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[Outdated] PortableApps.com Platform 2.0 Beta 3 Testing

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John T. Haller
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[Outdated] PortableApps.com Platform 2.0 Beta 3 Testing

Beta 4 of the 2.0 release of the PortableApps.com Platform has been posted!

Beta 3 is outdated!

WHAT'S NEW IN 2.0:

This release adds a number of features to the PortableApps.com Platform from 1.5 including:

  • Theme Switching - Seven colors (Red, Bronze, Green, Blue, Violet, Black and Silver) are included with the PortableApps.com Platform along with the ability to load other themes in PATheme format (an example is included below).
  • 120dpi Support / Missing Icons Fixed - The whole menu now properly supports 120dpi in Vista and Windows 7. There will be some visual artifacting (as with nearly all apps at 120dpi) but otherwise it all works as expected.
  • Transparency - You can now set the transparency of the whole menu from 0% to 90% directly from the Options menu.
  • Favorites - You can now move your most-used apps to the top of the menu (similar to Pin to Start Menu in Windows). You'll wind up scrolling a lot less.
  • Better App Hiding - App hiding is now accomplished by right-clicking and then selecting Hide. The app is hidden instantly without the app list being reloaded as it is in 1.5.
  • App Unhiding - You can unhide apps within the menu by right-clicking and selecting to Show Hidden Icons. Icons that are hidden are then show with a line through them. You can hide and unhide icons as you wish and then hide them again.
  • Run / Run As Admin - Apps can be run or run as administrator from the right-click menu.
  • App Load Progress Bar / Faster Menu Load - The menu will now load much faster and will then show a progress bar indicating how long it will take before it is done detecting all your apps.
  • Uninstall Apps - You can now right-click on an app and select to uninstall it. It will remove the whole app directory after a confirmation/warning screen.
  • Autorun Apps - You can now have apps automatically run when the menu loads. Just right-click on an app and select Automatically Start.
  • Multimonitor Support - The menu's additional forms now properly appear on PCs with 2 or 4 displays
  • Check Drive for Errors - Check your portable device for errors with just a click in the Options menu
  • Improved Wine Support - The menu will now load a square theme on Wine and avoid the pink edges that appear. (A fix for the app icons loading without all colors is being worked on)
  • Better Icon Refresh (and F5) - When refreshing the app icons, you'll get the same progress bar as when the icon first loads. You can refresh by selecting it from the Options popup menu, by right-clicking an icon in the app list and selecting Refresh or by just clicking F5.
  • Hide Desktop Icons - The menu can hide the PC's desktop icons using a selection in the Options menu
  • Visual Changes - The menu no longer uses bold fonts and has the start of font switching which will let it use Tahoma on Windows XP and earlier and Segoe UI on Vista and later to better fit with the rest of the interface.

The following issues have been fixed in Beta 2:
Always On Top - The menu is set to be the topmost window which causes issues with the dialog windows, this will be fixed in Beta 2
3rd app button - The 3rd app listed in the list is positioned 1px too high, this will be fixed in Beta 2
App Install Refresh - After installing a new app, the app list is not sorted properly (favorites are in the wrong position). This will be fixed in Beta 2
Backup Icon Highlight - The backup button doesn't highlight to its hover state when you are directly over the backup icon. This will be fixed in Beta 2
4th App Icon - Beta 3 fixes a bug with the 4 item in the app list not working

The PortableApps.com Updater has been left off of Beta 3 (it's not quite complete), but will be in Beta 4 shortly!!

SCREENSHOTS OF PORTABLEAPPS.COM PLATFORM 2.0 BETA 2

Default Theme with Firefox and Thunderbird set as favorites
Menu With Right-Click App Popup Menu
The new Options menu
The new blue theme

DOWNLOAD PORTABLEAPPS.COM PLATFORM 2.0 BETA 3

Download PortableApps.com Platform 2.0 Beta 3 [1.5MB download / 2MB installed]
MD5: 33dee2a6fa94a4d9fc92970ab9198f44

You can also download the source for the platform, backup, restore and installer.

EXAMPLE CUSTOM THEME: WINDOWS 7

A sample theme in PortableApps.com Theme Format has been provided, you can preview the Windows 7 theme or Download the Windows 7 theme.

Beta 4 with the PortableApps.com Updater will be coming shortly.

Please download, test and post your feedback!

Thanks,
John

KNOWN ISSUES

Localizations - Some strings in the dialogs are not yet showing the proper translations.
Uninstallation Window Slow - For larger apps, the uninstallation window will appear to hang if you try to click on it repeatedly on Vista. It is still running and will still update to show the current directory being removed (unless you click on it and Vista stops allowing the window to update).

Bensawsome
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Awesome!

