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[Obsolete] Portable App Creator

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Maltenrazer
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tried to make virtual pc

tried to make virtual pc portable... but it didn't work... ;(.. gonna try vmware soon... hopefully it will work.

Caehan
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Did you try the launcher?

Someone had made a launcher for Virtual PC. If you prefer VPC, you could try that. You can find it here.

Maltenrazer
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thx alot! much appreciated.

thx alot! much appreciated.

spaz.shaffer
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Can you please use a

Can you please use a different file hosting site? RapidShare is a pain in the butt. I would recommend MediaFire (http://www.mediafire.com)

- the path i walk is in the wrong direction -

spaz.shaffer
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.

.

- the path i walk is in the wrong direction -

maroesjk
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Once I have time...

...I'll try to see what goes wrong if one tries to make a Virtual PC Portable... But only if I have time left Wink

Update: It has something to do with REG_MULTI_SZ regkeys containing a linefeed (@lf) character. I tried to solve this problem in 0·93 beta. That version had a small glitch / error when restoring existing keys (containing a @lf-character) on the host drive. That glitch / error was solved in 0·93·1 beta.

Tested Portable App Creator monitoring the installation of "Microsoft Virtual PC", thus creating "Virtual PC Portable". Did not experience any problem during this. Next, moved the complete "Virtual PC Portable" to a new drive and it "Virtual PC Portable" ran quite smoothly!

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand Binary and those who don't.

superlopopaul
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The errors

I have check error with autolt and 2 error are find :
>C:\Documents and Settings\Superlepopaul\Bureau\autolt\install\SciTe\..\au3check.exe "C:\Documents and Settings\Superlepopaul\Bureau\Portable App Creator 0·97·2\Other\Source\Portable App Creator.au3"
AutoIt3 Syntax Checker v1.54.8 Copyright (c) Tylo 2007

C:\Documents and Settings\Superlepopaul\Bureau\Portable App Creator 0·97·2\Other\Source\Portable App Creator.au3(110,54) : ERROR: undefined macro.
'EnableLUA') = '1') Or StringRight(@ProcessorArch,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^
C:\Documents and Settings\Superlepopaul\Bureau\Portable App Creator 0·97·2\Other\Source\Portable App Creator.au3(367,31) : ERROR: undefined macro.
c
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^
C:\Documents and Settings\Superlepopaul\Bureau\Portable App Creator 0·97·2\Other\Source\Portable App Creator.au3 - 2 error(s), 0 warning(s)
>Exit code: 2 Time: 0.266

thanks to resolse this error

PS:I speak french but I learn English

maroesjk
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Portable App Creator (version 0·93 beta)

Some updates and modifications again. Work done:

  • Generalized the way Portable App Creator works with the $EnvArray variable, which allows people to add folders to it in the script. I thought about adding %windir% and the documents folder to the array, but decided not to. It would decrease the speed of PAC big time and shouldn’t be necessary for well programmed software, according to me.
  • Changed Portable App Creator and Portable App Shortcut to be able to work with REG_MULTI_SZ regkeys that contain a linefeed (@lf) character.
  • Changed all scripts to only allow one instance, since I noticed that more than one instance to the PortableApp may lead to erroneous behavior.
  • Added a few lines to make sure the PortableApp will also work if the registry points to the PortableApps drive between double quotes (e.g. “).
  • Replaced the double quotes around strings with single quotes in all scripts. Some (other) small changes (optimizations on behavior).

You can now download Portable App Creator 0·93 beta (MD5: 3C11B0C133FDAEFB34D0CB83B46EC083, only 330 kB). Please see the readme-file supplied with this package to find out what you need to do before you can use "Portable App Creator".

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand Binary and those who don't.

Savio D souza
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Downloading Problem

I am unable to download Portable apps Creator 0-93 beta.
On clicking the link i go to http://rapidshare.com/ it says you are attempting to download a file scroll to proceed.

it gives me a message as below

you are attempting to download the file http://rapidshare.com/files/75936313/Portable_App_Creator_0_93_beta.zip

i don't receive the download window.

I tried coping the link in FDM, FDM download 5777 bytes sucessfully but when i opened the file in winzip it gives me a error window saying

the file does not contain the entire zip file
if it is a spanned achieve set please insert the last disk set

Please help

Regards,
Savio D'souza

maroesjk
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Don't know

I really don't know what goes wrong. The download works fine for me with IE and FF. Any more users having download-problems? Does anyone have a suggestion for a (better) mirror?

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand Binary and those who don't.

Ryan McCue
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Yep.

Uploading to my server now...

Edit: Uploaded. Download Portable App Creator 0.93 beta.
Contact me via my contact form and I'll give you my email address.

