I had this idea for quite a while.
Problem: Menus are slow... and bulky and rather inefficient when you come to think about clicking a 16x16 icon in the system tray, that might even be hidden (Win+Alt+Space would fix this, but that's not the point).
Solutions that work 50%:
- Something blazing fast, like PStart or ASuite (my current system)
- Autorunning the apps
- Just going into the PortableApps Folder and Double Clicking on it
A solution that would work at least 75%: Having a folder in your drive dedicated to launching apps. Just Launchers or Shortcuts that can be made automatically or manually, and maybe a couple of really cool features like a trash program that you drag the launcher into to delete the whole program or just hide it from the folder. In other words, a really integrated interfacing that I want to call StartFolder but I can't.
Supposed Features:
- Auto-index PortableApps Folder
- A Favoriting System that would move the launchers into the root directory
- A Hiding system that puts the hidden launchers into a Hidden Folder
- A shortcut creator for manual stuff (like Folders, etc.)
- Back In Time stuff because Explorer is that quirky
- Really cool stuff
FAQ: Why don't I make it myself if I'm so pumped up about it? Because I don't have a readily available Windows Computer. Or time.
Visit the Community page
Join our forums
Subscribe to our email newsletter
Subscribe with RSS
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on LinkedIn
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Mastodon
Follow us on BlueSky
1. The PortableApps.com Platform is always going to be slower than other launchers because every time it launches, it scans for apps. This takes time. Hopefully a future version will come with a switch in the options to not do that any longer (though it should still by default) and use a database for the apps. Then it should load much faster, though if you add or remove apps, the menu will not reflect the change until you refresh apps through Options.
2. Your idea of shortcuts in a folder is a good idea. The only problem with this is the drive letter can change, and Windows Shortcuts (.lnk) can't be relative, they gotta be absolute. So you gotta think, how many computers are you gonna use the flash drive on? No more than a couple. At home, my flash drive is N, but it's J at work. So I would need two folders, nShortcuts and jShortcuts. One folder would be useless, depending on what computer I'm at.
(If the desktop is relatively clean, you can also copy those shortcuts to the desktop.)
3. One idea you touched on a little and another you didn't. First, use more than one menu. Have the PortableApps.com Platform only call your favorite apps. Then have Appetizer or one of your favorites call a set of apps in a particular category (e.g. games) that you rarely use. Have another launcher call another set. And have the shortcuts to these launchers in the PortableApps.com Platform, named for their category. Like call Appetizer "Games Launcher" or "Games Launcher (Appetizer)". Second -- not be such a packrat, and every so often take a serious look at the apps and think "what can I really do without?" and delete accordingly.
I can never really understand that. It amazes me how Appetizer imports them. Does it simply know the rules or does it look somewhere?
Closer, but not yet. My idea for the whole thing were to have auto-generated executables that could pass parameters (for dropping files onto) and launch drive-compensation apps. Very integrated (boy, blockquotes are fun).
I remember a while ago, somebody wrote up a little script that you could put on the menu, and on click they would pop up a little list, emulating folders. I'll go look...
That'll be hard, considering that I have a new 16 GB drive, an 8 GB drive, and 40+ GB to back it all up on (incrementally, using Back in Time for Linux ;)).
Anyone up to make it?
Insert original signature here with Greasemonkey Script.
It has a database or a .ini file or something. When you add a shortcut to Appetizer, it remembers it next time. The catch is (presumably) that if you remove an app, you then have to remove it from Appetizer, or have a dead shortcut.
PAP scans every time. All it remembers are renames and what's hidden. Devs can correct me if I'm wrong, but that's how it seems to work.
Yeah, but if you're gonna do a little hack, why not just get the R34 menu or another launcher? Then again, JTH did reiterate a few days ago that categories are coming. Though categories were implemented almost 2 years ago in the R34, a fork of the official menu, it should be a basic feature; rather, what's next for portable apps is integration. Portable fonts, portable file association, the portable updater, and other like features. At this point implementing categories would be more like stepping backward than forward, in a weird way.
