PortableApps.com is proud to announce the PortableApps.com Platform Version 11.0 (codename: Curiosity) stable release. This release adds platform accessibility and keyboard navigation, an enhanced app store with better ways of finding new and updated apps, incremental platform updates (new features faster!), lots of new advanced organization options, and updates for French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil) and Slovenian locales. Like previous releases, it has automated app updates, customizable folders (categories) in the menu, a full theming engine with multiple chrome styles, the Portable App Directory app store for automatic download and installation of portable apps, find-as-you-type search (just type / or F3) to easily find apps in your ever-growing collection, an improved updater, more-complete translations into more languages and lots more. And the awesomeness will just keep on coming as we've already begun working on 12.0. If you'd like to see more features and functionality keep coming, please read a personal appeal from PortableApps.com founder John T. Haller to help! The new platform release is available for immediate download as well as for purchase bundled on the World's Best Flash Drive: The PortableApps.com Companion, which is now on sale for as little as $29.95. Read on for all the details...(permalink)
Existing users can automatically update by clicking Manage Apps - Check for Updates
11.0.1 Update: A quick patch release to fix an issue with the portable fonts and apps with unresponsive Windows. 11.0 users will receive a 1MB fast-install patch automatically.
New in 11.0
This release adds platform accessibility and keyboard navigation using the arrow keys and TAB to the menu as well as an alternate screen-reader and keyboard friendly selection method to the updater and app store (via Advanced Options). Three new app store views mean you can now view the available apps by category, title, new releases and recent updates, so you'll always have the latest software right at hand. We've added advanced options so you can show installed apps in the app directory, make favorites more visible, improve categories and even create a report of all your installed software for trouble-shooting and bragging (Help - About - Apps). We've also fixed several bugs and updated translations for French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil) and Slovenian locales. Read the PortableApps.com Platform Changelog for the full list of features and fixes.
We Need Your Help!
PortableApps.com needs your help to keep bringing you great software! To learn more, read a personal appeal from PortableApps.com founder John T. Haller. Now you can sponsor the PortableApps.com Platform and help us keep delivering awesome software for free. With options ranging from having your name included to a full-blown site-wide sponsorship, there's a good fit for everyone. Sponsor us today and be a part of the action!
We also accept donations of any size to help with development and hosting:
- Please help support PortableApps.com's development and hosting
12.0 Roadmap
We've already begun working on the next PortableApps.com Platform release. It will feature built-in file associations (no more need for an add-on), customizable themes, faster access to your most-used apps, improved Windows 7/8 integration, and lots more. Turn on the beta channel in the PortableApps.com Platform Advanced Options window or watch our RSS feed, Twitter, Facebook or Google+ accounts to be notified. And please donate to PortableApps.com or sponsor the PortableApps.com Platform to help us keep bringing you more great software for free!
All Your Favorite Apps, Everywhere
PortableApps.com lets you carry all your favorite apps on a portable device or cloud drive and use them on any PC. Now you can have your own browser with all your bookmarks and extensions, your full office suite, your photo editor, your whole music collection, your favorite games, your development tools and more. You can have everything you need for work and play with you on every PC you use. At work, at home, at school, visiting family and friends, even while traveling. And all your bookmarks, emails, personal files and settings stay right on your drive, too. Now, every PC becomes your PC.
Portable App Directory™ - Built-In App Store
The PortableApps.com Platform has an app store built right in, so you can find and install the apps you want with just a few clicks. List all the available apps by category, title, newest releases or recently updated. You can find your favorite web browser, popular games, handy utilities, educational tools, image editors, chat programs and more. There are hundreds of free apps available with new apps added every week. With no download limit, you can download one app or one hundred. Best of all, you don't even need to give up your email address to get them.
Organize With Folders, Favorites, Type-To-Find Search and More
You can organize your growing app collection using the customizable menu so you can find the apps you need with ease. You can organize apps into folders automatically or create your own that work the way you think. Pick apps as favorites and they'll always be right at the top for instant access. You can even have the menu learn which apps you use most and keep them front and center. And when you need to find an app quickly, just type / (or hit F3) and then start typing, and you'll find what you're looking for. When you've found your app, just hit enter and the first app will start right up. You can also use the keyboard to navigate the app list and your search results.
PortableApps.com Updater - Your Apps Are Up To Date
With PortableApps.com, you don't need to worry about making sure your software is up to date. When a new security fix for your browser is released or a new feature in your favorite game is available, the PortableApps.com Updater will automatically let you know. Just click a button and the updates are downloaded and installed without messing up your settings and saved files. And if you're in a hurry or using a computer on a slow connection, you can wait until later to update with just a click.
Themes, Colors and Your Personal Menu
Whether you want your menu to look modern or retro, light or dark, glassy or simple, the PortableApps.com Platform has an option for you. With a dozen bundled themes each with a rainbow of color selections, you could pick a different look every day for months and never have the same menu twice. And you can make the menu your own by adding your own personal picture to the upper right-hand corner.
Portable Fonts
The PortableApps.com Platform supports the ability to carry fonts on your portable device and use them with your portable software without needing to install them on the local machine. Now when you're working on that important presentation for work or that poster for your charity drive, you can be as creative as you like with the look and still have it look and print the same on every computer you use. TrueType (TTF), OpenType (OTF), TrueType Collections (TTC) and other font formats are all supported.
