Not sure that this is even feasible or sensible but here goes. Would it be / is it possible to create a program consisting of just the Portable Apps updater portion of the platform? My thoughts are this: I run different USB sticks with many different "versions" of Portable Apps, depending on what my needs will be. I would like to launch a base app from my computer to search for the PA drive and update it without launching the actual platform. Then when done, I could remove the drive, insert another and repeat the process? Hopefully my explanation makes sens whether it is do-able or not.
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As it currently stands, you can run the Updater without having the platform running, it is in PortableApps/PortableApps.com/PortableAppsUpdater.exe.
But, the Updater is tied to the platform, so there would have to be changes made to make a universal Updater.
I would actually go one step further and ask that it be made compatible with multiple platforms at once if something like that were to be made, as I regularly use two to three platforms running at once. Of course the difficulty there is in handling the same app on multiple instances, but if that were implemented it would assist with both speed and bandwidth usage of the Updater as you would only have to download each app once, not multiple times.
I think a standalone updater is desireable for me, too.
Sometimes i don't want to install the suite but want my PA App updated easily without manually re-downloading the most current version.
You could try this unofficial solution: http://apps.nozavi.com/portable-software-updater-overview#usage
MJA
thanks!
I'll try this at home.
If this program could get official my dream would have come true.
Just use the platform updater. You don't need the whole suite and it only takes up a couple MB on your drive. You only need to fire it up when you want to update. Unofficial updaters will wind up out of date and don't run the installers silently.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Hello John,
i didn't know that. I recommend that the PA team does state this out more exactly when 2.0 is released.
There should also be a separate download link for the standalone Updater without needing to download the whole suite to get it.
I would be glad if there will be an FAQ entry concerning the Updater and its standalone architecture.
There has *always* been a platform-only release and it's stated quite clearly on the download page here: https://portableapps.com/download Forcing users to download tons of apps just to use the platform isn't something we've ever done or plan to.
The platform is only 2MB (menu, backup utility, updater) in the current release and will only grow by maybe 1MB total. Shortly, we'll probably only make the suite available as an updater construct (meaning all the apps are downloaded on the fly).
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
ok, seems we have misunderstandings.
What i meant is the updater *without* backup utility and menu.
So if you click the updater.exe (and that's only 160 KB) it will update all recognised Apps in the parent folder it is executed. This is for persons who don't want to use the menu or have their apps distributed all over their system.
And this is what the threatstarter is asking for.
This "updater construct" seems to be a good idea. 2 update packs with both light and standard version. Maybe this could shorten traffic. A "switching" between these packages seems to be a desireable feature.
The updater is part of the platform. Without being launched from the platform, the updater doesn't even know what language it should display and won't know additional settings (like keeping EXEs etc that are coming). The updater will be becoming even more a part of the platform in later releases, eventually losing its own EXE.
The updater only works with apps installed next to it anyway, so it won't help if you have stuff distributed all over your system. It all works together from a single directory (generally X:\PortableApps). You don't need to normally use the platform to use the updater, you can just fire up the platform to run the updater once in a while and then close it. It's only 2MB.
What the original thread is an updater to update multiple sticks (which is different from a standalone updater you can use without the menu, which is what you are asking about). We have no plans for that at the moment.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Hi,
At the moment, I keep using an older version of the PA.c platform (1.6.1). Can I still use the updater?
I copied the PortableAppsUpdater.exe file from the latest platform release to my PortableApps directory but when I launched it the updater only offered the update to the new platform pre-release 3.
How can I make the updater update my apps without having to update the platform?
Thanks in advance!
http://i.imgur.com/4Hh6h.jpg
The updater is part of the platform and they are designed to work together. You need to update to the new platform to use it. There's no need to keep using 1.6.1 as the current pre-release has more features and is very stable aside from one bug that occurs when updating dozens of apps at once. We're recommending it to even new users over the old 1.6.1 release. Try it, you'll like it
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Does the updater store the new versions that it downloads, or simply update the programs?
Right now I manually update and keep new versions in a directory should I have to rebuild a usb drive.
Thanks
It only stores them temporarily to update the apps, similar to the way in-app updaters for Firefox, Thunderbird, etc work.
You're far better off automatically updating and then just backing up the drive.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
I succeeded to run alone the updater from batch (presetting environment variables in batch and setting parameters) for the PortableApps Platform 10.0.1 like this :
set PortableApps.comLocaleID_INTERNAL=1040
set PortableApps.comLocaleWinName_INTERNAL=LANG_ITALIAN
.\
. Many Other language enviroment variables
./
set PortableApps.comLocaleglibc=it
start PortableAppsUpdater.exe /MODE=UPDATE
STILL the installs are not sillent, they are still tied to the process PortableAppsPlatform.exe. My question is: Is there to be set more enviroment variables to untie from PortableAppPlatform.exe , let's just say for the begininng only for a particular silent update install like GoogleChromePortable
?
Thank You!
As already stated multiple times, the updater is for use in conjunction with the platform only. Silent installs/updates are only supported in conjunction with the platform. There are no plans for this to change.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!