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Using PAM as "The" Start Menu

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Patrick Patience
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Using PAM as "The" Start Menu

Hey, I've packaged various resources from around this site and made a simple pack that allows you to feel like you're using the PortableApps Menu as the Windows Start Menu. So when you're on a hosts computer, you've got your own start menu with all of your programs. Read the Notes and take a look at the Previews first.

There's two downloads:

-ANSI
-Unicode

Simply choose the download that suits you, and after downloading, follow the instructions.

.:Instructions:.

  1. After the download is complete, open the zip folder.
  2. Once inside the folder, on the right hand side, under "Folder Tasks", select "Extract all files".
  3. When the Extraction Wizard appears, hit next, type in just the drive letter of your portable device, unless you have your StartPortableApps.exe, Documents, and PortableApps directory inside another folder, type in your drive letter, and then the path to that folder. Eg. F: or F:My PortableApps Menu.
  4. During the extraction, you will probally get a popup asking you if you'de like to replace certain files in the "Icons" folder, this will replace the Icons used by the PortableApps Suite to Vista style icons, the choice is up to you to choose Yes or No.
  5. After the Extraction Wizard is complete, go t the root of your drive or click "Show extracted files" and then "Finish" in the extraction wizard.
  6. Once at the root of your drive, you should see at least one to file, USBAppsMenu, double click this to launch it.
  7. After the USB Apps Menu has launched, open it from the system tray by clicking on the USB drive icon.
  8. When it appears (or if it already had), click and drag it over to the normal location of your Windows Start Menu.
  9. From the (Portable)USB Apps Menu, click Options->Themes->And choose the Windows theme you are currently using.
  10. The (Portable)USB Apps Menu theme should change and now it looks pretty close the Windows Start Menu.
  11. To make USB Apps Menu autorun instad of the PortableAppsMenu, rename the hidden "autorun-UAM", replacing the existing one in the root of the drive, or rename StartUSBApps to StartPortableApps, and under the X:PortableApps/PortableAppsMenu directory, rename USBAppsMenu(UC) to PortableAppsMenu.
  12. For more information about the USB Apps Menu theming and locale options, as well as the menu itself, see X:PortableApps/PortableAppsMenu/UAM-readme.

Note:If you are using Windows 2000 and earlier, or Windows Classic Theme on Windows XP or Vista, there is currently no matching PAM theme, but I will probally work on one.
Also Note:In order to apply themes, you must also have the latest Beta Release or the PortableApps Menu.

Preview

Enjoy, and let me know of any questions or problems.

Edit: I just noticed the drive space slider for the defualt blue theme is orange instad of green, and i forgot the main.ico for all the XP themes. Oh well, I'll fix them later. Doesn't really matter.

Major Acknowledgements:

JHdD
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Just Ask

Could you next time just ask me if you want to use my themes?:P
Could you change the portableapps.com characters to John's default?
And can I put this great invention on my site?:D

Patrick Patience
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Oh okay.

Sorry.

Umm, what characters?

And yea, go for it.

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JHdD
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Sorry my english isn't very

Sorry my english isn't very good :P. You know "portableapps.com" on the top of the menu, could you change that to John's font?

And what is the difference between ANSI and Unicode?

Kevin Porter
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ANSI is an older code and

ANSI is an older code and will work on older OS's, and Unicode is newer and can handle more, but will not work on older OS's. For this, I would recommend ANSI, just because there isn't anything special that the menu can perform with Unicode.

Kevin
"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much."
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portable_dev
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What is John's font?

If you know what font he used when he made the header I can make the change. Right now it's using Copperplate Gothic Bold which was the only font I could find on all platforms that had the lowercase letters that looked like small uppercase letters.

The Unicode version is for NT-based Windows versions and is used primarily to support languages that use glyphs instead of alphabetic characters, or that require special scripting to get them displayed (I hope I got that right, please correct me if I'm wrong.) Arabic, Chinese, etc. You can't use those language locale files with an ANSI-based executable.

Ryan McCue
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Proprietary

It's a proprietary font. I don't know which exact one though.
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So all that Airbus-delay trouble over here in Europe is because of YOU!
Simeon.

"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."

Patrick Patience
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Uhh oh!

Ryan's up! Sad

*patrick hides after realizeing he had made so many evil comments about ryan while he was sleeping*

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Zach Thibeau
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it's

it's Meta FF bold
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Finally after 2 years I am going for my Learners permit so I can drive...Look out world here I come

your friendly neighbourhood moderator Zach Thibeau

Kevin Porter
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Good

I like that.

Kevin
"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much."
--Mother Teresa (1910 - 1997)

-Please search before posting

"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning." - Rick Cook

ceez11@yahoo.com
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Where do i get the download

Where do i get the download link

Ceez

Wences
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They're up there in the first post

They're up there in the first post.
The two that say: "Ansi" and "Unicode". Pick your flavour.

Sanicle
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Nice

I'm using this in preference to the official menu for now, mostly for the easier skinning options.

Serenity1981
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I am using this but every

I am using this but every time i eject then reinsert my drive the theme will not stay i have to select it again.

Kevin Porter
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The "Default" theme will

The "Default" theme will still be under the "PortableAppsMenu\App\DefaultData\Theme".

"If there was a Genesis Flood, you would find billions of dead things buried in rock layers laid down by water all over the earth. What do you find? Billions of dead things buried in rock layers laid down by water all over the earth."
Ken Ham

"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning." - Rick Cook

Nerd
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Can you change the function

Can you change the function of the start button to execute PAM instead?

Ryan McCue
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Nope

It's a Windows thing. It's a terrible thing to lose. It's a Windows thing. What a terrible thing to lose. </song>
----
Ryan McCue.
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So all that Airbus-delay trouble over here in Europe is because of YOU!
Simeon.

"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."

Patrick Patience
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Hmm?

Why does it accept <song> but not </song>?

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It's kinda scary when my desktop is messier than my room...

[Moderator RM: In HTML code, you need to use &lt; and &gt; instead of the actual characters. I fixed your post with that and it also answers your question]
[Regular Guy PP: Yea, I realized that after I posted. :P]

Haha, Moderator PP, nice. Biggrin

OliverK
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Baliff!

nevermind

There are 10 types of people in the world.

Those who understand Binary
and Those who don't

Too many lonely hearts in the real world
Too many bridges you can burn
Too many tables you can't turn
Don't wanna live my life in the real world

SmithTech
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Just updated my menu

Just updated my menu
It now has an option to use a clickable image to in addition to the tray icon.
By default the image shows to the far left and bottom of the screen but you can set the offset in the xml settings file.

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"Because they stand on a wall and say, 'Nothing is going to hurt you tonight. Not on my watch.'" (A Few Good Men)
Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.(Albert Einstein)

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