Advanced Features
Whether you want to only see open source software, hide the word "Portable" in your app names, hide splash screens, automatically start apps when you start the menu, show installed apps in the app store list, get a report on all your installed apps, tweak the look and functionality of the menu or start checking out beta versions of our software, the PortableApps.com Platform has the power - and the options - to work the way you want it to. And if there's something we haven't added yet that you'd like to see, just ask in the forums. We add new features every month!
World's Best Flash Drive: The PortableApps.com Companion
If you'd like a speedy new flash drive to use with the new platform, we have the World's Best Flash Drive: The PortableApps.com Companion available. This durable USB 3.0 drive comes laser-etched with your name, URL or other text and is a great way to carry your software with you. It's backed by a lifetime warranty, comes in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB sizes, and starts at under $30. Best of all, sales help support the PortableApps.com project and our mission to change the world of software!
Discussing The Release, Enhancements and Bug Reports
As there is much to discuss with this new release, we've separated out a few forum threads for discussing:
- Platform bug reports
- Default app organization settings and "smart" list sorting
- Language updates and changes
Download Today
You can download the new version of the PortableApps.com Platform from the download page. Get it today!
Please note that any bug reports and feature requests go in the PortableApps.com Platform Bug Report and Feature Request Tracker.
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Comments
typo
Typo in the 1st paragraph: "...lots new new advanced...", should be "lots of new advanced"
Fixed
Fixed it, thanks
11.0.1 Quick Update
A quick 11.0.1 release was posted to address an issue with portable fonts conflicting with running apps that have unresponsive windows (Google Chrome, for instance). If your platform hangs on exit or attempt to update, close the offending app and it will complete. 11.0 users will get a fast-install 1MB patch download rather than the full platform download thanks to incremental updates introduced in the 11.0 release.
Wow nice!
Great work John! One thing: On the sourceforge page ( http://sourceforge.net/projects/portableapps/ ), it still says 10.2 is the latest version. I have no idea how many people will see or hit this page/button, but it would be nice to have the latest displayed there too.
Updated
Thanks for the heads up. I've updated it in the SourceForge admin. It's being a little wonky, so it may not show up for a bit. I'll check on it again a bit later. Let me know if it isn't updating for you in a few hours.
Quick
Shows up as 11.0.1 for me.
Asking for new features
Will you integrate virtualization in the platform in the future? that would be nice so we can install every app from a setup package without needing to do some tweaking on the apps
here are some links where you can get some data about that. there's an opensource project called JauntePE that provide this technology for free but it's in alpha stage and the project is inactive. I've tried to contact the owner of the project but I got no response. Can you fork the project or use this technology with the platform?
http://jauntepe.sourceforge.net/
http://www.portablefreeware.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=6001&view=next
the PStart JPE toolsuite has these limitations: can't use msi installers and doesn't work well with Windows 7 and the 060 version of JauntePE removed the icons of virtualization from the title bar.
not needed
Tweaking isn't needed when installing the apps available from our site. You just run the installer and you're done. Are there some apps in particular you're referring to?
Non-Portable
He's referring to non-portable apps' setup packages. The issue is that JauntPE falls far short of being able to accomplish what he'd like. But virtualization in a stable, reliable form is something I'd like to look into including at some point.
Disable Balloon Tooltips ?
Hi John.
How to Disable Balloon Tooltips ?
Thank.
Can't Yet, Coming
You can't yet, but it's coming in 12.0. I've added it to the list of upcoming features: https://portableapps.com/node/28593
Thanks
Thanks John
App update bug
The App updater seems to have stopped working. When I check for App updates I see 2 available updates (Gimp Portable 2.8.2 Rev2 and uTorrent Portable 3.2.1.25056). When I click 'Next' in PA Updater, I immediately see the following message dialog (however no apps actually get updated).
Re-checking for updates, or re-launching PAM results in the same apps requiring updates.
I get the same result whether I try the manual 'Check for updates', or whether the automatic check for updates on startup kicks in.
Environment
OS: Windows 7 Professional 32 bit
UAC: Enabled
PAM version: 11.01
PAM install path: C:\PortableApps\
Proxy: no
Let me know if there is any other info you need.
Keyboard Friendly
You have the advanced keyboard friendly navigation mode on which is intended for screen readers. You must manually highlight the apps you want to update.
Thanks for the quick
Thanks for the quick response! You are exactly right, and now I feel a little sheepish. Do you think you could delete my comment so no one sees it?
As a suggestion, could a couple of buttons/checkboxes be added above the app list in the updater ('Select All', 'Select None')? This coupled with a configuration to make one of the two the default, may help to make it more obvious that a selection must be made.
Either way I can guarantee I will never again forget this.
Thanks again for the rapid response!
Edit: Another suggestion would be to validate if there are indeed some apps selected, and then alert if trying to update "nothing". Also the Success dialog is a little misleading, when there were no updated apps.
Right-Click
You can right-click to get options like Select All/None, Check All/None. No need to feel sheepish. We'll likely improve the description to note screen readers. And we're hoping to get some assistance with adding screen reader compatibility to the base component.
Thanks for the heads up on
Thanks for the heads up on the right click. However my suggestion for the buttons/checkboxes was not so much for ease of use, but more of a visual cue that a selection is required. This visual cue is lost when using a context menu.
Can't
Our current components used to create that form don't support it, unfortunately.
Link to documents
Hello. First of all, great work at the new platform! That being said, what about adding direct access to files or folders on the menu. I have been using other menus (i.e. psmenu) and that one was a very useful feature for accessing frequently used docs, like PDFs or such. Or even accessing frequently used folders too.
Is there a way to tweak the menu into doing this?