PortableApps.com Platform 29.4: Seamless App Taskbar Pinning and Fixes

John T. Haller's picture
Submitted by John T. Haller on April 10, 2024 - 7:51pm

PortableApps.com is proud to announce the PortableApps.com Platform 29.4 release. This update release adds seamless app taskbar pinning on Windows 7, 8, 10, and 11 as well as some fixes. It's available as a full download or a small quick-install patch via the built-in Updater. Read on for all the details...(permalink)

Existing Platform users can automatically update by clicking Help - Check for Updates. Platform users will receive a small, quick-install patch to update.

New in 29.4

This update release adds seamless app taskbar pinning support under Windows 7, 8, 10, and 11. Right-click an app and select Pin to Taskbar. No more need to manually drag a link. This update also switches the Updater/App Store app selection page's button from Next to Install to better inform the user what's about to happen. It also fixes an issue with the platform installer self-deleting when manually run from the install a new app menu. Full details are in the PortableApps.com Platform changelog.

New in 29.3

This update release adds multi-monitor support to the PortableApps.com Platform's menu. It will remember and return to the monitor it was on in multi-monitor setups as well as the position (top left, top center, top right, middle left, etc). This release also adds tooltips to the PortableApps.com logo holiday decorations. Full details are in the PortableApps.com Platform changelog.

New in 29.2.1

This small update release fixes issues with RTL language display within the Options window and when the App Store/Updater shows error messages. The Platform installer has been improved to preserve additional user folder customizations and prevent accidental manual upgrades to the wrong location. Full details are in the PortableApps.com Platform changelog.

New in 29.2

This update release adds descriptions for multi-icon apps like LibreOffice allowing searching for 'word processor' when searching in descriptions is turned on. User customizations of the Documents, Music, Pictures, and Video folder icons in Explorer are now preserved when upgrading. An issue with some compatible legacy apps not showing in the App Store for Windows XP users was also fixed. Full details are in the PortableApps.com Platform changelog.

New in 29.1.2

This small update release fixes an issue with conflicting options leading to unpredictable category behavior and updates the Croatian locale. Full details are in the PortableApps.com Platform changelog.

New in 29.1.1

This small update release fixes a bug with locale name display in the options Windows when using an RTL locale, adds edge case handling for Windows XP 64-bit in the App Store, and updates German and Latvian locales. Full details are in the PortableApps.com Platform changelog.

New in 29.1

This release builds on the updates made in 29.0 by improving app store loading and processing speed, improving updater processing speed, and updates 45 locales. It also adds support for language fallbacks for specific languages. If you use Portuguese but only Portuguese Brazilian is available for a given app, it will fallback to that and vice versa. Same with Spanish and Spanish International. Full details are in the PortableApps.com Platform changelog.

New in 29.0

This release adds the ability to filter available applications within the app store by license. Some Freeware can be used everywhere, some only personally and some permit use in educational settings. The platform now has a setting within the App Store tab in Options to select to filter by your use case. It also lets you filter out Freeware entirely to only show open source software. Additional support for app compatibility edge cases has been added. So, an app that supports Windows 7 through 11 but doesn't run on Windows 8.0 will now be hidden from Windows 8.0 users and the corresponding legacy release of the app can be shown automatically. 43 translations have also been updated to support these new features. Full details are in the PortableApps.com Platform changelog.

Platform Features

As always, the PortableApps.com Platform is packed with great features like:

  • Automatic App Closing - Closing down and getting going is easier than ever with the platform automatically (and safely) closing your running portable apps and letting you know which ones need to be closed before you eject and finish syncing your cloud drive.
  • Awesome Themes - The modern default theme matches well with Windows 11, 10, 8 and 7. Plus all your favorite classic themes are included.
  • Cascading Tray App Menu - Get quick access to all your apps with a right click in the system tray
  • Always-Ready Search - The app search box is always visible and ready by default, so you can open the platform - possibly with the CTRL-ALT-SPACE hotkey - and just start typing to launch your favorite app. You can even search in app descriptions if you'd like by ticking a box in Options
  • Proxy Support - The connections tab in Options lets you automatically or manually configure the platform to work with your internet proxy
  • Full Featured Installer - The Platform installer can detect and install to your portable devices, synced cloud directories, local machine, and more
  • Fast Updater / App Store - Quickly check for updates to your existing apps and find new ones by name, category, release date, and more
  • Eject or Power Off - For local users, the eject button automatically switches to a shutdown/restart/log off button, bringing up the Windows prompt to select your choice. You can also right-click on the button to select to show either eject or shutdown/restart/log off.
  • Portable Fonts - Take all your fonts with you and use them in all your portable apps
  • Organize Your Apps Your Way - Use the default of favorites and most used apps with all apps by category on the second page or switch it up by selecting alphabetical apps, categories and favorites by default, and other options
  • All the fixes and features are details in the PortableApps.com Platform Changelog

Translators Needed

Multiple new strings to translate have been added in 29.0 as well as the last two releases. They're detailed and you can submit translation updates in the linked forum topic.

Ongoing Donation Drive

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

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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