On the site it says "You can organize apps into folders automatically or create your own that work the way you think".
In my PortableApps folder I have the apps organised in sub-directories based on categories, however the Platform software doesn't list them.
Do I need to set an option or something?
Visit the Community page
Join our forums
Subscribe to our email newsletter
Subscribe with RSS
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on LinkedIn
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Mastodon
Follow us on BlueSky
"organize apps into folders" does NOT mean that you put them into subdirectories. The "folders" that they are referring to are the categories that appear in the platform automatically. Don't change where they are installed, or the platform can't detect them.
When you install an app, the Platform detects the category (based on the categories in the PortableApps Directory) and automatically organizes them in the platform. In order to see the categories, you need to go into the Options, and under App List Organization, choose Smart with Categories or Show All with Categories.
To change the category that an app is in, right-click on the app icon in the Platform and select Category>. That also allows you to Add a New Category, to create custom categories.
I made this half-pony, half-monkey monster to please you.
So you have ALL your portable apps listed under one directory? I've always organised them under sub directories depending on the category I assign them. Isn't that a better way to have them?
Is the platform not able to scan sub directories for portable apps then?
No. The platform doesn't recursively search sub-directories for executables.
Any idea if recursive search will be added?
I group all my Apps in category folders.
eg.
"4. Tools", "6. System Recovery and Maintenance", "5. Spyware Removal"
It would be a mess if all my apps were all listed in one directory.
Why would it be a mess? When you use the platform, you keep all your apps in one directory, organize them within the platform in folders or via type to search or favorites, etc, and never have to explore into your PortableApps folder. In a rare instance when you need to modify something within an app's folder, you just right-click it in the menu and select Explore Here and it takes you right to its folder. Basically, organizing subfolders in your PortableApps folder is a bit of a waste of time and effort because you never need to browse into it.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
You shouldn't assume how people use their computers. Not everyone accesses their apps solely through the platform, some may want or need to use the command line or in some other ways.
Irrespective, I think everyone should have the choice as to how they organise their folders / computers. It would be a shame to not accommodate that, especially since adding the ability to look in sub-folders isn't exactly a complex function for an app to perform.
You've got to think of this platform like a replacement for the Windows start menu.
By default, Windows puts all installed programs in "Program Files" and then allows you to configure the start menu to show groupings.
This is really the same thing, isn't it?
BTW, I would like to mention that I prefer using a file manager as my primary interface instead of using the platform menu. You just have to decide which way you want to use your files, and make it look that way. Unfortunately, you can't (at this time) have it both ways.
neutron1132 (at) usa (dot) com
It would slow down the algorithm to search for apps quite a bit to look in subfolders. Then you'd have to support subfolders of subfolders for folks who need to organize that way for some reason or other. So it would slow down the menu, updater and app store to support. Plus, how would we determine which sub-folder each app is installed into via the app directory? If we did it using the category, what happens when people change an app's category? Or change languages? And it would require rewriting the PortableApps.com Installer and re-releasing every single app to function correctly. And for no real technical reason.
Like I said, if you want or need explore to a given app, just right-click it in the platform and select Explore Here. And, if you need a command prompt, an upcoming release in the coming weeks will add Command Prompt Here to the right-click menu for folks who need to get at things more often.
If there's anything else that can assist you in this manner, please ask for it.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
You are absdolutely right that everyone could organize their apps like they want, but then you have to deal with certain restrictions. In this case, your apps will not be found by the Menu. The whole PA.c Platform is based on some format specifications and folder organisation. This limits the app location to a given folder depth. I don't think that it will be changed anytime soon as all compenents are dependent on this setting atm. It is a design decision that has been made for good reason (refer to John's answer for that) and the drawbacks are negligible in general.
If in your case it constrains your workflow, you could alsways use another launcher (there are some quite good alternatives) but loose features added by the PA.c menu like the apps directory and the updater.
I used to organize my apps in subfolders years ago but skipped it for the convenience gained when I started using the PA.c platform. I don't miss it anymore (to be honest the change in my workflow was a real time saver).
Thanks for all your answers. I guess I should just bite the bullet and have them all listed under one directory.
Probably not.
The platform is meant to be the primary way to access your apps, meaning you should never have to navigate your PortableApps folder, which makes folder structure irrelevant.
And when you do have to navigate your folders, the platform allows you to go directly to the folder of an app by right clicking it and selecting "Explore Here".
Hello,
I am a little disappointed about the actual release 10.x because the platform does not find my programs. My portable apps are all located in C:\portable\ where directory is the name of the portable app.
The platform does not find any apps because it searches for .paf.exe. My portable apps are .exe. I put the "paf" into the name but the platform could still not find the apps when searching.
So I will stay using my portable apps by simply klicking "C:", "portable", "directory" and forget about the platform app
Or has someone a hint to solve this problem?
Regards
The platform works with ANY apps (PAF or not) placed in the correct location. The correct location is the PortableApps directory. The same way Windows uses a Program Files directory by default. I'm assuming you have all your apps in the portable directory installed so you have directories like C:\portable\FirefoxPortable, right? If so, rename your portable directory to PortableApps. Then install the platform to the C:\ directory. All the apps will show up.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Maybe I did not understand properly how you set up your apps but I presume an additional error: The platform itself searches for .exe files, not for paf.exe. Latter are the packages that have to be "installed" (unpacked) first to run properly. Thereby the proper folder structure for that app is created.
The Platform, once installed to a specific location finds every .exe files one folder below the PortableApps folder created during installation.
Example:
x:\PortableApps\ (created by PA.c platform default installation to x:) -PortableApps.com\ (location of the PA.c platform files) -ExampleAppPortable (folder created by installation of a paf.exe - internal folder structure according to the PA.c format) -App 1\ (folder of any App1 you place there by yourself) App1.exe (this exe will be found by the platform) -App1Subfolder\ App2.exe (this exe will not be found by the platform because of folder depth)@ John T. Haller
@ depp.jones
Thank you for your kind help. "PortableApps" instead of "portable" was the tip of the day! Now the apps show up in the platform program.
Yes, and to examine the filenames in connection with ...paf... was a one way street. You're right, the platform is looking for exe, regardless of any paf in front of it.
Thank you again for the help! :-))