Shweeeeeeeet Biggrin I shall beta test on my new usb drive ^_^

 iLike Macs, iPwn, However you put it... Apple is better ^_^ 
"Claiming that your operating system is the best in the world because more people use it is like saying McDonalds makes the best food in the world..."

an.badra
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Waaaa

Good feature but no have more feature but kept it nice and good.

Andibad, i interesting about this portable app website and great can save all file to my flashdisk 2-8 gb and no file in host computer, i like that.

NathanJ79
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Looks good

Looks good so far.

No Bugs yet, but a couple thoughts:

-No "add to bottom"? "Favorite" is a good replacement for "Add to top", but "Add to bottom" was a good feature. You had your best apps on top, and by sending some to the bottom, you could keep all the ones in the middle visible without scrolling. The ones on the bottom are the ones you want to keep for whatever reason, but don't use often. For me, I have SMPlayer+ and XMPlay as backup media players. I don't want them hidden, but I don't need them visible at all times.

-Green isn't really green. My first thought was "OK, green is blue". Once I saw blue, I realized green was more of a teal. #00FF00 would be too "loud" but maybe a light forest green. Looking at html-color-codes.com, "Green" looks most like #006666. Looking at the codes, I'm liking #006600. Not that I expect you're taking requests, just sayin.

-Switching to the Windows 7 theme requires the menu to hide (click away from it) and then unhide, but switching the other themes is instant.

Awesome stuff, keep up the good work!

arinlares
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The green got me, too.

So, I made my own: http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg290/arinlares/pagreen.png

Download here.

I know it's generally frowned apon to do post one's work in-thread, but hopefully it'll save people who want a green theme some time.

Hey! Where'd it go?

TStodden
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This is Green is better

This green theme is a lot better color-wise as it's more of an "Emerald" green than a "Teal" that's included with the installer.

If you prefer green, you won't be disappointed here as I'm grabbing a copy myself.

Please be aware that file is a DIY job. Just copy the theme's folder to
X:\PortableApps\PortableApps.com\App\DefaultData\Themes & reboot the starter.

NOTE: This will replace the default green theme included with the launcher.

~TStodden
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mvieira
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Theme changes...

Can't one just add a new folder in
X:\PortableApps\PortableApps.com\App\DefaultData\Themes

I tried that and restarted, but it didn't show up on the list.

nukeman8000
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Theme changes..

It works if you name the new folder "Green" and delete the old Green theme

kccameron
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Add to Bottom

I agree that "Add to Bottom" was a great feature in 1.6pr0. I'd like to see it back.

Raleigh034
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It looks great!

Thanks so much for this. You must run on about an hour and a half of sleep each day, with all that you do.

Raleigh

listless
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Beta

..cool

so does it install straight over the top of an existing installation?

Sidewinder
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Excellent

Thanks for this - seems to be working great. And the bugs I did notice in the PR0 seem to have been ironed out.

spg SCOTT
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Amazing!!!

Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, you do it again and impress us all.
Great work.

So far only one small thing, Green...

Like NathanJ79 said, it's not really green.
After messing with gimp, how about this kind of green?

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/8681/pamenugreen.png

@listless,

yes it does, download it to the root of the drive and run it, all will be taken care of.

Keep up the good work!!

-Scott-

“There is a computer disease that anybody who works with computers knows about. It's a very serious disease and it interferes completely with the work. The trouble with computers is that you 'play' with them!”Richard Feynman

NathanJ79
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Nice

I like the green in that screenshot. It's got a hair too much blue (I really like green) but I do like it. Part of my problem, I think, is I don't really like how the light balancing works in the theme. It's... without direction, I think. It's not bad, it's just not to my preference. And that's alright, generally speaking it's nice.

As for updating, it will erase your existing menu first. It will not remember your previous favorites you'd pinned with 1.6 Pre-Release 0. Any custom themes you had will not be retained. This is not bad but it should be noted. Sites like PTC will probably rush to convert their most popular themes to the new format, as the old ones probably will not work with this.

Also you can download it to whatever location you like. I download to X:\tmp and then, when I get it home, dump it in my Portable subfolder of my applications repository. I ran it from there (couldn't wait - can you blame me?) and it worked fine. When I get home, I'll run it from X:\Archived Programs\Portable, and it'll work from there as well. When you run the installer, it will look for a flash drive and suggest that as the installation location. I deal with this a lot as I run PA on two flash drives and an external hard drive. Either flash drive plugged in, it suggests the flash drive. (I've never had both plugged in. They both use drive letter K. I don't feel like tempting fate.) Neither flash drive plugged in, it suggests the external hard drive. And that's always plugged in and on.

spg SCOTT
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Yeah

Yeah,I suppose it could have more green/less blue, just an idea Wink (I only colorized it in GIMP quickly, so it's nothing special)

I have to agree with you about the direction of the lighting, there are some parts that the lighting seems to contradict each other, but I still like it.

