Hello all. It seems to me that we might be able (eventually) to make portable apps our selfs. I wish I could code and implement ANY of these ideas myself, but I did want to share them.
Reading different threads it came to me... why not use a program that monitors the installation of normal applications as to recreate its environment when launched? I've seen these apps (in some form) for years.
Software removal tools (think Norton CleanSweep) detects a setup program launch and notes EVERYTHING setup does. It watches files created, registry keys, etc. When you want to uninstall that app, you use CleanSweep, not the uninstall feature. CleanSweep would remove the additions that programs setup made, and that program was actually removed--expunged if you will.
Another portable apps company (www.ceedo.com) takes a similar approach with it's Argo Application Installer. You launch Argo and have it run the setup program. If the installation completes (most apps I tried DID install) I could then open them from the flash drive no problem.
Another good program is Thinstall Virtualization Suite--and this is the program that got me thinking. It's not exactly for "portable apps" but it is used by many companies to "install once, run many" including by the Guvment. Thinstall works by sandboxing everything--head to toe, left to right. The demos are really worth the watch. http://thinstall.com/sales/demo.php The first link "How to Thinstall an Application" hits the nail on the head.
I'm thinking if a programs environment could be virtualized, there would be no need to bend (or break) a program to conform to any portableapp standard--it could just run as it should--intact sandboxed Registry and all.
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I have added a couple of OTHER Portable Apps and in both instances they have put an icon and program name to the Portable Apps menu OK. trouble is they also include an icon with name of the uninstall program which I would prefer not to be on the menu - Any ideas would be welcome
Sam Mackie
Just delete the uninstall.exe and uninstall.dat, since you don't really need them
---------------
"Truth is a river that is always splitting up into arms that reunite. Islanded between the arms, the inhabitants argue for a lifetime as to which is the main river." -- Cyril Connolly
"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." -- Robert Frost
"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: baby ain't mine." -- Adam Holguin
My suggestion is instead of having the menu app look for executables, have it look for shortcuts to executables. That way I can delete shortcuts to uninstall programs or other misc programs that a non-portable-style setup program creates whether I want it to or not.
This would make PortableApps more 3rd party software friendly and maybe there is a reason not to do this but it would help me clean up my menu listings quite a bit. I run a dozen titles not from the PortableApps website that I find to be portable by default and highly useful (Madison units converter for example).
Thanks for some really GREAT software!
Chris
Mandriva Linux 2007 and Windows only when I have to...
Shortcuts are hard-coded to a drive letter...not portable at all.
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Help control the rugrat population -- have yourself spayed or neutered!
i know thta problem. i have the same problem, because i use wold of warcraft from my usb drive. i simply copies the wow folder from my programm folder onto the drive and aparently it doesent need any other files to work fine. most pcs wouldnt run it fine , but if the pc is good enough its ok. problem is, that the wow repair.exe, the 2 pre patch.exe's and 20 updaters (whenever theres a new launcher it makes an updater.exe and when the game is updated it willl make a Blizzard-updater.exe its all very anoying. i just tried putting it in the protable apps directory and stopped afterr a minute cause i already had 20 apps in the menu, of which i want 1 but probably need them for the game.
there should be a way to sort the apps othere than installing them in the order how i want them and also you should be able to choose to show or not show apps, maybe with a little windows like the firefox bookmark manager, which would already have too many funktions. just choose to show or not show things.
________
just cheked, theres exactly 70 apps in my worldofwardraft directory, too many to have in the menu, and i dont know if theres more in subfolders, and if they are seen in the menu.
hectorr
while you wait for the new PAM menu version that will let users assign what executables to be displayed.
Something that I've done, as well as other users (and it has been discussed in other threads) ---
I tuck all the app files and folders into a sub-folder.
Then make a batch file to run the main executable, and use a converter to compile the bat into an exe that will reside in the Main folder next to the "sub" folder.
Then the PAM can see only the compiled bat file, not the multiple files inside the sub folder.
Main folder
---> sub folder
---> bat/exe file
One odd thing, I usually have to add a blank line at the start of my bat file, or I get error that xyzzz.EXE could not be found.
