You are here

WinMerge Portable 2.6.8 Pre-release 4 (Testers needed)

28 posts / 0 new
Last post
Ryan McCue
Ryan McCue's picture
Offline
Last seen: 15 years 1 month ago
Joined: 2006-01-06 21:27
WinMerge Portable 2.6.8 Pre-release 4 (Testers needed)

New topic available; this topic locked

Just so I can get it done before John... (Edit: *wink wink*)

WinMerge Portable is the popular WinMerge packaged as a portable app. WinMerge is an Open Source visual text file differencing and merging tool for Win32 platforms. It is highly useful for determining what has changed between project versions, and then merging changes between versions. Plus, it leaves no personal information behind on the machine you run it on, so you can take WinMerge wherever you go.

WinMerge Portable 2.6.8 Pre-release 4

Pre-release 2: Fixed version number, automatically changes paths (i.e. set your text editor to Notepad++ Portable and it will keep that portable), INI changes, source changes.

Pre-release 3: INI and readme changes since I forgot to do them in the last pre-release and a fix for the bug where it wouldn't launch WinMerge unless you ran WinMergePortable.exe with parameters.

Pre-release 4: Added an auto-switcher to choose between the Unicode and ANSI executables.
----
Ryan McCue

Kevin Porter
Kevin Porter's picture
Offline
Last seen: 10 years 8 months ago
Developer
Joined: 2007-01-10 19:25
You are on fire, Ryan (or

You are on fire, Ryan (or you have too much free time :wink:). Well, I'll test it out.

EDIT: Forgot to post back. Works fine, nothing left behind.

----
"Pray as if everything depended upon God and work as if everything depended upon man."
Francis Cardinal Spell

-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

ZachHudock
ZachHudock's picture
Offline
Last seen: 1 year 10 months ago
Developer
Joined: 2006-12-06 18:07
Great, I'll test it out. I

Great, I'll test it out. I thought John said he was doing this one and just hadn't posted it?
_________________________
I don't believe in signatures

The developer formerly known as ZGitRDun8705

John T. Haller
John T. Haller's picture
Offline
Last seen: 1 hour 19 min ago
AdminDeveloperModeratorTranslator
Joined: 2005-11-28 22:21
Better not to rush..

It's better not to rush for the sake of rushing, ya know. I took a look and here are the issues I found:

1. Missing help file
2. Icon should only include 16px, 32px and 48px at 256 color and Win XP (this applies to the launcher and to the appicon.ico file)
3. Remove the extra directories and INI checks from the launcher. We're just doing AdditionalParameters and DisableSplash going forward
4. Copyright lines (remember, you do not own the copyright on the work. you have to leave mine intact and add your own. "based on" is not sufficient. and you can't put your name in legal copyright since you don't own it. I'm switching to 'PortableApps.com and contributors' for that even though I own the copyright on the code for most of em.)
5. Paths not updated. You're not updating the paths in the registry. Things like HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Thingamahoochie\WinMerge\Files\Left need to be updated if you're running from the same drive. It's a convenience thing. And you don't even need to write code to do this as I have it in a few different launchers. Use a string replace in file on the .reg file and track the drive letter between launches. Check VirtualDub for an example on this one.
6. Bad launcher version number - The launcher version is for the launcher, not the app. It should be 1.4.0.0 since that's about where we are. All of them stay consistent between generations. That way we know what features are in them. And we don't have to recompile them unnecessarily when there's an app update but the launcher has no changes.

Remember, this isn't a race. We're trying to build these things right. We've gotten to the point where people expect a consistently high-quality, near-finished product when we post a pre-release.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

Patrick Patience
Offline
Last seen: 4 years 10 months ago
DeveloperModerator
Joined: 2007-02-20 19:26
Good to know.

Good to know this as well.

1's obvious.

I knew number two, and I just figured make an icon with the required displays for TypeFaster.

Quite good to know number 3, I wasn't sure.

I put based on in some as well, because Ryan does. Blum In others I put - Original NSIS Code, or contains works Copyright. I just didn't want people thinking my not as good as yours applications were your work too, but if is your launcher, so I'll keep the copyright exactly the same for future.

I didn't know Number 6 had to be consistent, I changed it myself when I made small improvments or revisions, I'll just stick with pre-releases now. And the PAF is at 0.9.6 ?

So, it's good you posted those things so I could read them as well, I'll keep them in mind.

_______________________________________________
Cool Kids Don't Have Signatures. Umm... *shifty eyes*

Ryan McCue
Ryan McCue's picture
Offline
Last seen: 15 years 1 month ago
Joined: 2006-01-06 21:27
.

I tried to post this before I went on a mini holiday, but my internet cable stuffed up on me.

You do realise I was kidding about trying to beat you?