As for the updating, thanks for the addition, I hadn't thought about that. (I only used the last official release, on one memory stick)

“There is a computer disease that anybody who works with computers knows about. It's a very serious disease and it interferes completely with the work. The trouble with computers is that you 'play' with them!”Richard Feynman

spg SCOTT
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Progress Bar

So far no actual problems, just a couple of asthetics issues (one already discussed)

Is it possible to move the progress bar?

Where it is now doesn't really work/look right.
How about moving it to the bottom right(In the slightly 'redundant' area of the menu)
Have a look at the image to see what I mean:

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/2756/pamenumodifiedprogressb.png

I think that it looks better this way.

Also will the progress bar be able to change with the theme? At the moment it is the same colour whatever theme you use.

Thanks,

-Scott-

“There is a computer disease that anybody who works with computers knows about. It's a very serious disease and it interferes completely with the work. The trouble with computers is that you 'play' with them!”Richard Feynman

crookadile
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Good idea Scott

I like the idea of repositioning the progress bar.

It certainly looks better in your example ( how about it John? )maybe in the next release.
Or is there a way it can be done now.

Everything else is spot on,thanks.

John T. Haller
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app progress

It's a progress bar to show the apps loading so the location is proper. The problem is that on refresh, the app icons aren't hidden (they should be). When the app area is cleared it works better. This will be fixed in beta 2.

And yes, it is themable.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

hjpintoavila
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Yea!

I think it is ok where it is!

Oh and now that themes are supported officially, why don't you add a "Themes" section on the PortableApps.com page. ^^

spg SCOTT
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Ok then

It's a progress bar to show the apps loading so the location is proper.

That makes sense, I suppose with the apps hidden it will work better.

And yes, it is themable.

It changes with the external themes but when you use the standard themes it is the same colour, no matter which one you choose.
Is it supposed to be that way?

-Scott-

“There is a computer disease that anybody who works with computers knows about. It's a very serious disease and it interferes completely with the work. The trouble with computers is that you 'play' with them!”Richard Feynman

solanus
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A couple of things

Looks good, seems to be stable. Some things I noticed:
1. Show Hidden Icons should be in the Options menu, since it is not specific to any one app. All of the other context menu items that you get from right-clicking on a particular app are applied only to that app, while Show Hidden Icons is a global setting. Also, in the unlikely case that all apps are hidden, the only way to show hidden is to manually edit the ini file.
2. I like the basic idea of the theme switcher, except that instead of a fixed list of themes that cannot be changed, how about an MRU (Most Recently Used) list, that would include the custom themes?
3. Also, the color themes supplied are uncompressed, but the custom ones are required to be compressed. (I know, the .patheme is really a renamed .zip file). Is there an advantage to one way or the other? If uncompressed is superior, will there be a way to "install" custom themes, so they are uncompressed like the color themes?
4. If you choose an app to Start Automatically, the Menu closes immediately upon starting. If you don't choose any app to Start Automatically, the Menu stays open after upon starting.

Things I like:
1. You can start more than one app automatically.
2. Even hidden icons will start automatically.
3. Most of the other features are fine.

This is a good leap forward for the menu. I'm happy to hear that the Updater will be added, too.

I made this half-pony, half-monkey monster to please you.

jthatcher
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beta testing 2.1

THIS ROCKS!

App Guy
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Plethera of options

This sure has a lot of new stuff, one I seem to not like much is the it being always on top, I usually do stuff while the menu is loading but since there is no option to turn it off, i have a menu in the way. The option to be always on top would be a nice feature.

Edit: The Backup button is bugged. If you hover over the icon the button does not change color.

May the Shwartz be with you

John T. Haller
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how about....

How about the menu stays normal when loading apps and goes always on top when done, that may work.

Backup button hover missing in which theme for you?

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

App Guy
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Maybe add an opiton

I would think to add an option either in the PortableAppsMenu.ini or in the options menu of the PAM would be an idea, with uninstalling stuff on a small screen the menu covers the uninstall window.

The backup button is a problem in all themes, and i think it was a problem in the 1.6Pre0, where if you hover over the icon the button does not look selected but over the text it does.

May the Shwartz be with you

In_Xanity
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Backup button...

The backup button appears to have the same bug in 1.5.2 also.

Mouse hover over the word "Backup" or within several pixels of the icon (within the button/highlight area) causes highlight, but hover directly over the the icon looses highlight.

John T. Haller
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On ok

Oh ok, now I get what you mean. I have this fixed in my local build now and it'll be fixed in Beta 2.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

Faust
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windows always on top

Yes, please do something about the window always being on top. This is a major regression.

