Please report any bugs you find with the platform here. There is a separate forum thread for localization discussion and another for apps that need an update. Bug reports made in comments will be deleted once added to this categorized list. Duplicate reports will be removed. Fixed bugs are listed in the PortableApps.com Platform Change-log. Some bugs listed as fixed in the changelog for a current beta release will still be present in the older stable release. Bugs fixed or features added in our internal build that will be included in the next release are marked with an asterisk (*). Items already handled in the current beta are marked with a double asterisk (**).
Last Updated: 2024-08-12
Bug Submission Note: Please include your operating system version, 32/64-bit, install path, new vs upgrade, platform version, any antivirus/firewall running, etc. It will help us address your issue faster.
Known / Confirmed Issues
- Green text in submenus when running under macOS due to a Wine bug
- Pressing down arrow on the last app when there are more shifts focus to scrollbar instead of scrolling down
- Auto close apps only closes 32-bit apps, doesn't detect apps running as admin (note)
- App icons appear as black boxes in tray submenu in high DPI mode (likely require switch to png from ico)
- Platform doesn't use environment variables for content folders when installed per-user
- Cannot upgrade platform while another platform in another location is running
- On resolution changes, menu moves. May be able to pin it.
- Wallpaper switcher: disables Win7 wallpaper slideshow, no GUI
- Get error if click Get More Apps while auto-update in beginning is running. Possibly wait or better error.
- Allow alt temp or permission fix when TEMP invalid and platform won't run (workaround included)
- Please close running apps window sometimes appears behind other windows
- Platform installer doesn't warn of already-running platform when run directly
- Check/Uncheck all in updater/app store doesn't update Next button enable/disable. Limitation in EmbeddedLists component.
- System tray icon click to show/hide may take two clicks when taskbar icon hidden and stay visible after app start is on
- Updating app will fail to update files in silent mode when locked, no error to user. Requires changes to installer and updater to re-run in non-silent mode
Upcoming Features (Confirmed Coming In An Upcoming Release)
- Rename and delete categories
- Automatically run the updater at specific time intervals (daily, weekly, etc)
- Allow pinning of additional app icons like LibreOffice Writer, not sure of the feasibility of this
- Agree to all EULAs for multiple apps at once during install/update
- Theming of menu icons, possible option to use separate icon and menu themes
- Option to automatically close the updater on successful completion
- PA.c Updater Log file
- Custom colors for themes
- Custom tags on apps for searching (example: tb for Thunderbird or ff for Firefox)
- Custom fonts
- Export custom suite list, import custom suite list
- Ability to set custom icons for apps and categories
- Have updater/store begin installing apps while still downloading others to reduce install/update time
- Scan multiple paths for apps (see discussion)
- Have updater warn that an app is running before updating
- High contrast theme detection and incorporation in some respect within the platform
- Display all portable apps in system tray by alphabetical order in addition to by category
- Updater/App Store detection of updates failing due to network disconnect and re-queuing them for download as a stopgap until resume is implemented
- Local shortcuts to things like Windows Explorer, Notepad, that work as you move PCs
- Platform scrolls to bring category into view as you expand it, scrolling down so it's at the top if needed
- Ensure enough free space in system TEMP for downloads, PA.c Installer needs to check for downloads/extraction space, too
- Ability to have updates start automatically on platform start with a minimized updater
- Cancel updates/app installs mid-way through the process
- SOCKS proxy support via CURL for updater / app store *)
- Disable menu tooltips option
- Double-click apps to launch (in addition to single click)
- Install all languages when installing apps via the app store option
- File associations built-in (no eXpresso or Portable File Associator addons), including default browser/email
- Configurable close/eject/minimize buttons in the lower right
- Custom theme add, select and remove
- UI options for advanced features that don't yet have them
- Customization of the folders' (Documents, etc) name, icon and location to open, ability to add folders
- Remove apps from the smart list
- Run platform from read-only media. May skip this.