So my bat file looks like
blank line
CD
START .\SUB\xyzzz.exe
I happen to use freeware BatToExeConverter
http://www.f2ko.de/English/index.php
It lets you add a custom icon, and compile in ghost mode so that you never see the DOS command window.
cool thanks ill try that. i have started messing around with the autorun progs from cds, since theres tons of programs to do make one of those. the problem was , i had to klick a button and close the "autorun".
hectorr
hmm i tried it and looked fine, but didnt work right aw. the problem was, that the wow folder is called World of Warcraft. the.exe first gave me an error .\World couldnt be found (i forgot the two ") , but even when i put them it still gave me the error. then i put - instead of spaces but forgot the " were still there. and it didnt give any error, but it didnt start wow either. the (finaly) working one is:
---------
CD
START .\World-of-Warcraft\Launcher.exe
---------
thanks for the help. it looks much better to have just 1 more thing in portable apps and not 70 of which i need only one, since i already had 25 apps before
i made a new comment, cause the text wifnow was getting kinda small
Edit:
it works, when i double click thwow.exe, but if i start it through the portable apps menu i get the could not be found error. any idea?
got it working form the menu. the problem was, that if run from the menu it thought it was being run in \PortableApps\PortableAppsMenu and of course there isnt a folder named World-ofWarcraft with a file called launcher in the menu folder. so i changed the .bat to:
---------
CD
START ..\wow\World-of-Warcraft\Launcher.exe
---------
os it actualy finds wow. it cant do any harm, since it will just go up one folder and then back down into the wow\World-of-Warcraft, where the program is.
My timezone is backwards, so I've been asleep while you've been struggling.
Just to note, I've also used the PAM on my home pc hard-drive, and used the batch-file trick with lots of apps there too.
...the correct spelling of the term in the original post cited as
"the Guvment"
is actually as follows:
"the Gubmint"
(minus the quotation marks, of course...)
FYI
"I don't hate cats...as long as they stay on the freeway, where they belong."
- Brad Stine
when you get your edumacation.
Don't be an uberPr∅. They are stinky.
...my edumacation has nothing to do with it.
Rather, it's the sounds that arrive at my ears when listening to folks talk.
Simply listen to most folks say that particular word, and you'll find that the phonetic spelling of the way they pronounce the word is as I stated previously.
In the same way, the word "business" is often pronounced
"Bidness"
Word.
"I don't hate cats...as long as they stay on the freeway, where they belong."
- Brad Stine
I think you mean "...my edumacation gots nothin' ta do wit it."
Guess it don't make no nevermind. Are ya wiff me on dis?
Sadly I have heard this "dialect" before.
Holla fo' shizzle. We be gettin' crunk up in herr!
~Lurk~
Do you ever make sensible posts any more?
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
I does, and sometimes, I doesn't.
Word to consul:
"embiggins"...Hmmm, I like it.
Can I use it?...
(Although I think it should be spelled "embiggens"...)
Also, here's some other ones for you:
Suckulent
- Describes that which is sucky, or more simply, things that suck (y'know, things like country music and so forth...)
Biteous
- Similar meaning to "suckulent", it reasons that if that which is 'right' can be called 'righteous', then surely that which 'bites' can be called 'biteous' (and rhymes with 'righteous', btw...)
Snarf
- To aggressively acquire or consume, esp used of food or drink
("Man, you really snarfed down that pizza, eh?...")
Arkansas Barking Spider
- Mythical arachnid which is the object of blame when flatulence erupts in a group setting, esp. among guys.
And so on....
"I don't hate cats...as long as they stay on the freeway, where they belong."
- Brad Stine
specially the "snarf" as thats what I usually do with pizza
"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate
...at least if it's MY pizza that I ordered for my own bad self (bachelorhood has its advantages).
Or Mexican food.
When dining w/ others, however, good manners precludes my snarfage (well, *mostly*...).
"I don't hate cats...as long as they stay on the freeway, where they belong."
- Brad Stine
embiggins us all.
Don't be an uberPr∅. They are stinky.
I created some program which should do exactly what you'd want. Please see the topic on this in the "Portable App Development" forum.
There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand Binary and those who don't.
ow does portable apps creator work?
I have made several attempts at creating a portable app
"
AutoIt Error.
Line -1:
Error: Variable used without being declared.
"
I get through the program creator fine
When I try to run it from portableapps, i get the message above.
No one in your forum is answering my queries
Is there a walkthrough guide or idiots guide or anything
What am I doing wrong?
Please Help!
I'm a nube, I have no knowledge of scripting, please be considerate!
Did you ever get a working version on a flash drive? If so can you contact me to help me get my copy working. Nothing I have tried seems to work not even when using the CD's.