the latest one, ie. 0.8 Rv 2.
According to John, the purpose of Rv 2 was to eliminate the problem with an empty folder being created in %AppData%. However, in my case 0.8 Rv 1 didn't just create the empty folder, it also stored its settings file in it. This hasn't changed even with Rv 2.
As for your second question - while I was using Sumatra as the default viewer, I obviously launched it automatically simply by opening an PDF file associated with it. After that, I launched Sumatra in "empty" mode, too (both directly by launching the .exe file and indirectly via a shortcut), just to see what happens. The result was the same in all three cases.
Was the file association set
Was the file association set to an installed Sumatra or your portable Sumatra?
After that, I launched Sumatra in "empty" mode, too (both directly by launching the .exe file and indirectly via a shortcut)
What exactly does this mean? And you didnt answer rab040ma's question. Did you launch sumatra.exe or SumatraPortable.exe?
Sorry...
... for not answering any sooner, but I didn't have internet access this weekend.
Was the file association set to an installed Sumatra or your portable Sumatra?
It was set to the portable one (and before that to the semi-portable one offered by the author).
What exactly does this mean?
It means I launched the program directly, i.e., not indirectly via any associated file, but directly by executing the executable file.
And you didnt answer rab040ma's question. Did you launch sumatra.exe or SumatraPortable.exe?
Sorry, I overlooked he made that distinction - probably because it never even occurred to me I could have associated PDFs with sumatra.exe. So no, the file association was with SumatraPortable.exe.
However, the settings folder and the file inside are created regardless of whether I use the file association or launch SumatraPortable.exe all by itself.
If you used the option
If you used the option inside SumatraPDF to set the file association, it's associated to sumatra.exe, not SumatraPortable.exe, which would bypass the launcher. It's considered bad practice to create a file association with a portable app because that data is saved in the registry (i.e. NOT portable).
Also, there was a post about a possible bug. The file in the created folder is a .dat file correct? If so, this is because the old version of sumatra used a .txt for settings and the new version uses .dat, so the launcher looks for a .txt file. It then can't delete the created directory because the dir isn't empty, it contains a .dat file.
Not quite
If you used the option inside SumatraPDF to set the file association, it's associated to sumatra.exe, not SumatraPortable.exe,
Yes, but I didn't use the option inside SumatraPDF, instead I went through the right-click context menu for files: "-> open with... -> select program -> always open this file-type with this program" - sorry if this is somewhat inaccurate (I forget the exact English wordings), but I hope you'll know what I mean.
It's considered bad practice to create a file association with a portable app because that data is saved in the registry (i.e. NOT portable)
Yes, Simeon said the same. I admit I didn't know you're not supposed to do that. I mean I did know that the file association itself isn't portable, but I didn't know that the clean functioning on the local system may be affected in any way.
The file in the created folder is a .dat file correct?
Correct.
If so, this is because the old version of sumatra used a .txt for settings and the new version uses .dat, so the launcher looks for a .txt file. It then can't delete the created directory because the dir isn't empty, it contains a .dat file.
Mm, but as I said, I already use the revision 2 that fixed this bug... Is there anything else I'm supposed to do after updating to 0.8 rev. 2?
rev 2 didnt fix this
rev 2 didnt fix this bug....it still looks for a .txt file, not a .dat file. see my post at the very bottom of this page, it includes a link to more info about the bug.
in general,
to keep things clean you shouldnt assocoate any file type with portable programs.
By doing that you don't launch Sunmatra via the launcher but directly with the consequence that the settings are stored in the APPDATA folder.
I had no idea...
to keep things clean you shouldnt assocoate any file type with portable programs.
By doing that you don't launch Sunmatra via the launcher but directly with the consequence that the settings are stored in the APPDATA folder.
Quite honestly, I had no idea about that, but it does sound plausible. I still think it's a huge pity because SumatraPDF is simply ideal as a default PDF viewer. Of course, one can always use it installed locally, but I happen to prefer portable apps even when I'm not using them on the road...
At any rate, that can't be the real cause of the problem because it also occurs when SumatraPDF is not launched externally, with an associated file.
Well...
some people get mad if someone suggest things twice. Glad you're not one of them
What is the location of your Apps on c:/?
Is It the APPDATA folder (C:/ Programs/)?
