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Zim Desktop Wiki for Windows 0.54 Dev Test 1

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Brendan Kidwell
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Zim Desktop Wiki for Windows 0.54 Dev Test 1

Application: Zim Desktop Wiki
Category: Office
Description: Zim is a graphical text editor used to maintain a collection of wiki pages. Each page can contain links to other pages, simple formatting and images. Pages are stored in a folder structure, like in an outliner, and can have attachments. Creating a new page is as easy as linking to a nonexistent page. All data is stored in plain text files with wiki formatting. Various plugins provide additional functionality, like a task list manager, an equation editor, a tray icon, and support for version control.

Download Zim Desktop Wiki Portable 0.54 Development Test 1 [13MB]

Zim can be used to:

  • Keep an archive of notes
  • Take notes during meetings or lectures
  • Organize task lists
  • Draft blog entries and emails
  • Do brainstorming

License: GPL 2

Source: https://code.launchpad.net/zim

Support: https://launchpad.net/~zim-wiki -- Join the mailing list.

Bugs: https://bugs.launchpad.net/zim -- Mention that you're using the Windows build if you report a bug.

Screenshot: screenshot

Release notes:

0.54 Development Test 1 (2012-01-16):

  • Rebuilt executable with 0.54 source (upgrade from 0.53)
  • Followed Gord's advice and created some missing boilerplate text files and added working "drive letter changing support".
  • Removed EULA click-through since GPL is not really a EULA.

0.54 Development Test 1 (2011-09-28): initial release

Gord Caswell
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Publisher submission

This appears to be a publisher submission. I'll follow up with any issues once i've tested.

youngheart80
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Testing As Well

I've used Zim in the past. I'll give it a test to see how it's functioning.

3D1T0R
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I don't think so:

Re: Publisher Submission:

I don't think this is a "publisher submission", as it was submitted by Brendan Kidwell, and Zim-Wiki.org's "About Zim" Page saysZim is Copyrighted © 2009 by Jaap G Karssenberg.

Note: I am assuming that since "Jaap G Karssenberg" holds the Copyright, he is probably the creator & publisher as well, though I suppose Brendan Kidwell could be involved in one or more aspects of the development and/or publishing of Zim-Wiki.
(perhaps he could verify what his involvement is in the Zim-Wiki project)

~3D1T0R

xuesheng
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The official download page mentions it

It may not be a "publisher submission" but the Zim download page (http://zim-wiki.org/downloads.html) has a link to Brendan Kidwell's Windows installer for Zim (http://www.glump.net/software/zim). In fact that is the only link supplied for the Windows version of Zim.

Brendan Kidwell
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Re: Publisher Submission:

Just to set the record straight, Zim is a free and open source project developed collaboratively online (at Launchpad) with Jaap as the project owner/lead and several contributors. I personally maintain the Windows build and the code that produces the build, and that code is stored in source code repository as part of the main project. Therefore I'm a de facto member of the Zim development team. I don't know how that fits in your classification model here at PortableApps.com

I don't mean to be rude and I certainly don't mean to start any fights, but I'm frankly confused by your Forum Guidelines for the "Beta Testing" forum. In the same paragraph it is stated that self-promotion is not allowed and that open source projects are allowed to post here. It seems to me that it'd be quite common for a "Portable Windows Build" person for an open source project would be full team member of the parent project as I am. I decided it would be best to offer my product here in the hopes that it would be welcome and I want people to be able to discover tools that may fit their needs.

So, please straighten me out: is it appropriate to announce and discuss our PortableApps.com build of Zim here, and does it have a chance of entering the official PortableApps.com catalog? Or am I intruding where I don't belong? (Either response won't be met with any malice on my part.)

Aluísio A. S. G.
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Yes

Forum Guidelines
In addition, if you are releasing a free, portable, open source (OSI-approved License) individual application in PortableApps.com Format that is not a fork or clone of an app hosted here, you may make a post when you do a release.

(bold added)

This whole discussion is just about if we can classify this as "publisher submission". You don't need to be a member of the upstream project to publish portable versions here.

Previously known as kAlug.

