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Anything wrong with using subst.exe?

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Monk
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Anything wrong with using subst.exe?

Anything wrong with using subst.exe to remap your usb drive letter (which may change) to a consistant drive letter (like u:)? This way the apps that need absolute paths in their config files will always find themselves at U:\PortableApps\.

I realize it might not be in the true spirt of Portable Apps, but it would solve a couple headaches of mine. (Tillian and skins for a couple media players come to mind)

So, any drawbacks? I realize you'll end up with two drive letters for the USB. Also, if the target computer already has a U:, the command will fail. I'm not saying this would work for everyone, but I think it will work for me. I use my USB and PortableApps to have a consistant experience between my two desks at work, my laptop and my computer. I just dont want to go down this path if there are some other issues with subst.exe that I'm not thinking of.

Thanks for your attention,
Monk

Ryan McCue
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Nope

There is absolutely nothing wrong with using subst.
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R McCue

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

John T. Haller
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Admin Priv

I'm pretty sure the subst command requires admin privs.

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

Steve Lamerton
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Maybe not...

I've used it at school before so I dont think it does!

Yours

Steve Lamerton

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nm35
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Works for me.... Could an

Works for me....

Could an NSIS script call subst.exe?

~nm35
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Ryan McCue
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Yep

I`m using it for the new UniServer.

Exec '"$SYSTEM\system32\subst.exe" W: $EXEDIR\'

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R McCue

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

iMartyr
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for trillian

you can set up trillian to run portably it just takes 2 minutes to do check out http://www.trilliananywhere.com and that'll give you a walk through on how to do it Wink ass for the other apps what are you using?

p.s. tip if you leave trillian.ini writable you'll be able to change you aim profile whenever you want, if not it'll load the same every time.

Monk
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TrillianAnywhere

Yes, I use TrillianAnywhere. One problem is that whenever there is an update or patch for Trillian, I have to make the .ini writable, download the patch and then change all the paths again. Basicly, do the whole process over. Trillian seems to come out with a patch-a-month to keep up with the networks like AIM & Yahoo.

The other apps I mentioned are CoolPlayer and XMPlay. They insist on writing the full path to their skins in their config.ini files. Using a consistant drive letter will also let KeePass remember the last database opened. I wont have to write batch files to launch my TiddlyWikis either. I think it would make MenuApp easier to use too, without all the batch-file relative-path trickery.

It just seems like one small drawback of portable computing could be knocked out (for me at least, the way I use my USB drive, on my set of machines).

Monk

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