PortableApps Suite Support

Many of the most common issues that arise when using PortableApps Suite are addressed here. Please read through the various topics to see if any of them address your question. You can also post a question to one of the forums for the apps within the suite.

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Portable Apps Suite-Specific Issues

Installing PortableApps Suite

To install PortableApps Suite, just download the file at the top of the PortableApps Suite page and run it. It's best to install it right to the root directory of your portable drive (X:\ where X is the drive letter). It'll take anywhere from 2 to 20 minutes depending on the Edition you select and the speed of your drive.

Using PortableApps Suite

To start up the PortableApps Menu, just double-click StartPortableApps.exe in the root of your portable drive. In many cases, Windows will ask if you'd like to start PortableApps when you plug in your drive. Then, use the intuitive PortableApps Menu to launch your apps, browse your drive, search the web and more.

When using any portable software, here are a couple tips:

  • Stay Safe - When using portable apps, it's always a good idea to practice Safe Portable App-ing.
  • Removing Your Drive - When you're done, exit all portable apps and then wait for the activity light on your removable drive to stop flashing. Then select the 'Safely remove [device]' option from the icon in the system tray. If you remove the drive while it is writing, you may lose data.

Adding Apps to the PortableApps Menu

The PortableApps Menu can automatically add apps in PortableApps Format. Just download the file you'd like to add (like FileZilla Portable, for instance). Then, in PortableApps Menu, click Options - Add a New App - Install and then select the FileZilla Portable .paf.exe file you just downloaded. The PortableApps Menu will automatically install it to the proper location for you.

The PortableApps Menu will also work with other apps. You just need to place their executables (exe files) in a directory "next to" the PortableAppsMenu directory. So, in a standard layout, you'd create a directory within the PortableApps directory (MyAppName, for instance) and then place the application you want to use within that directory (MyAppName.exe, for instance). Then, just click Options - Refresh App Icons within PortableApps Menu and your new app will show up.

Backing Up Your Settings (Bookmarks, Email, Preferences, etc)

The PortableApps Suite comes with PortableApps Backup, an easy-to-use backup utility. Just click the backup icon on the PortableApps Menu and select backup. You'll get to pick what you want to back up and where you'd like to store your backups.

Note: PortableApps Backup's app data backup feature only works with apps in PortableApps Format (since their data is in a standard location). For other apps, you should be sure to backup your entire drive.

Uninstalling PortableApps Suite

Since the PortableApps Suite is self-contained, uninstalling is a snap. To remove the suite, you simply delete its files. This would be the Documents and PortableApps directories as well as the StartPortableApps.exe file and a hidden file called autorun.inf in the root directory (you may need to show hidden files within Explorer to do this). If you don't have any data you wish to save on your portable device, you could also format it if you'd like. If you do have data within the Documents directory you'd like to save, simply delete the directories you don't wish to keep. To remove the custom icons on the Documents directory (or any others), just delete the hidden desktop.ini file within each directory.

Known Issues

Some applications have known issues. These are details on each application's support page. The Suite has the following issues:

  • No Deleting Apps While Menu Running - Installed apps can't be deleted while the menu is running. This is because the Menu keeps a lock on each applications file to use display its icon. This will be fixed in a later release.

Version History

  • Portable Apps Suite (& Light) 1.0 Final! - November 20, 2006
    • First non-test release of the suite
    • Introduction of PortableApps Menu
    • Update of all apps
    • Custom icons
    • Lots more
  • Portable Apps Suite (& Light) 1.0 Release - November 10, 2005
    • First public release!