Gord Caswell
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All this topic has done is

All this topic has done is two things:

1. Established that as you are "de facto part of the Zim development team", that this build is being submitted by the Zim team, rather than an individual portable app developer.

2. Regardless of who submits it, as Zim is opensource it doesn't really matter, as we (PortableApps.com), welcome submissions from anyone.

Also, in response to your questions:

kAlug has replied nicely to your first question, and as to your second: once the community here has established that the portablization process hasn't introduced any new bugs to Zim, it can be added to the list of applications ready for release, and released simultaneously here and on your site, if you wish.

Brendan Kidwell
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Thank you. I hope you

Thank you. I hope you understand why I was initially confused by the policy and acted defensive. It says "Promoting your own software is not currently permitted here" ... instead of "not currently permitted here except ...". I really couldn't figure out how to parse the rest of the paragraph. I almost chose not to submit anything.

You can let me know when and if there's anything else I need to do.

scriptdaemon
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Yes.

Admittedly, I've read into it before the exact same way you have now. I think the phrasing needs to be updated.

Simeon
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Yes

It should be worded better. The self-promotion is only forbidden for non-open source projects.

"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate

3D1T0R
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I was wrong; Thanks for Clarifying; You, & This are welcome here

Well, I'm just going to say a couple of things real quickly:

  • Looks like I was incorrect, this IS a "Publisher Submission"
  • @Brendan Kidwell: Thank you very much for clarifying how you are involved in Zim's Development Process.
  • As has been stated by others, Zim is Open Source, thus whether this was a Publisher Submission, or not it would still be welcome here, and the fact that it is a Publisher Submission actually makes it even better in the eyes of many (as fixing the issues that often crop up is usually easier when you're communicating with someone who really knows the Base App)
  • Thank you for making a Portable package of Zim, as several people have asked for a Portable version of some sort of Local Wiki software, and Zim seems to be a pretty good one.

P.S.: Also I agree that the wording of the "Self-Promotion" section of the Forum Guidelines should be adjusted so as to be less likely to scare off Potential PortableApps.com Developers.

~3D1T0R

Aluísio A. S. G.
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Report

PortableApps.com Format validation failed with 11 errors and 4 warnings.

Errors

  • File App\readme.txt is missing
  • File Other\Source\AppNamePortable.ini is missing
  • File Other\Source\License.txt is missing
  • File Other\Source\Readme.txt is missing
  • appinfo.ini: key AppId in [Details] incorrectly capitalized (should be AppID)

Warnings

  • appinfo.ini: [SpecialPaths]:Plugins should be omitted if set to NONE
  • appinfo.ini: [Dependencies]:UsesJava should be omitted if set to false
  • appinfo.ini: [Dependencies]:UsesDotNetVersion should be omitted if empty

Additional Notes

  • Superfluous App\DefaultData (only directories; doesn't Zim creates them automatically?)
  • Missing splash image (need to check which one to include)
  • No apparent leftover bits :cool:
  • Needs drive letter changing support (I can work on it)

Previously known as kAlug.

Brendan Kidwell
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Thanks for the assessment.

Thanks for the assessment. Sorry I didn't run the validator myself to come up with those Warnings and Errors. I'll try to get the problems fixed by next the end of next week or so.

I don't understand "Needs drive letter changing support". When Notebooks are saved in $HOME/Data/Notebooks, no drive letters are written to config files. The launcher sets $HOME to the application root folder, and the config writer/reader uses "~" notation for $HOME.

Aluísio A. S. G.
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Two reasons

1. Users can create/use notebooks outside that folder.
2. The custom application list.

The following custom code should fix #2:

${SegmentFile}

${SegmentPre}
	FindFirst $0 $1 $DataDirectory\.local\share\zim\application\*.desktop
	${DoUntil} $1 == ""
		${ReplaceInFile} $DataDirectory\.local\share\zim\application\$1 $LastDrive\ $CurrentDrive\
		${ReplaceInFile} $DataDirectory\.local\share\zim\application\$1 $LastDrive/ $CurrentDrive/
		FindNext $0 $1
	${Loop}
	FindClose $0
!macroend

Also, you don't need an EULA for GPL.

Previously known as kAlug.

Brendan Kidwell
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Fixed some problems. Still need some assistance.