In the last version, the window would close to the taskbar whenever an app was opened. Fortunately an INI option was provided to correct this. Presumably there is an undoc-ed option to correct the current behavior?

EDIT: Ok, I just checked, and only those of us who added the option:

RemainVisible=True

in the previous version in order to keep the PA window from closing to the taskbar whenever a program was selected are now seeing the behavior that the window stays on top of all other windows.

That explains why everyone else is complaining about green being teal....

Michael Argh
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Give the man a cigar!

I just installed it over my old version of the platform, and it works fine. Also, I did notice, (as mentioned above) that to activate the Windows 7 theme, you have to minimize and restore the window. I like the status bar for refreshing, though it still took longer that I would think it should. Also, green shouldn't be... blue. How about a nice forest green? (lime green wouldn't really fit) I like the uninstall option. I also noticed that on the right side, the icons for Documents, Music, Video, etc. look slightly fuzzy, am I right or am I just seeing things?

All in all, this is one of the best pieces of software I have been privileged enough to use, I couldn't even tell it was a beta.

This is my signature.

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A New Hope (Episode II)

- I like bold fonts in the menu. In my opinion TFTs are no argument to purge them.
- @solanus: A MRU (Most Recently Used) list for the themes seems to be a nice idea.
- Installed themes should be saved on the flash, too.
- Can't find the font color option for the label name.
- Transparency: very ... useless (sorry ;-))
- Favorites: YES!

I've bundled some themes for testing the theme option:

Name
14 Themes
PAM-Version
PAM 2.0 Beta 1
Size
406 * 573 pix

Preview & Download

Life is crunchy, anywhere

qwertymodo
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Lovin the iPAP Theme :)

Lovin the iPAP Theme Smile

Quamquam omniam nescio, nec nihil scio.

EspaÑaks (not verified)
Funny coincidence

I was looking for this post to say exactly the same!

davidben2001
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Favorites Bug

I just installed an updated version of Firefox Portable and my favorites are now mixed in with the rest of the apps. Restarting PortableApps did fix the problem, but I'd hate to have to restart it everytime I updated an app.

I did take a screenshot: http://www.benhinks.com/images/pa-bug.jpg

xuesheng
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The next time it happens try

The next time it happens try right-clicking the menu area and selecting "Refresh" to put the favourites back at the top of the list.

richard4339
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Duplicated

I've just had it happen to me too. I also took a screenshot. I can confirm that refreshing does put them back in place.

Screenshot: http://imagebin.org/index.php?mode=image&id=56576

John T. Haller
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Got it

I got this, it'll be fixed in Beta 2.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

temp4746
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Eject

I saw that you added strings for closing PortableApps on eject but it doesn't seem to do this in this release.

Will it be added in the next one?

wk
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a short glimpse

Install without complaint, fast loading of about 100 apps, favourites very nice feature, simple themeing and theme switch ok,the features of official and unofficial menu are competing, my choice is now made for the official PAM, but some features are still missing: start on exit (e.g. I have a jingle on starting and ending the menu), categories, advanced themeing: customizing the folder buttons, extra/ custom buttons, different size.
Final conclusion -> very good work

"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisici elit, sed eiusmod tempor incidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis .." Friday Next -
"May The Schwartz be with You!" Yogurt the Yoda

prapper
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+1 for apps automatically run

+1 for apps automatically run when the menu exits

José Pedro Arvela
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Looks Great! + Theme Questions...

The new menu looks great, and I see no major new bug at my quick glance I had.

Also, I'd like to ask about the themes:

ptmb(#)
I've just noticed that, although there is a setting to change the color of the drive space label, there is no option to change the color of the drive label itself next to it.
(...)

And after quickly glancing at the theme files and hacking a theme to work on the new menu, I found no info showing me the bug is fixed, so I'd like to know if it is, and what is the ini option to use.

Beyond that I'd like to know what is the specific use of this:

(...)
[ButtonApplications]
(...)
IconTransparentColor=FFFFFF
(...)

on the menu. I understand that it shows what is the background color on the apps pane, but I don't understand what is it used for.

So I hope the final version is released soon!

Blue is everything.

qwertymodo
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In the Options>Theme menu,

In the Options>Theme menu, "..." isn't very clear. I think it should at least say "Other..." or something. It would also be nice if extra themes could be actually installed rather than just extracted. If I use the Windows 7 theme and then switch to another theme, it's gone. I am guessing this is so the list doesn't get too big, but it would be nice to be able to actually install themes. Also, the eject button on the Windows 7 theme doesn't match the rest of the theme (the images are the ones from the default red theme).

Quamquam omniam nescio, nec nihil scio.

Rapscallion
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I agree that it would be nice

I agree that it would be nice to "install" the themes. Or provide a "theme browser" so you could easily preview the theme before applying it.