Most Apps detect that they are being run from this folder and then they save their settings to this folder no matter what the launcher does.
No, I'm not one of them ;)
some people get mad if someone suggest things twice. Glad you're not one of them.
OK, I can understand that people get mad when they're answering things and don't get listened to properly. Being on the receiving end of advice, it's something quite different...
What is the location of your Apps on c:/?
Is It the APPDATA folder (C:/ Programs/)?
No, it's c:/portable apps/. I keep portable and non-portable programs in separate folders.
Most Apps detect that they are being run from this folder and then they save their settings to this folder no matter what the launcher does
Mmm, not sure I get this. The out-of-place settings folder appears in c:\documents and settings\user\application data\.
See here. The file in the
See here.
The file in the created folder is a .dat file correct? If so, this is because the old version of sumatra used a .txt for settings and the new version uses .dat, so the launcher looks for a .txt file. It then can't delete the created directory because the dir isn't empty, it contains a .dat file.
OK
See here.
OK, looks like this is an ongoing problem... At least I'm not the only one having issues. I think I'll patiently wait for the next version. What with me using Sumatra locally, this isn't such a huge issue anyway. (I'd still rather be rid of it anyway.)
The file in the created folder is a .dat file correct? If so, this is because the old version of sumatra used a .txt for settings and the new version uses .dat, so the launcher looks for a .txt file. It then can't delete the created directory because the dir isn't empty, it contains a .dat file.
For the record, I replied to this paragraph above. Again, thanks for your input.
Yup, its an ongoing
Yup, its an ongoing issue.
Sorry for the redundancy, I wasn't sure you saw my first post, and i figured a post at the bottom would be easier to find than a post buried in the middle of a thread. I saw your response to my other post.
Lets hope this gets fixed soon.
Revision 3, update
Here is an update about what's happening with Rv 3.
1) I extracted SumatraPDFPortable and started SumatraPDFPortable.exe - everything fine, no folder created, no file created in that folder.
2) I associated PDF files with SumatraPDFPortable.exe (not within the program itself, but externally) - yes, I know I'm not supposed to do that, but I was curious to see what happens... As expected, the folder and settings file are created.
3) I removed the PDF file association, then started SumatraPDFPortable.exe by itself (not with any associated file). Again, the unwanted folder and settings file are created - this did not happen before I associated the files.
Not being tech-savvy, I can only assume it's something to do with the registry?
This is not really an urgent request for help - after all, it's not really a problem in my case. I'm prepared to accept the loss of portability in exchange for using Sumatra as my default PDF viewer. However, I want to be able to "go portable" whenever I want to. That's why I'd still be curious to learn what is causing this and what can be done about it.
Because the association was
Because the association was made, and that folder was created, if you removed that association, but did not delete that folder, the launcher would treat it as a locally installed version and backup the settings instead of deleting the directory. And you can use the stand-alone single exe from the sumatra website if portability isn't an issue for you.
But I did delete the folder
if you removed that association, but did not delete that folder, the launcher would treat it as a locally installed version and backup the settings instead of deleting the directory.
I did delete the folder - I just didn't mention it because I thought it would have been stating the obvious. I remove the association, delete the folder, restart SumatraPDFPortable.exe - and the folder reappears. I even cleaned the registry at one point, to no effect.
And you can use the stand-alone single exe from the sumatra website if portability isn't an issue for you.
I know, I've been using it since it came out. But I would like to have this thing sorted out anyway, for two reasons:
I prefer portable versions even if I mostly use them on one computer,
it simply annoys me if something that seems to work for everybody else doesn't work for me.
I'm not able to replicate
I'm not able to replicate your findings. I've tried following your instructions exactly, but the .dat file keeps being stored next to the .exe file, and no appdata folder is created.
Are you sure you only have the one copy of SumatraPDF.exe on your hard drive (the one you are testing)? Can you use WinMD5sum on it (and the SumatraPdfPortable.exe) and paste the values, so we can be sure we are on the same page?
I've never used WinMD5sum
I've never used WinMD5sum because I simply had no need for it, so right now I don't know how to do this. But I'm going to figure it out and post the result as soon as I can.
Refrain
If you have a genuine support question, please make a post within the support forums... not as comments on a news story. Please refrain from making further support requests or offering suggestions on this outdated news story.