Thanks for all the help so far. Sorry I disappeared for 5 weeks; other priorities got in the way. You all can reply back to me at your leisure.

I upgraded to the latest versions of the Launcher and Installer apps, and I downloaded the alpha build of the Developer toolkit so I could run the validation script myself. Here's what I was able to do tonight:

File App\readme.txt is missing
I created this file by textifiying ./help.html .

File Other\Source\AppNamePortable.ini is missing
I don't understand this error. Creating an empty file literally called "AppNamePortable.ini" makes it go away, but what is the purpose of this file?

File Other\Source\License.txt is missing
Downloaded GPL text from Zim source and called it License.txt.

File Other\Source\Readme.txt is missing
Created a Readme pointing to the upstream source tree for all of Zim including the Portable launcher/installer source.

appinfo.ini: key AppId in [Details] incorrectly capitalized (should be AppID)
Fixed.

appinfo.ini: [SpecialPaths]:Plugins should be omitted if set to NONE
appinfo.ini: [Dependencies]:UsesJava should be omitted if set to false
appinfo.ini: [Dependencies]:UsesDotNetVersion should be omitted if empty
Deleted.

Superfluous App\DefaultData (only directories; doesn't Zim creates them automatically?)
Deleted.

Missing splash image (need to check which one to include)
Created from text-free Zim logo from main web site (192x192 px). Is this sufficient?

Needs drive letter changing support (I can work on it)
I copied the script from kAlug's message in this thread on 2011-09-29 17:51. I put the code into my Custom.nsh, and I got this result when building the launcher: http://pastebin.com/WFgucPg3 "Error in macro Custom.nsh_Pre on macroline 4". I need someone to help me fix this; I feel like I'm in undocumented territory. In the mean time, I renamed the file to Custom.nsh_disabled .

My progress so far can be downloaded here: http://www.glump.net/content/zim/ZimDesktopWikiPortable_0.53-2011-11-06....

Also... kAlug said "Also, you don't need an EULA for GPL" but I'd rather keep the click-through license in there so anyone paying attention knows the application is covered specifically by GPL version 2.

Chris Morgan
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Remove GPL

The GPL should be removed. It is not an EULA.

GNU General Public License, version 2 5. You are not required to accept this License, since you have not signed it. However, nothing else grants you permission to modify or distribute the Program or its derivative works. These actions are prohibited by law if you do not accept this License. Therefore, by modifying or distributing the Program (or any work based on the Program), you indicate your acceptance of this License to do so, and all its terms and conditions for copying, distributing or modifying the Program or works based on it.

You need to accept the GPL, but the end users do not. Thus it is not an End User License Agreement.

I am a Christian and a developer and moderator here.

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” – Proverbs 15:1

Brendan Kidwell
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Good point! I will remove it

Good point! I will remove it in my next revision in this thread.

Gord Caswell
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Some comments

There's a relatively steep learning curve for getting the hang of portablizing software using our tools, but it's worth it in the end. Hope we're not scaring you off. Smile Now, on to comments:

A number of these issues can be avoided in the future, (if you stick around and build more apps :)) by using the PortableApps.com Application Template (direct download)

File App\readme.txt is missing
I created this file by textifiying ./help.html .

The contents of this particular readme should be the following, as it is a standard "warning" file:

The files in this directory are necessary for the portable application to function.  There is normally no need to directly access or alter any of the files within these directories.
File Other\Source\AppNamePortable.ini is missing
I don't understand this error. Creating an empty file literally called "AppNamePortable.ini" makes it go away, but what is the purpose of this file?

The purpose of AppNamePortable.ini is to allow users to customize how the application is run. The contents of this file should be as follows:

AdditionalParameters=
DisableSplashScreen=false
RunLocally=false

# The above options are explained in the included readme.txt
# This INI file is an example only and is not used unless it is placed as described in the included readme.txt
File Other\Source\License.txt is missing
Downloaded GPL text from Zim source and called it License.txt.

This particular license is going to be rename LauncherLicense.txt, but hasn't yet made it into the validator. It is, as indicated, the license for the launcher, rather than the base application (Zim). It should be a copy of the GPL 2, so that's fine as it is.

