I have had my 1st usb flash drive about 20hours now and am playing with tweaks and settings for U3. I ran across PortApps in my learning about all of this.
I don't know if anyone is interested in this tweak or setting but here goes. I installed Portapps basic (so far). U3 has a program called Xtraveller(program launcher app).
So I added the PortApps start menu to the Xtraveller. I set U3, Xtraveller, and PortApps to all auto launch when usb flash stick is inserted. I also set Xtraveller and PortApps to minimize on launch.
The result is (after inserting my usb flash stick) I have both Xtravller and PortApps sitting neatly in my systray, ready for use with out one single click of my mouse. I can then launch either Portapps or U3 apps at will from my systray.
Being a new user, that was fun to try and see it work. I see a need/want for both at this point, because they each have different portable programs to offer.
I did try the PackageFactory program as mentioned in this forum, it converted a program as promised to U3 format with no problem. I look forward to a program that will convert programs to the PortApps format. I like its start menu much better than the U3 launchpad so far.
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All Package Factory actually does is package up an app into a u3p (specially formatted zip file). It does *NOT* make an app portable unless it already is. It does nothing with settings, registry entries, etc.
Adding apps to the PortableApps.com Menu is easy. You don't need to repackage something to get it to appear in the menu. Just follow these directions:
https://portableapps.com/support/portable_apps_suite#addingapps
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Hi John,
Thanks for the quick response, and nice to meet you. I tried your suggestion and it worked great. I just added one new app to the menu so far, but the steps were nicely explained, so that even a newbie like me could do it (smile). I also installed your version of open office. It works great too.
On the other part of my post, is there a way to autostart PortApps upon the insertion of my usb flash stick? The tweak I included in my post seems to work, but that involves using the u3 launchpad and its program called xtraveller, and I would rather just stick with your program if at all possible. Your gui is very nice. Eye candy is important to some of us, plus it is very functional.
I would love a PortApps version of Maxthon, it is my fav browser by far. Thanks for your help and suggestions.
you said that you used a parameter to make the portable apps menu come up minimized? what was that parameter? or does anyone else know how i can accomplish this?