  1. I'll get that done once I get the splash screen Wink
  2. I got it straight from the WinMerge executable. Should I change it?
  3. I spent half an hour copying that over. Biggrin
  4. I'll change that over.
  5. I was debating whether to change it or to delete it. I've got a fix in the next PR
  6. Could have told me earlier Biggrin

----
Ryan McCue.
Blog.
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."

pacella
Offline
Last seen: 17 years 2 months ago
Joined: 2007-07-09 12:49
Can S.Kohno's xdocdiff WinMerge plugin be included?

His plugin is here:

http://freemind.s57.xrea.com/xdocdiffPlugin/en/index.html

It enables WinMerge to work with the following file types:

.rtf Rich Text
.docx Microsoft WORD 2007(OOXML)
.xlsx Microsoft Excel 2007(OOXML)
.pptx Microsoft PowerPoint 2007(OOXML)
.doc Microsoft WORD ver5.0/95/97/2000/XP/2003
.xls Microsoft Excel ver5.0/95/97/2000/XP/2003
.ppt Microsoft PowerPoint 97/2000/XP/2003
.sxw/.sxc/.sxi/.sxd OpenOffice.org
.odt/.ods/.odp/.odg Open Document
.wj2/wj3/wk3/wk4/123 Lotus 123
.wri Windows3.1 Write
.pdf Adobe PDF
.mht Web Archive
.eml Exported files from OutlookExpress

I'm already using it on my portable drive and it works well. The only problem is that it appears in my PAM.

Ryan McCue
Ryan McCue's picture
Offline
Last seen: 15 years 1 month ago
Joined: 2006-01-06 21:27
Hmm

I'm tempted to say no, since it's one more thing to update.
----
Ryan McCue.
Blog.
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."

Simeon
Simeon's picture
Offline
Last seen: 10 years 3 weeks ago
DeveloperTranslator
Joined: 2006-09-25 15:15
It would be cool

if you could include them...
*please*
“I can live with doubt and uncertainty and not knowing. I think it is much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers that might be wrong.” - Richard P. Feynman

"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate

John T. Haller
John T. Haller's picture
Offline
Last seen: 1 hour 19 min ago
AdminDeveloperModeratorTranslator
Joined: 2005-11-28 22:21
Nope

Keep it the same as regular WinMerge. Anyone who wants that plugin is free to add it, of course.

Besides, it's not open source, so it isn't even an option. You should know better, Simeon Blum

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

Simeon
Simeon's picture
Offline
Last seen: 10 years 3 weeks ago
DeveloperTranslator
Joined: 2006-09-25 15:15
OK

I admit it: I didnt read all the stuff on the linked page.
I should've done that...
Just wanted to have the options/possibilities cause I use the program very often to compare nsi files. Its such a helpful App.
Thanks Ryan!
Waiting for the official release... :lol:
“I can live with doubt and uncertainty and not knowing. I think it is much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers that might be wrong.” - Richard P. Feynman

"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate

Ryan McCue
Ryan McCue's picture
Offline
Last seen: 15 years 1 month ago
Joined: 2006-01-06 21:27
.

Are we ready for a release then?
----
Ryan McCue.
Blog.
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."

Simeon
Simeon's picture
Offline
Last seen: 10 years 3 weeks ago
DeveloperTranslator
Joined: 2006-09-25 15:15
Well...

I don't have any need for it but I test it anyway...;-)
It leaves nothing but I had t copy (actually I had to download & copy) MFC71.dll, MSVCR71.dll and MSVCP71.dll into the App/winmerge folder.

“I can live with doubt and uncertainty and not knowing. I think it is much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers that might be wrong.” - Richard P. Feynman

"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate

stone1343
stone1343's picture
Offline
Last seen: 4 years 3 months ago
Joined: 2006-09-25 12:45
Perfect timing

I spent a bunch of time yesterday (Aug 10) looking for a directory comparison tool (I had one years ago, but can no longer find it). So I settled on WinMerge being the one I liked the most. This morning I check here and Ryan has already portablized it. Cool.

It has a small window that says "test" as it starts up.

It has the same need for MFC71U.DLL, resolved the same way.

I had assumed there was *nothing* left behind in the registry, that doesn't seem to be completely true, but it's pretty benign, mostly OpenSaveMRU kind of stuff.

By comparison, Sumatra PDF Portable doesn't seem to leave behind the OpenSaveMRU keys, but FreeCommanderPortable does.

Great job, thanks once again, guys

Jeff

Simeon
Simeon's picture
Offline
Last seen: 10 years 3 weeks ago
DeveloperTranslator
Joined: 2006-09-25 15:15
That window

with the "test" line will be replaced with the PortableApps splash screen. Its just a substitute.
“I can live with doubt and uncertainty and not knowing. I think it is much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers that might be wrong.” - Richard P. Feynman

"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate

stone1343
stone1343's picture
Offline
Last seen: 4 years 3 months ago
Joined: 2006-09-25 12:45
Just to be clear...

I didn't consider any of the things I mentioned to be "problems", just comments.