File Other\Source\Readme.txt is missing
Created a Readme pointing to the upstream source tree for all of Zim including the Portable launcher/installer source.

The base application's source code is available from the portable app's
homepage listed in the help.html file.

Details of most other things are available there as well.

LICENSE
=======

This package and its launcher are released under the GPL. The launcher is the
PortableApps.com Launcher, available with full source and documentation from
https://portableapps.com/development. We request that developers using the
PortableApps.com Launcher please leave this directory intact and unchanged.

USER CONFIGURATION
==================

(For this section, AppNamePortable is the executable base file name, normally
the App ID of the package.)

Some configuration in the PortableApps.com Launcher can be overridden by the
user in an INI file next to AppNamePortable.exe called AppNamePortable.ini.  If
you are happy with the default options, it is not necessary, though.  There is
an example INI included with this package to get you started.  To use it, copy
PortableApps.comLauncher.ini from this directory to AppNamePortable.ini next to
AppNamePortable.exe. The options in the INI file are as follows::

   AdditionalParameters=
   DisableSplashScreen=false
   RunLocally=false

(There is no need for an INI header in this file; if you have one, though, it
won't damage anything.)

The AdditionalParameters entry allows you to pass additional command-line
parameters to the application.

The DisableSplashScreen entry allows you to run the launcher without the splash
screen showing up.  The default is false.

The RunLocally entry allows you to run the portable application from a read-
only medium. This is known as Live mode. It copies what it needs to to a
temporary directory on the host computer, runs the application, and then
deletes it afterwards, leaving nothing behind. This can be useful for running
the application from a CD or if you work on a computer that may have spyware or
viruses and you'd like to keep your device set to read-only. As a consequence
of this technique, any changes you make during the Live mode session aren't
saved back to your device.  The default is false.

There may be other values also permitted in the user configuration file by the
portable application; refer to help.html for any details of them.
Needs drive letter changing support (I can work on it)
I copied the script from kAlug's message in this thread on 2011-09-29 17:51. I put the code into my Custom.nsh, and I got this result when building the launcher: http://pastebin.com/WFgucPg3 "Error in macro Custom.nsh_Pre on macroline 4". I need someone to help me fix this; I feel like I'm in undocumented territory. In the mean time, I renamed the file to Custom.nsh_disabled .

The values in ReplaceInFile should all be quoted. see here for a working Custom.nsh: http://pastebin.com/SNYF0a67

Hope that helps!
If the DefaultData is empty, it can be removed from the package entirely.

Oh, and when you update the portable build like this, please note it in two ways:

1. By making a list of release notes on this page, indicating the build is now Development Test x (x being the number of builds you've put up here for testing, so in this case, the next Dev Test would be 3. I think.
2. More importantly, making your DisplayVersion value in appinfo.ini equal to 0.53 Development Test x (same as above, so Development Test 3 next time.)

[EDIT NOV 6] Clarified where to list release notes.

Brendan Kidwell
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Sorry I disappeared. I was

Sorry I disappeared. I was busy and missed the email notice of the reply to this thread. I've updated my build with a new version of the application source released a few weeks ago and started a new thread in this forum.

Chris Morgan
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Merged back

While apps are in development, we tend to keep them in the one thread until they get too long (more than one page, viz. 90 comments), to keep things together. I've merged your 0.54 thread back into this thread.

I am a Christian and a developer and moderator here.

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” – Proverbs 15:1

Aluísio A. S. G.
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Analysis

NOTE: some of the reports below may be already reported on previous comments.

  • Other\Source\Readme.txt: needs update to the latest Portable App Template
  • App\readme.txt: wrong content; see the Portable App Template
  • App\AppInfo\Launcher\Custom.nsh: unnecessary; use launcher.ini\[FileWrite] (see below)
  • App\AppInfo\appinfo.ini:
    • [Details]:Trademarks and [Details]:InstallType are empty and should be removed
    • [Version] is present twice
[FileWrite1]
Type=Replace
File=%PAL:DataDir%\.local\share\zim\application\*.desktop
Find=%PAL:LastDrive%\
Replace=%PAL:Drive%\