- Search app directory (requires re-write of App Store / Updater in something other than NSIS)
- Windows 7 task bar customizations
- BAT file on start and exit for advanced users with platform env vars available
- Cache apps to improve menu start/refresh performance
- Save installers for later use
- Specify preferred SourceForge mirror
- Hide Java apps in app directory (off by default)
- Ability to select between minimize to tray, taskbar or auto in GUI
- Change the icon of an app
- Right-click Command Prompt Here
- Switch download indicator to show MB instead of KB
- Ability to exclude apps from the updater (possibly show unchecked after checked updated apps)
- Ability to manually add apps from other directories
- Ability to resume dropped downloads (may be in combination with setting specific location for download)
- Customizable systray icon
- Autorun/Autoplay component installable locally (test version available
- Ability to re-install/repair and reset apps
- Always on top option
- Ability to list out dev test apps in the About Apps screen
- Language-specific Help - Support, Donation, etc landing pages
- Ability to delay auto-started apps
- Ability to have only favorites on front page (no recent or smart)
- Improve detection of TEMP issues to include unexecutable, add translations for strings in Start.exe and offer users to setup a contain TEMP on the fly
- Option to allow refresh of environment variables from the registry on WM_SETTINGSCHANGE (note)
- Backup just PortableApps folder, instead of full drive
- Trigger backup from a scheduled task externally
- Ability to set additional environment variables
Possible Future Features (Suggested by Users, Under Consideration)
- Multilingual app names for add-ons like Firefox Private Browsing
- Theme to match the host operating system aka theme-less theming (thread)
- Cleanup left behind individual app settings after power outtage/PC crash
- Ability to have favorites listed in favorites section and in category in same list
- Settings export/import
- Ability to show installed apps with size, metrics on install/update, used, etc
- Right-click app details (description, size used, etc)
- Reconsider mandatory upgrades of platform before apps
- Ability to remember expanded categories
- Delay apps set to autorun until after the updater has done a check, possibly not starting the ones that require an update
- Ability to display sub-categories as folders
- Independent portable desktop with its own icons
- Advanced option to have the platform force-close apps without windows
- Ability to hide/categorize apps in bulk
- Replace or overlay Windows Start button
- Ability to use large icons
- Faster load times
- Close platform externally
- Automatically add and maintain all portable app shortcuts in the Windows Start menu
- Add all portable app shortcuts in the Windows Start menu
- Option to remove app shortcuts from the Windows Start menu
No Immediate 'Fix' Planned
- App directory window is not resizable, no live search, can't drill down into sub-categories (limitation of programming language, will eventually be rewritten)
- Keyboard friendly navigation uses the less-than-intuitive Windows' default of working with a listbox: Hold CTRL to start selecting, use arrow keys or TAB to move around, hit SPACE to toggle a selection on or off. We're looking for a developer to assist with adding some custom C++ code to the NSIS EmbeddedLists component (Source Code) we use to display this list so that keyboard navigation will work with the checkboxes.
- Switching from Aero theme to Windows Classic on Windows 7 with the menu running causes visual artifacts due to a Delphi bug. Restarting the platform will fix the artifacts. This does not affect Windows 8 and later as the classic theme was removed.
- Unable to download some apps on Windows XP/Vista from servers requiring TLS 1.1 and up. A workaround allowing download from our own servers without https has been fully implemented on all apps we host on SourceForge and our own download mirrors. A workaround for publisher-hosted apps is being explored.
- Downloads larger than ~40MB get corrupted on ReactOS. Subsequent downloads fail. OS bug.
- Order of apps in App Store is incorrect in Wine under some OSes. Wine/OS bug.
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Does the updater pull and install both 32-bit and 64-bit portions of an app (such as FirefoxPortable), where only a single architecture (i.e. Firefox64) was previously installed?
After FirefoxPortable was installed with the choice of only 64-bit, updates seem to populate the App\Firefox folder in addition to the App\Firefox64 folder. This is an issue for large apps such as Firefox because of the wasted storage space.
I don't believe this is app-specific but rather an issue with the updater. Was unsure where to report this.
Windows 11 24H2 x64 Cumulative 2025-02
It's a setting in the PA.c Platform. Select Options, select the App Store tab, change Include 32-Bit Support in Dual Architecture Apps to Automatic or Never.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
I was already aware of the setting.
What I was suggesting was that the user may manually choose either to or not to install 32-bit version separately on a per app basis while installing, right? Some with 32 and some without, as per requirement. However, the updater isn't aware of that.
What I mean is the user may only require 32-bit support for a few chosen apps, and not all that support 32...
Have I misunderstood?
There is no per-app setting. It's a global setting based on the PA.c Platform. If set in Automatic mode, it's based on the version of Windows you're currently running. The ability to have that setting on a per-app basis would be a feature request and no one has asked for it before.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
I was only wondering why the initial choice the user makes (the in-setup choice) while setting up the app the first time was not automatically saved and honored by the Updater.
When using the PA.c Platform, that choice within the installer is never shown to the user. So, if Firefox Portable is missing the 32-bit app, the user could have easily formerly set to the Platform to 64-bit only and the setting was changed. Same way as if it had both and the current setting was to leave off 32-bit and Firefox Portable had 32-bit installed, it would install the update without it. There is no per-app setting at present.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
I found out today that the WinMergePortable_2.16.40.paf.exe binary download from PortableApps.com may be compromised. The digital signature seems to have been tampered with or based on an untrusted root certificate. The platform and the updater may not be validating the certificates properly.
The WinMerge binary may have to be updated and re-released as well.
It's from when I was having issues with digital signatures and it accidentally used another certificate on my system. The PA.c Platform uses SHA256 hash checks for security. The release is the proper one and the SHA256 is correct. The next release will fix the issue. I think this is the only app that slipped through the cracks as I fixed the other 5.
UPDATE: The newer version has been released with the correct signature.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Thank you for the prompt fix (update).
What I was asking earlier was whether the Digital Signature verification mechanism implemented (both Platform and Updater) checks whether the root certificates used to sign are trusted on the machine (by the OS etc.). Ideally, would it not be preferable to be able to use the Mozilla trusted roots or some such, rejecting any added custom roots, as some malware inject untrustworthy root certificates to the OS custom/user cert stores?
When I checked the erroneous sig on the previous WinMerge setup binary, the OS reported the root certificate may be untrusted, but the Platform and Updater seemed to use it anyway.
The Platform's Updater/App Store checked SHA256 hashes. It doesn't check digital signatures. Most freeware apps in PA.c Format aren't digitally signed.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!