I think Appetizer actually scans also, because that would explain why the removed programs go into a blacklist instead of being removed.
[OT]I was also wondering: 3 Years ago, I asked John if he could implement keyboard jumping (i.e., type 'l' and the menu jumps to the apps that start with l). Do you think that'll make its way in?
Insert original signature here with Greasemonkey Script.
I wishes that he'd put in a little serach bar like in vista. Be nice, but since we're still waiting for that beta 4, I don't hink it will happen. Oh well, I'll keeps waiting.
Too many lonely hearts in the real world
Too many bridges you can burn
Too many tables you can't turn
Don't wanna live my life in the real world
I often use the Menu/Platform and am happy with it. But sometimes it has to be fast. For these occasion I made small launchers I keep in the root of my drive. They are drive letter independent and just launch one App. Something like relative shortcuts. And I have a small starter with my 15 most used Apps as checkboxes.
"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate
Yeah, I was thinking about that when I was customizing my autorun.inf in the library. I want to set up a little menu that has nice, big, buttons that I could set to launch when I double-click my drive. Any ideas?
Insert original signature here with Greasemonkey Script.
there's the CodySafe menu (or environment as they call it) that kind of copies U3 ans like your most used apps are in the beginning (and the buttons are HUGE) and if you want to see all your apps, you just click "all apps". I like it because it automatically checks for apps but it only lists the ones in PA format. It also has has the "eject" button exit the menu and you can make it force close all open apps. and unlike the PAM, it doesn't require admin rights to eject from the menu.
You can also set it to autorun multiple apps on startup.
But its payware and closed source (but still FREE)
http://www.codyssey.com/products/codysafe.html
And the screenshot is misleading, the blue background is actually black on XP. It only looks like that on Vista and 7.
I actually saw that on Snapfiles, I think, when I was randomly clicking links (aka. "surfing the web"). But thanks!
Insert original signature here with Greasemonkey Script.
Cylog Toolbox.
Toolbox creates one or more rectangular "toolboxes" = launchers.
It's natively portable.
You can create shortcuts to programs, files, folders, drives, and special shortcuts that monitor drive size and uptime, and access windows special folders.
It supports drag-and-drop creation of shortcuts.
It supports relative and absolute paths, and you can switch between the two with a click of the button.
You can size the toolboxes to any size, change the icon size, customize the background with a bitmap, color/transparency, or see through to the desktop.
You can even use multiple instances of it running simultaneously, as long as you use two separate installations of it.
It's fast, and flexible.
http://www.cylog.org/utilities/toolbox.jsp
I made this half-pony, half-monkey monster to please you.
Damn, I had that on my flash drive, but I never used it. I still probably won't use it at work, but I think you've sold me on it for home use. If it supports relative paths, and I can have it load at startup (any app can be made to) then it sounds like just what I need. The only real "gap" in my PortableApps "solution" is that every time I reinstall Windows, I've got to redo all the shortcuts on the desktop. I could use a launcher, but I'd rather have the icons on the desktop. I guess a transparent menu would be the next best thing.
Damn again. Reading the site makes me feel I should have given it more of a chance. Sounds like a real killer app.
Does desktop.ini need UAC enabled?
Hello everybody!
Maybe we could develope a download manager for portable apps.
My Idea is: a simply download manager for choosing newest versions of applications an just click on download and everything the manager does on itself.
maybe my idea was helpfully.
greetings to all developers , Moe / 1337b14C|
I've always wanted this.
Is already a reality, and will be merged into an upcoming version of the Platform.
I made this half-pony, half-monkey monster to please you.
Out of all the menus around, this one would have to be the best partly because it's automated, and secondly because it scans and for new programs; but being able to update the applications as well in some way would be awesome I feel.