I'm trying to make a Netbeans portable app and everything looks to be in place using the PortableApps.com Installer but it asking for an exe file in the base folder. I took a look at other working examples and they have an AppNamePortable.exe then the normal AppName.exe in the App/AppName folder. How can I create the AppNamePortable.exe?
https://portableapps.com/node/14868
To me
it doesn't help.
Most Apps here use NSIS for installers and Launchers. A Launcher (mostly called AppNamePortable.exe where AppName is the name of the Application) is the program that ensures that the main Program can run portably. Meaning it redirects variables so the Program finds its data, backs up parts of the local registry so if the program creates registry entries they wont overwrite the local settings etc. Every Launcher is a bit different compared to another because every program is different and thus requires different things to be done.
So it depends very much on the program if it is easy to make AppnamePortable or not.
I use NSIS myself. I started learning it by looking at the included launchers in Apps already released here at PortableApps.com and then bit by bit trying to get the hang of it. So I think the best way is to find out what your Netbeans-Launcher has to do and then look at existing launchers and see if you find one that does similar things. Then you take it and adjust something here, something there and maybe in the end if everything works out well you have your Netbeans Portable.
Hope I could help a little.
PS:
You could also search the forums for Netbeans. It appears others tried it too, so maybe the search results help.
"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate
If you're not good with programming (and NSIS certainly isn't the place to start if you aren't--it'll teach you really bad habits), you can try the test release of Chris's PortableApps Launcher, here:
https://portableapps.com/node/19188
All you have to do is find out what registry entries and/or directories NetBeans uses to store its data and fill out a simple INI with the relevant info, rename a couple of files, copy in the NetBeans binaries, and you're good to go. Read the documentation (help.html); it'll tell you all you need to know.
OK thanks, now i have a idea how to do it now.
i looked at a few Apps from Portable apps and thought it was like a shortcut.
so i started looking at C++ hopefully it works.