Other than that I think the improvements are great!!

It amazes me that on the internet you can be anything you want, and yet so many people still choose to be idiots.

arinlares
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A couple issues.

One of them is the Green theme isn't exactly as green as green could be, it's more teal than anything, but I can fix that in GIMP. The other one, that I found quite annoying is when you right-click to bring up the submenu when hovering over the programs list, and you left-click over a program to close the right-click menu without doing anything, the program the cursor was hovering over executes. Fix that, and it's perfect, unless it does some horrible unheard-of bug.

Hey! Where'd it go?

John T. Haller
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Click Elsewhere

Menus and standard interfaces work that way. If you right-click on an app in the Windows Vista start menu and the left-click another app in an attempt to get the menu to go away, the app will launch there, too. So just click on a different area of the menu to make it go away. Or hit ESC.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

arinlares
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Ah, ok. I see what you mean.

Ah, ok. I see what you mean. I just never right-click my start menu. Thanks.

Hey! Where'd it go?

NathanJ79
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Comments

spg SCOTTIs it possible to move the progress bar?

Where it is now doesn't really work/look right.
How about moving it to the bottom right(In the slightly 'redundant' area of the menu)
Have a look at the image to see what I mean:

I agree with you, but I don't agree with the screenshot. In my opinion, the free/total space meter should be the progress meter while it's loading, and when it's loaded, show the free/total space meter. That would make the most sense to me.

Alternately, it would be cool if the entire app space was one big progress meter, and filled up with a gradient of light to dark of the theme's primary color, went from bottom to top. Just an idea off the top of my head.

That 'redundant' area could be used for any number of things. I think one day PA.c will do something really cool with it.

solanus2. I like the basic idea of the theme switcher, except that instead of a fixed list of themes that cannot be changed, how about an MRU (Most Recently Used) list, that would include the custom themes?

I didn't believe the theme list was fixed, so I moved the Bronze folder to the 7-zip folder (just a quick and dirty fix) and sure enough Bronze was still on the Theme list and loaded Default when I tried to pick it. That's sloppy IMHO. Like the menu loads the apps, the menu also ought to load the themes, by directories in the Themes folder. That way, you can get rid of ones you don't like, and also unpack ones you do like (e.g. the Windows 7 one) into folders to "sticky" them to the Themes list.

MrElchbauI've bundled some themes for testing the theme option:

Good work as always. I tested every one, and the only one I didn't like was Caution. The transparent areas were too small and narrow, and it looked really bad with my background, a sunset over Mt. Rainier with a forest. Sunset shining through really didn't look good at all. The transparency works well for the themes in others, like Screwed and Handheld, both of which were brilliant, but of course, after previewing them all, I went back to Dark, which is what I had with 1.6 PR0, and I must say is my favorite PAP theme. Good work though, they all have good qualities.

wkInstall without complaint, fast loading of about 100 apps, favourites very nice feature, simple themeing and theme switch ok,the features of official and unofficial menu are competing, my choice is now made for the official PAM, but some features are still missing: start on exit

What's fast? I have 31 apps and it takes 7-8 seconds on a P4 with 3GHz, 1GB RAM. It's a little slow but I would not complain about it.

Another +1 for apps to run on exit. This would be perfect for CCleaner or CleanAfterMe.

qwertymodoIn the Options>Theme menu, "..." isn't very clear. I think it should at least say "Other..." or something.

I agree, only I'd prefer "Browse..." which is the Windows standard, as I understand it. Just for ease of use for others; I had no problem figuring out what it meant.

crookadile
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Backup button

app guy wrote "Edit: The Backup button is bugged. If you hover over the icon the button does not change colour"

I can confirm this.

John asked which theme, well I have tried all of the themes and it happens on all of them. If you hover over the text " Backup " the button changes colour,but if you hover over the icon it doesn't.
All the others change colour when you hover over the icon.

NathanJ79
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x3

Happens here, too, and I'm using MrElchbau's "Dark" theme.

I don't think it's theme-dependent. Clicking the icon or the text does the same thing, but the hover action is not triggered until you point at the text.

To test, carefully move your mouse down the icons. Watch as they highlight for Documents, Pictures, Music, etc... but miss Backup. Then move your mouse down the text and see it get them all.

crookadile
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Another way to test

Another way to test it is to hover over the text "Backup" and it highlights, then move your cursor to the left and as it goes over the icon the highlight goes off.

Simeon
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Yes

NathanLike the menu loads the apps, the menu also ought to load the themes, by directories in the Themes folder. That way, you can get rid of ones you don't like, and also unpack ones you do like (e.g. the Windows 7 one) into folders to "sticky" them to the Themes list.

I second that.

