In this comment: https://portableapps.com/comment/226446 John mentions a "launcher helper".
How does one know which portable apps use launcher helpers, and which do not?
If an app that typically uses a launcher helper is run directly from a shortcut (and not via the PortableApps Platform), will it leave things behind?
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Please refer to the other thread about CoolPlayer. I think something is up with your machine.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
I'm interested in this information in general, and not specifically about the issues I posted within the last 15 hours.
I'm interested for three reasons:
Unfortunately, I don't have time right now to read all of https://portableapps.com/development
1. I want to associate some file extensions with Portable Apps, and so having a basic understanding about launchers, and which apps require them, will be useful (perhaps essential).
2. I want to have a basic understanding to help with general troubleshooting and bug reporting.
3. Basic human curiosity and a thirst for knowledge!
Apps in PortableApps use a secondary launcher to run the base app. Often this iso that the app will be truly portable, some apss for instance that require a read of font files can take over a minute to load.
To better understand perhaps take a look at the ini file of the launcher, as the PorttableApps exe is what is used to launch the base app.
The launcher takes care of many functions such as registry, moving files, appdata etc......I know it hard to comprehend but if you do have change reading is the best way to understand it. Especially as every app has different dependencies
For a quick idea take a look at https://portableapps.com/apps/development/portableapps.com_launcher and its features it sort of explains some things that it performs
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” Dr. Seuss
Thanks. I didn't realize that so many apps in the Portable Apps Platform are not portable by themselves, and require so much post-exit-processing.
It's kind of surprising given that, for simpler apps, it's not that hard for the original authors to make them portable. For this reason, more and more apps are made portable directly by their authors. For more complex apps, or apps for which portability was never a thought, the need is more obvious.
What's the normal process if you want to associate a file extension with a portable app?
You must manually associate files to the CoolPlayerPortable.exe launcher. If you don't, it won't run properly (you'll reset settings, etc). In the case of an app like Firefox, if you use the built-in file associations, it associates with firefox.exe directly. When run, it'll run in local mode and use whatever profile is installed locally for Firefox, creating one if there isn't one.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!