PortableApps.com Platform 11.2 Released: Bring Your Favorite Software With You. Malware detection, app descriptions and More!

John T. Haller's picture
Submitted by John T. Haller on October 14, 2012 - 7:14pm

PortableApps.com is proud to announce the PortableApps.com Platform Version 11.2 (codename: Curiosity) stable release. This release enhances realtime and between-session autorun.inf malware detection, adds app descriptions to tooltips for English users, makes EXEs for non-PA.c Format easier to distinguish, fixes some minor issues and has updates for French, Slovenian and Simplified Chinese 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're nearly finished with 12.0 Beta 1 and will post it for public testing and translations in the coming days. 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 Help - Check for Updates and getting a fast-install 1MB update patch. Note that users with Screen Reader-friendly navigation on in 11.0 will have to manually highlight the Platform update in the list to complete it.

New in 11.2

This release adds app descriptions in tooltips for English users (with other languages coming in 12.0), easier to distinguish indications for non-PAF EXEs in tooltips, and enhanced at-launch or realtime detection of modifications to your drive's autorun.inf (configurable via the INI file), letting you know when malware is trying to infect your drive. Exiting the options window no longer resets your app list unless you made a change that requires it. The ability to show connection errors when checking for updates on startup was added as an INI option. Updates for French, Slovenian and Simplified Chinese are also included. Additional translation updates are on-hold pending the release of 12.0 Beta 1 which introduces multiple string changes. You can be notified when it is available here. We've also fixed several bugs. 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:

Make a Donation - Please help support PortableApps.com's development and hosting

12.0 Roadmap

We've already begun working on the next PortableApps.com Platform release and 12.0 Beta 1 is nearly ready for public testing. We'll be posting it in the coming days. When complete, 12.0 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. We'll be doing a stable or beta platform release every week until it's done. 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:

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

The executable name in the tooltip for non-PAF apps will save a lot of time when renaming them - thanks for this Smile

I used to have a sig...until one of the mods ate it

rj10328's picture

does this new update actually keeps the Graphic folder from deleting custom images?

Also, in the sample image above, showing the Options>Advance menu, the last option says Keyboard-Friendly Selections, yet in my menu its says Screen-friendly Selections, is this a bug?

Ken Herbert's picture

Can't say regarding the custom graphics, but I assume John renamed the keyboard-friendly option in 11.2 to better indicate exactly what it is and so more users don't turn it on for no reason and not realize why updates aren't working liking they used to.

John T. Haller's picture

If you're messing with stuff within the PortableApps.com\App directory, it will be deleted on every upgrade. Nothing in there should be altered. You're welcome to mess with it theme-wise, but it's not supported and those are only the bundled themes that will be updated on every install/upgrade.

When we add custom theming and graphics changes, they will be made in Data. Everything in App will still be reset.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

rj10328's picture

i was asking because when i updated to this new version the graphics folder wasn't reset.

And im assuming winter's answer about the Options menu is correct?

John T. Haller's picture

Incremental updates only update files that change between releases. So, it's possible certain customizations you make to the Graphics folder will not be reset on certain updates. No guarantees, though. Sooner or later they will be reset.

And, yes, the option was renamed to properly indicate its intended use. It's much less convenient than the default and really only implemented so folks with screen readers have the ability to use it.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

Tooltips have stopped working since updating to v11.2

EDIT: It's ok, working now?! Glad that was fixed I recently added some apps that appeared with the same name in the menu, this has sorted that out, thanks.

Live for an ideal and leave no place in the mind for anything else.

It would be nice if you could set the specific font size the "large fonts" are still too small for me. And if it could also include the "app directory" window - I'm not likely to use it to download if I can't read that it says in the window (website here I come)