A few other things:

  1. Translations:
  • "Uninstall" and "Transparency" aren't translated to German. Look like they are missing from the locale file.
  • The german text in the uninstall window is too long so it cuts off the last scentence.
  • In the uninstall text, the first word (Warning) isnt translated although it could be. Meaning it is in the locale file but the translators just missed it.
  • The buttons in the uninstall window aren't translated either
  • Handling:
  • I really like how fast the new Menu is loading Apps. Works like a charm and the new features and themes are very cool!

    All in all good work John!

    "What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate

    NathanJ79
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    A lot of languages

    A lot of languages don't translate Transparency. German, Japanese, Malay, Spanish... I don't know these languages, I picked them at random.

    "Design" is the German word for "Themes"?

    And "Videos" is "Videos" in German and Spanish?

    "Warning" is "Achtung" in German, right? Not sure why I know that or from where, if so.

    Simeon
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    yes

    I just checked german but I guess if its missing from the german locale file, it'll be missing everywhere.
    Design and Videos are ok, Id translate "Warning" with "Warnung" and not with "Achtung" though.

    "What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate

    pierrot
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    German translation for "Favorite"

    Apart from the proposed substitution of

    • "Achtung" with "Warnung" (which I second)

    I propose to use in the German translation

    • "Favoriten" instead of "Lesezeichen", because "Lesezeichen" is misleading while "Favoriten" in German are people or things one likes best. A "Lesezeichen" is a "bookmark"!

    and

    • "De-Installieren" instead of "Uninstall".
      • Peter

      EspaÑaks (not verified)
      In spanish, it IS the same in fact

      And mostly exactly pronounced

      spg SCOTT
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      Your idea is better

      Yeah, the free space area would be a better place if it were to be moved.

      “There is a computer disease that anybody who works with computers knows about. It's a very serious disease and it interferes completely with the work. The trouble with computers is that you 'play' with them!”Richard Feynman

      EspaÑaks (not verified)
      It is fast for me
      wk:Install without complaint, fast loading of about 100 apps, favourites very nice feature, simple themeing and theme switch ok,the features of official and unofficial menu are competing, my choice is now made for the official PAM, but some features are still missing: start on exit

      What's fast? I have 31 apps and it takes 7-8 seconds on a P4 with 3GHz, 1GB RAM. It's a little slow but I would not complain about it.

      53 (approximately) apps in a XP SP3 512MB for RAM & 2 Hz in an equivalent to a PentiumIV (should be 2,6, but then the system crashes). The platform loads in 3-5 seconds depending on how many apps I have in background.

      P.D.Nathan, what did you type for getting the original author in thew quote???!!! Just been re-reading the formatting tips & I didn't find ANYTHING!!!

      Chris Morgan
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      <cite>

      It's the <cite> tag... look at the source code to learn more

      I am a Christian and a developer and moderator here.

      “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” – Proverbs 15:1

      Ronald Pottol
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      startup speed

      It takes 35 seconds from clicking on it until the menue is ready for me, I have 45 folders in my portableapps folder. I use a Patriot Transport XT, which hdtune (portable of course) shows at 25 MBPS, so a nice peppy drive.

      Plato seems wrong to me today.

      NeoRame
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      ok here are my 2 cents about

      ok here are my 2 cents about the new PAP 2.0 and i have to say i like it ;-). nice work guys! if the category option (and the advance theme support) is in included this PAP would be perfect...

      and for all theme fans i have edit (pack as .patheme) my ShinyBlack theme for the PAP 2.0 only for testing Wink

      Preview and Download:
      http://ptc.kain-planet.de/details.php?file=437

      kind regards
      NeoRame

      p.s.:
      looks like its time to come back from the Wii Scene to the PAP scene Wink and reedit all my theme + creating some new one.....

      Hell was full, so I came back!!!
      Sorry for my lousy English!!!

      Fossiltalk
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      All I have to say is...

      Freaking Sweet!!! I'm really hoping for a themes section now! Keep up the awesome work!

      hjpintoavila
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      "Uninstall"&"Transparency" tag Errors - ES international Locale

      [Beta 3]

      The "Uninstall"[Right-click on any app] tag to translate seems to be missing on all languages. Shock [...as Simeon said before]

      APP_MENU_UNINSTALL=&Uninstall HERE]

      App Guy
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      Kinda Off

      as you can see, the names are off in the third row (it is hard to see)

      http://i25.tinypic.com/11253ww.jpg

      May the Shwartz be with you

      cfinch95
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      This is awesome

      This is the best idea it makes flash drives like portable computers in you pocket also it makes every flash drive even cooler and less boring.

      Cman

      Faust
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      Hidden button?

      There is a hidden button in the upper right corner of the PA window that opens up an "Open" dialogue.

