Hi,
I hope I'm wrong.
For years I have installed portable applications in non system internal or external disks, ie: D:, E:, F: or whatever including USB memories. I have well structured directories that makes my life easy.
The question is: why is this program necessary? Unless there is another advantage I can't foresee of course, for instance installing a non-portable Windows program in an external portable driver.
Any comment will be appreciated.
Thanks.
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Is this really necessary?
January 5, 2022 - 8:05am
#1
Is this really necessary?
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Which program are you referring to? The PortableApps.com Platform (aka Menu, Updater, App Store, Backup/Restore)? https://portableapps.com/platform/features
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
John, I'm referring to ANY non-portable application. Okay, let's say Dreamweaver or Photoshop. Is it possible to install such programs as portable?
Apps like that generally integrate heavily into Windows including required HKLM keys. Without those they won't run. So, they're require admin on every PC you run them on. Additionally, they have DRM that also heavily integrates into Windows. This would be very difficult to portablize. Maybe even impossible with certain PC calculated "identifiers" and then encryption. You can find hacked versions of them in portable format, but they have the DRM disabled via hacks and are illegal. They also sometimes include malware or vulnerabilities due to being out of date.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Of course, I already know that, but that was not the main question which is "Is this really necessary?" I guess no, and per your responses your confirm that it is not necessary.
Thank you for your time.
Depends on the app you want to use and what you want to achieve.
).
You can portablize some apps that are not portable by design at first (deal with settings in the registry, path and drive letter adjustment etc.) There are some limits, though, that John has adressed already.
Or you can standarize how already portable apps store their settings or are updated etc. (see the link above - edit - sorry, below
If you are content with the way most native portable apps work and keep your own directory setup and update procedure, you most propably don't need it.
I switched to PA.c years ago and saved a lot of time for micromanagement, but that is just my own preference and may differ from yours and many others.
Ah, ok. Sorry, I didn't fully understand your question originally. Some of this can be addressed here: https://portableapps.com/about/what_is_a_portable_app#whypaf
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
@jcrevani, In my opinion, it depends on your goals.
In our case, different volunteers take a uniquely named USB device and use it with personal machines or some on loan. No data is left behind on the machine running PortableApps. We are using LibreOfficePortableLegacy54 under PortableApps 19.1 to fill Calc (Excell like) forms.
Being able to tell anyone from a high schooler to a grandmother put the USB stick into a slot, open Explore, find "Start", then LibreOffice, and choose the named file is so straightforward that I would call it necessary.