Hope all is well. I was curious to find out if there is a guide on how to update a portable app ourselves. This would allow the end user to be able to update an app while the official PA package is developed. The reason I ask is that there have been several Apps that have been updated in the last couple of weeks, but not the PA version. If I new/understood how to update the base app myself, that would be helpful.
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Updating the app yourself, without a PA Launcher associated with it, is generally a bad idea.
Amongst other potential problems, if the app has changed the way it interacts with your computer, having an old launcher associated with the newer app could mean the app would not work as intended, or would leave behind files/folders that weren't being created in the launcher-friendly version of the app.
the PA developers have their schedules and lives. I know they are aware of updates (usually before they officially go out from the developer) and life has delayed the new PA builds. I'm hooked on PA and use several of them as my "main" software, ergo, the desire to be up to date.
I've done this with several packages that have their own "portable zip files" (I.E. TeamViewer). I just copy the official zip into the portable apps and I'm done. I like the PA suite/interface
That will update the app, but the launcher won't be designed for that new version. As winterblood has said, the app might have changed the way it handleds its settings, which will probably end up with setting left behind (if it has).
To give an example, I'm gong to use Firefox 3.5's new "Private Browsing" feature. Let's say Firefox Portable was still at version 3, so you updated using the method you described. Private Browsing would then start causing problems since this new feature had a change in settings, causing the launcher (FirefoxPortable.exe) to be defective, since you forced an update it wasn't familiar with. This will then cause settings to be left behind. (This was just an example, I'm not sure if Private Browsing caused an issue with portability).
This generally won't happen in most cases, but it could with a new feature or rewrite of the program.