Have been loving PA for years, thank you all for the great work you put in.
Although there are an ever growing amount of apps that use the launcher and properly work with the menu, there are a few apps I like to use from other developers. Case in point is the much requested Piriform programs. I understand that they don't want anyone re-bundling their software, but they also offer "portable" versions in ZIP files, which work just fine for my needs. My only annoyance is the multiple icons that show up without any ability to tell which one is 32bit and which is 64bit, or not even needing to be displayed even(in case of Defraggler and the two entries that have no icons even). Is there any way to find out which icon launches which version of the software so I can properly rename them? A minor thing to be sure, but it's one of those things that keeps popping out at me.
Thanks for any help.
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You have to remove the icons manually.
To me there is no problem as the folder "other" is where all icons from non-pa programs will go.
Then you can favorite your most used apps, not bad if you ask me but maybe an improvement could be made, some kind of "manager" plugin/program or built in menu function.
Did you know that while PortableApps.com is not yet allowed to release a Portable version of certain apps, and distributing these app would be illegal, we can still have Development Tests of a PortableApp with an “Online Installer” which allows us to test an app for portability issues, and once those have been taken care of effectively have a PortableApp?
You specifically mentioned Piriform's free software, so I'll use them as an example:
There are DevTests of all of Piriforms free software in the Beta Testing Forum. (all of which can be found without much difficulty via the handy dandy "Search" function @ the top right of this website)
CCleaner [Old Launcher, but Checks for BaseApp updates @ Start]
Defraggler [Old Launcher, but Checks for BaseApp updates @ Start]
Recuva [Old Launcher, but Checks for BaseApp updates @ Start]
Speccy [Launcher is being actively maintained, current (as of this post) version is downloaded upon “install”]
~3D1T0R
As I said before, I've been using the platform for years and do have some of the DevTests running. I searched for my specific issue of unspecified, multiple icons and couldn't find an applicable response. The response romulous gave further down is what I was looking for as I have more apps than just the Piriform ones I want to apply this solution to. I do appreciate the time you took to answer my issue though, so thank you much for that.
"Life presents the moments to you, but only you can make the choices. Choose wisely." - Joe B.
Thanks for being appreciative, and although I understood that the answer you really wanted was the one which romulus gave below, I type slow, and by the time I'd typed up this half of my answer (I was planning on directly addressing the question too) romulus had already posted his answer, so I figured I'd drop out the partial explanation I'd started, especially as I don't have much real experience trying to use nonPAF apps with the Platform (when I find an app I want portable, I portablise it in PAF format ;)) and I'd leave his answer which appears to directly handle your specific case from personal experience, as the only one.
Also as John said let Piriform know that their current "portable" (zip file) release is confusing to the end-user, and would be preferred to be in PortableApps.com Format with a hybrid 32/64 bit Launcher; I actually might start using their apps if they'll let PA.c package them.
~3D1T0R
There is...but it is a bit of a workaround. It would be much easier IMHO if the platform showed the executable name in the tooltip when you hover over the menu entry. That's one for the feature request tracker I suppose, if I ever pick up the energy to post it.
Anyway, this is how I handled the Piriform apps:
1. Open the platform menu, right click on each entry and rename it. Does not matter at this point what you rename it to.
2. Close the platform menu (right click system tray, and exit).
3. Open the PortableApps folder in your file manager, and locate the PortableAppsMenu.ini file - typically in ...\PortableApps\PortableApps.com\Data\PortableAppsMenu.ini
4. Open that file. In the AppsRenamed section, you will see something like this:
[AppsRenamed]
speccy\speccy.exe=Speccy v1.18 (32bit)
speccy\speccy64.exe=Speccy v1.18 (64bit)
recuva\recuva64.exe=Recuva v1.43 (64bit)
recuva\recuva.exe=Recuva v1.43 (32bit)
defraggler\defraggler.exe=Defraggler v2.10 (32bit)
defraggler\defraggler64.exe=Defraggler v2.10 (64bit)
ccleaner\ccleaner.exe=CCleaner v3.23 (32bit)
ccleaner\ccleaner64.exe=CCleaner v3.23 (64bit)
5. You can now see the executable name, so while in the text editor, just rename that entry to whatever you want. With Piriform, it is easy - 64bit version has the '64' at the end.
Lastly - Defraggler has 4 executables. The two without an icon you can safely hide - right click them, select 'Hide'.
I used to have a sig...until one of the mods ate it
I wish it was a little more straight forward than that, but at least the end result is what I'm looking for. Thank you for the help romulous.
"Life presents the moments to you, but only you can make the choices. Choose wisely." - Joe B.
I too wish it was a bit easier - I've posted a request for the executable name to be added to the tooltip for non-PAF apps in the feature request thread:
https://portableapps.com/node/28593
I used to have a sig...until one of the mods ate it
The executable name (including path) in the tooltip is now in platform release 11.2. Very nice, thank you devs!
I used to have a sig...until one of the mods ate it
Also contact Piriform and let them know that you'd like to see their apps in PortableApps.com Format as dual-mode 32-bit and 64-bit apps. The more interest they see, the more likely they may be to finally give us permission.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!