      John T. Haller
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      Personal Picture

      It's so you can add a 48x48 personal picture to personalize the menu a little. Ala Windows' start menu.

      Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

      Fossiltalk
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      Is this available yet to use?

      Like do we just throw in an image that size into the theme folder called like (personal.jpg/png/bmp/etc) or must we wait till a future release so you can put in some kind of import feature for the image (like with the custom themes)?

      John T. Haller
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      Click It

      Just click it. You can add any 48x48 image (BMP, JPG or PNG)

      Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

      Fossiltalk
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      Haha I quess that would've been

      a good way to start lol my bad

      TStodden
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      Feature Request: Manual Sorting of Apps

      I just upgraded to 2.0b1 & I like what's being done. However, I was wondering if it would be possible to reorganize the apps on the list instead of dealing with the strict alphabetic sort?

      I'm not talking about the Favorite Apps feature (which I like), but I'd like to move the standard OpenOffice.org Portable app above the individual OpenOffice.org apps... where it should be in my opinion. Other may choose to use this feature to organize apps into groups as well.

      Just my 2 KB here!

      ~TStodden
      Game Monkey Likes You!

      Asiangotchi
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      I discovered the secret. Haha.

      Well, I know you can use a theme from .patheme format. But I learned your secret.

      You can just change the format to .zip, then you'll have access the files in there.
      I just put in a custom theme: http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j37/Asiangotchi/customtheme.png

      wajmhome
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      AWSOME!

      I was wondering "How would I make my own theme??"
      Thanks for the post!

      rawr

      wajmhome
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      Oh, just another thought for a new feature

      when exploring for your new theme that your going to change to, maybe a preview image would be nice. That may involve adding another image file into the .patheme but I think it would be nice.

      rawr

      shoresh319
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      double auto start + translation suggestions

      The apps I select for auto start for some reason start twice and I get a "'program-name' is already running" kind of error.

      Also I would like to make some suggestions for the Hebrew translation:

      Uninstall = הסר
      Hide Desktop Icons = הסתר אייקוני שולחן עבודה
      Transparency = שקיפות
      Update = עדכון
      Support = תמיכה

      You translated 'Explore' as 'מנהל קבצים' which strangely means 'File Manager'.
      The literal translation for 'Explore' is 'סייר'.

      You spelled the Hebrew word for 'Video' like this: 'ווידאו' (Wideo) when it should be spelled like this: 'וידאו' (the first letter appears only once).

      I hope all these comments were helpful, if so please let me know [=

      usbtastic
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      Possible Bug

      I just installed Notepad++ and my Favorites just got moved from the top to their normal positions (but still highlighted in bold text), then I went to change a Favourite and they all jumped back to the top.

      I do like the new platform though.

      EDIT: Ooops I see this has already been confirmed as a bug above.

      scubaman
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      start non-portable apps?

      Is it possible to start some apps that are not distributed in paf format? E.g. I run roboform portable. Currently I use usbstart to kick it off along with some portable apps (mainly miranda) to start with 1 click when I insert the drive.

      solanus
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      Absolutely!

      It's really all about location.
      The PA Platform builds its list of apps based on the folder structure, and where the main exe (launcher) for the app is.

      It's a-like a-this:

      X:
      |_PortableApps
               |_FirefoxPortable
               |        |_FirefoxPortable.exe
               |
               |_GIMPPortable
               |        |_GIMPPortable.exe
               |
               |_OtherAppPortable
                        |_OtherAppPortable.exe
      

      The non-paf app should show up in the menu. If there are other exe's in the same folder as the main one, they will show up, too, but you can just hide them.

      BTW, Roboform is Portable in name only! It leaves traces in HKLM, and it scatters files and folders in several places on the drive.

      I made this half-pony, half-monkey monster to please you.

      scubaman
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      Fantastic, thanks! Works

      Fantastic, thanks! Works like a charm! I realize that Roboform is not truly portable - but that's OK for me here.

      Kind regards,
      Rich

      scubaman
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      starting portableapps

      I am using the beta3 so I thought I would post here, this may actually be a more general question. If I have a directory

      X:
      |_PortableApps
               |_FirefoxPortable
               |        |_FirefoxPortable.exe
               |
               |_GIMPPortable
               |        |_GIMPPortable.exe
               |
               |_OtherAppPortable
                        |_OtherApp1.exe
                        |_OtherApp2.exe
                        |_OtherApp3.cmd

      I see OtherApp1 and OtherApp2. I do not see the cmd OtherApp3. Is there a way to fake this? To make an .exe out of a .cmd?

      The reason I need this is GoodSync2Go needs to be installed in a directory right under root to work with Roboform. But to start it with PortableApps it needs to be elsewhere. So I throught I'd make a .cmd to start it in the other directory but the .cmd does not show...