[FileWrite2]
Type=Replace
File=%PAL:DataDir%\.local\share\zim\application\*.desktop
Find=%PAL:LastDrive%/
Replace=%PAL:Drive%/

Previously known as kAlug.

tdmeskimo
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To All Working Hard on ZIM Desktop Wiki

I use Zim Desktop Wiki Portable 0.53 and I like it. It helps me keep organized, to make list and has a calendar as well for day to day entries. I use it trough my dropbox account so file are up to date and i can us on my other computers. at work i have an old XP so that is why i use 0.53. as for my personal computers i use Linux and use Zim Desktop Wiki there too. Good job to all, and thanks

Oliver Young
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Status Inquiry

Can anyone tell me if this app will be added to the official PA library anytime soon? I'm a new user of Zim and I downloaded the .paf file available from their website but I came here to see if there are any issues I should be aware of.

djib
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Hello,

Hello,

I use the PAF packaged published on Zim's official site but would be interested in seeing that application join the PortableApps list.

babarion
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Status Inquiry

Can anyone tell me if this app will be added to the official PA library anytime soon? I'm a new user of Zim and I downloaded the .paf file available from their website but I came here to see if there are any issues I should be aware of.

Drazick
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Math Support

Does it support Math like Wikipedia?

Thank You.

Aguy2014
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Open bug issue for portability.

ZimWiki (windows build) is currently at version 0.65 but has a significant portability issue of using the $APPDATA directory. On the ZimWiki project bug tracker ( see https://bugs.launchpad.net/zim/+bug/1563632 ) there is a report filed by Brendan on 2016-03-30:

A user reported in the chat room that the portable Zim Desktop Wiki for Windows (0.65) writes and reads settings in $APPDATA, including:

C:\Users\NAME\AppData\Roaming\zim\data\applications\defaults.list
C:\Users\NAME\AppData\Roaming\zim\data\applications\MYTEXTEDITOR.desktop
C:\Users\NAME\AppData\Roaming\zim\data\applications\mimeinfo.cache

Also end-user-installed plugins are searched for somewhere under $APPDATA which is not proper for a portable app.

It has not yet been given a priority over there but Jaap did provide some pointers to the section of code causing the issue.

Relevant code is in zim/config/basedirs.py line 48 - 76

There are 3 XDG parameters that are using the APPDATA folder as a default: XDG_DATA_HOME, XDG_CONFIG_HOME and XDG_CACHE_HOME.

The files mentioned in the description above would be looked up relative to XDG_DATA_HOME.

To complete the list, the remaining paramaters XDG_DATA_DIRS and XDG_CONFIG_DIRS are only used for reading. They fall back to other known default locations.

mwayne
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Quick fix

Just a quick test. The issue can easily be fixed by adding these lines to the [Environment]:

[Environment]
XDG_DATA_HOME=%PAL:DataDir%\Data
XDG_CACHE_HOME=%PAL:DataDir%\Cache
Aguy2014
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[Environment]

@mwayne:

Okay, I found the file at `F:\PortableApps\ZimDesktopWikiPortable\APP\APPINFO\LAUNCHER\ZIMDESKTOPWIKIPORTABLE.INI` and it contained the following:

[Launch]
ProgramExecutable=ZimDesktopWiki\zim.exe

[Environment]
XDG_CONFIG_HOME=%PAL:DataDir%\Config
HOME=%PAL:DataDir%

I went ahead and made the suggested changes (additions) and it worked like a charm. I'll return if I find any plugins that have issues.

Gord Caswell
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App\AppInfo\Launcher

It's in the ZimWikiPortable.ini file (or something like that, I don't have this app installed) located in App\AppInfo\Launcher

Aguy2014
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Thanks

Appreciate the help Gord. I eventually found it by running file content searches (my own tools, not that #&*$! Windows search) and changed my post above.

Aguy2014
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Yay!

@mwayne: I posted a summary of this discussion (with attribution of course) to the ZimWiki bug report and Brendan will be implementing your suggested changes to the [Environment] section of the INI file in the next release. Yay!

Tixue
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So this has been on dev test

So this has been on dev test since 2011.

Why hasnt it gone to the official repository yet? Whats it missing?

gdm13348
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Why still beta?

What is required to get Zim out of beta?

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