It seems to work fine, I'm so glad you guys are doing what you're doing, I just wanted to give the best feedback I could from my testing, because I don't think this one will get the same visibility as Firefox.

Thanks again

Ryan McCue
Ryan McCue's picture
Offline
Last seen: 15 years 1 month ago
Joined: 2006-01-06 21:27
.

The splash will be replace soon enough. (i.e. When I get an email back from John)

You'll need the runtimes package. Try http://optusnet.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/winmerge/Runtimes-2.6.8.7z
I'm debating whether to include those or not and whether I can with licensing issues.

I've never heard of the OpenSaveMRU thing, what is it?
----
Ryan McCue.
Blog.
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."

stone1343
stone1343's picture
Offline
Last seen: 4 years 3 months ago
Joined: 2006-09-25 12:45
OpenSaveMRU

It's just a Most-Recently Used queue that is stored in the registry. It seems to store recently used EXEs, so as far as I can tell, no software can really say it leaves nothing behind. If they were looking for it, it'd be pretty easy for any company's IT people to at least see that someone's running PortableApps.

If there are legal issues with distributing runtime DLLs, I say don't get yourself in trouble, just a note that the runtime is needed and a link for how to get it. That's all WinMerge.org does, and it's hidden in the FAQ.

I just downloaded MFC71U.DLL from dll-files.com (that seems to have Cuba Gooding Jr. as their spokesperson), I had no problem.

I'll try the new pre-release,

Thanks

John T. Haller
John T. Haller's picture
Offline
Last seen: 1 hour 19 min ago
AdminDeveloperModeratorTranslator
Joined: 2005-11-28 22:21
You can

You can include the runtimes (and probably should). SourceForge allows inclusion of smaller runtimes normally distributed with an operating system in download packages hosted on their servers. So, the Visual C++ runtime is fine. But Java and .NET are not.

You can't UPX compress them, though, due to the license.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

Ryan McCue
Ryan McCue's picture
Offline
Last seen: 15 years 1 month ago
Joined: 2006-01-06 21:27
Pre-release 2

Fixed version number, automatically changes paths (i.e. set your text editor to Notepad++ Portable and it will keep that portable), INI changes, source changes.
----
Ryan McCue.
Blog.
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."

spikeleebebop
Offline
Last seen: 16 years 8 months ago
Joined: 2007-07-05 09:38
Startup Prob

Pre-release 2 does not seem to start up on my machine. I see your test splash screen and then nothing happens. I am running it from a Western Digital Passport 60GB on Windows XP SP2. When I click on the .exe within the apps folder the program starts up fine. The drive letter assigned to my HD is I:. Looks like an interesting app though.

Mr.RR
Offline
Last seen: 15 years 7 months ago
Joined: 2007-08-12 07:17
Hi, nice Idea to create this

Hi,
nice Idea to create this progr as portable version.
But I have the same problem ... I can start it only in /App/WinMege folder.
*System*
SanDisk-Cruzer Contour U3
Windows XP SP2

Ryan McCue
Ryan McCue's picture
Offline
Last seen: 15 years 1 month ago
Joined: 2006-01-06 21:27
Oops

I forgot a slash.

Pre-release 3 is up with INI and readme changes and a fix for the aforementioned bug.
----
Ryan McCue.
Blog.
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."

Simeon
Simeon's picture
Offline
Last seen: 10 years 3 weeks ago
DeveloperTranslator
Joined: 2006-09-25 15:15
Very nice

It works well and I like it.
It is really handy for comparing nsi files of different releases...:lol:
“I can live with doubt and uncertainty and not knowing. I think it is much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers that might be wrong.” - Richard P. Feynman

"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate

lamer
Offline
Last seen: 3 years 10 months ago
Joined: 2007-08-02 07:01
Nice app, works and looks

Nice app, works and looks fine!
Does it automatically determines which language to use when it starts? That's great!
And... a fly in the ointmen
The program leaves traces in two points of registry, that admins and other supervisors very like to take a walk there Wink :
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\MUICache
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\[extention]\OpenWithList

Patrick Patience
Offline
Last seen: 4 years 10 months ago
DeveloperModerator
Joined: 2007-02-20 19:26
The...

MUICache is the same with all applications from here.

I think Ryan would be able to take care of the File Extension.

______________________
Signature...What Signature?

Ryan McCue
Ryan McCue's picture
Offline
Last seen: 15 years 1 month ago
Joined: 2006-01-06 21:27
Yep.

All of the apps leave the first one and I hadn't noticed the second one.

I think it gets the language from Windows, like most apps.
----
Ryan McCue.
Blog.
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."

Ryan McCue
Ryan McCue's picture
Offline
Last seen: 15 years 1 month ago
Joined: 2006-01-06 21:27
Pre-release 4

Added a auto-switcher between the Unicode and ANSI executables, based on John's WinDirStat Portable (as was the whole thing).
----
Ryan McCue.
Blog.
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."

Topic locked