      Appreciate any suggestions

      Best Regards,
      Rich

      EspaÑaks (not verified)
      3 steps

      1· rename it to OtherApp3.bat (the real change is the extention, but it should run the same) .
      2· Google for Bat2Exe.
      3· Turn it to an executable file.
      4· That's it

      scubaman
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      Excellent, thank you!

      Excellent, thank you!

      scubaman
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      Closer, but a new

      Closer, but a new problem...

      I created a bat file containing

      start ..\..\goodsync\goodsync2go.exe
      exit
      

      Converted it to exe. Put it into the portableapps directory structure. It shows up and I can auto-start it. So far, so good. But my firewall complains... I use zonealarm. Every time I start it b2e.exe seems to get executed out of a new temp directory. Even if I tell zomealarm allow always it does not recognize the program because it starts from a new location next time.

      I realize this question is getting very far for this forum, but since I don't know whether it's portableapps that stuffs it into that temp directory... Anyway, I hope someone has a clue how to fix it. I don't know how to set it up in zonealarm that an application can call another ireespective of teh directory it is in

      Kind regards,
      Rich

      Big.Bear
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      Closer. No problem!

      You made a bat file converted it to exe, and automaticly the problem with the firewall lies with portableapps.com!

      Have you ever tried to start the converted batfile by hand!

      And what happens then??

      Regards BigBear

      scubaman
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      I did not blame anyone or any

      I did not blame anyone or any program. I was asking for help. Since I started the thread here, perhaps someone knows b2exe. Sorry if this question offended you. It is clear to me by now that this has noting to do with portableapps. I've asked for help in the zonealarm forum

      Big.Bear
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      Not offended!

      I'm not offended. It is just that you are not on the topic that addresses problems with other program's!

      You adressed the right problem, b2e is the problem! On the site of that program you can address this problem!

      On the other hand you can create a launcher with NSIS!

      Regards BigBear

      solanus
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      You don't need to convert anything!

      Despite my post above, I have learned that you can make the menu open BAT files (and I assume CMD files) directly.

      Take a look at this post:
      https://portableapps.com/node/20529#comment-126351

      This was to address a slightly different issue (using a BAT to open an exe to add run-time options) but the basic solution is the same.

      You just need to set up the standard folder structure, and edit the appinfo.ini file so that it points to to the BAT or CMD file.

      I made this half-pony, half-monkey monster to please you.

      scubaman
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      Thank you, solanus!

      This works perfectly! (And yes, it does not care about cmd or bat)

      josephst18
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      app order

      I know it's a bit late for feature requests, but I would like to be able to reorder apps in the menu. For example, being able to reorder the favorite and normal apps. Thanks for 2.0! It's great!

      pierrot
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      translate "Warning" with "Warnung"

      Id translate "Warning" with "Warnung" and not with "Achtung" though.

      I second this German translation.
      Peter

      PS: Sorry, I wanted to answer to NathanJ79's comment of July 20, 2009 - 6:09am A lot of languages

      nirnroot
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      Miss Russian Translation

      John,
      in PortableApps.com_Platform_Setup_2.0_Beta_1.exe installer used old Russian Translation (with mistakes). Please, refresh it.
      Also, In Platform in menu preferenses didn't tranlated "Transperency". It must be "Прозрачность" in Russian.
      Little idea to improve translation - PortableApps.com Platform have some strings, that's may be localized too:
      autorun.inf in root (Action=Start PortaleApps.com)
      desktop.ini in doc and subfolders (InfoTip=Contains letters, reports, and other documents and files.). In localized Windows versions this tips for folders translated.
      Regards, Nirnroot.

      tsneller
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      Start Button

      This is a Major improvement. I was using SmithTech Portable Menu for a while, as I could not hide items, but I am glad to be back with PortableApps menu.

      However, is it possible to have a START button, situated over the Windows start button, as in SmithTech Portable Menu. It is the intuitive place to have the button, rather than in the system tray.

      There was an add-on available for the previous version, but it does not seem to work properly with the Beta version (It loads multiple copies of the application)

      kccameron
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      Menu Position

      Any chance of having PAP remember its exact position rather than just bottom, middle, top, etc.?

      I have my task bar on the left, and it would be nice to have the menu come up just above the notification area. Something like the following in PortableAppsMenu.ini would work nicely for me:

      StartPositionHorizontal=Left
      StartPositionVertical=100

      A positive number could mean the number of pixels up from the bottom, and a negative number could mean the number of pixels down from the top, for example. Maybe this would just cause too many problems when switching resolutions, etc.? Maybe just not worth the trouble for such a small cosmetic change? I actually LOVE PAP just the way it is. Categories will be great, but I've got no complaints. Your hard work is much-appreciated by a lot of people!

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