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

maroesjk
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Portable App Creator 0·93·1 beta

Some updates and modifications again. Work done:

  • Eliminated a small glitch / error in Portable App Shortcut.
  • Changed the routine to replace (the string referring to) the PortableApps drive and linefeedcharacter in a Registry Value.
  • Changed the the “Convert Files” button to “Process Shots” in Portable App Creator and moved the comparison of the shots to there (used to be under the “Take 2nd Shot” button).
  • Changed the routine to detect unnecessary regkeys and folders.
  • Added “StreamMRU”, “MenuOrder” and “ShellNoRoam” to the array of unnecessary RegKeys.

You can now download Portable App Creator 0·93·1 beta (MD5: 7E4B271858F0E40DB1A20D5AE7E2A7D3, only 330 kB). Please see the readme-file supplied with this package to find out what you need to do before you can use "Portable App Creator".

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand Binary and those who don't.

Ryan McCue
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Mirrored

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

Enismirdal
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Possible problem with the mirror?

Well, tried to download PAC 0.93.1 beta from your site a few minutes ago. It kept downloading without any files in the zip archive, so I figured the nigh-infinite lag of satellite internet was screwing it up, but upon going to your site's All Files list, it displays as:

Portable_App_Creator_0_93_1_beta.zip 5.65 KB (5781 bytes)

Did I do something horribly wrong/make a noobish mistake, manage to somehow read a zip file incorrectly, or did the upload blow up without anyone noticing, yet?
Just thought I'd mention it, see if anyone can confirm/deny.

digitxp
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Ain't no Workin'

I can't seem to make it work on a vista pc with no uac. It keeps giving me the variable error. Regardless of what program I'm trying to install.

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maroesjk
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When?

I do not have a Vista system, so it will be hard to find out what goes wrong. Could you copy the "Portable App Creator.au3" to the root of PAC and open it (using AutoIt). That would generate the actual error (in a real line in stead of line -1). If I have the error-code I might be able to see what goes wrong on a / your Vista system.

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand Binary and those who don't.

digitxp
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Never Mind

Turns out it was because I deleted the compiler.

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StephenQ
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Tester + patches?

Great program, i've just created Unreal Tournament Portable in a virtual machine.
However, it would be nice to have to feature for the application to be copied to an App directory within the folder, to keep it neat.

Also, which stage in the creation process should you apply patches and make any other modifications to the program, while not in it? If there isn't a stage when i should do this, can it please be added? I've made changes to the programs ini and applied the patch after making it portable, which i assume is the right thing to do.

Also, is there a portable tester? i know there is process monitor, but thats quite complicated. I'd like to be able to run a program that tests to see if its truly portable.

jwyanze
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Unreal Tournament Portable

Unreal Tournament Portable thats great. I like ur idea about having a program tester these to could go hand in hand one backing the other. lol what i normally do is save the regshot file and check all the dir which it uses on my computer and see if there is any thing left behind but this could be automated very easily if only i knew programing lol.
sup maroesjk seems like ur going good here with Portable App Creator. Long time i haven't check out whats new at Portableapps.com ur have meh email address just email meh if ur need any thing made.

Never curse the alligator till you done cross the bridge. Wink

maroesjk
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Your ideas

To StephenQ:
Unreal Tournament Portable surely sounds great. I created some new Portable Apps myself. Still want to test making Microsoft Office Portable one day Wink

To keep it neat, I created a "Program Files" folder on my PA-drive. But I understand you'd want the app to install where the shortcut to the PortableApp is located. I didn't program this, but it's easily done. Just think of the name you'd wish for the PortableApp, lets say "Unreal Tournament Portable". The shortcut to the ProtableApp will thus be "PA:\PortableApps\Unreal Tournament Portable\Unreal Tournament Portable.exe". So you could install to a self-created folder named "PA:\PortableApps\Unreal Tournament Portable\Apps" to keep it neat.

Adding servicepacks, updates, patches and/or add-ons could best be done after the installation (duh!) of the application, but before you "open/close" it. So it would be a good idea to install these servicepacks (etc.) while the screen to enter the information for the shortcut is shown. The next version will show a text saying this. Thanx for mentioning this!

I did not create a portable tester until now. Normally I just "subst.exe" the PA-drive to another driveletter and test it. Would programming that be enough for you? If so, I'll think about it. If not, I really have to see if I have time programming it an other way (I think that will be a complicated program myself!!!).

To Jwyanze:
Yeah, it's going great, far over 100 downloads for most versions! If I need you, I'll send you an e-mail!

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand Binary and those who don't.

StephenQ
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The thing is, Unreal

The thing is, Unreal Tournament will run 'portably' from anywhere. I created an auto launching rar SFX which unpacked to temp and auto executed UT, then delete these files on exit. However i think it still creates registry keys. The program doesnt seem to care where it runs from, it just 'adapts'.

Also for folders added, it picked up on the start menu, and on content.ie5 which is temporary internet files. I hope this doesnt matter, i was using windows explorer, not internet explorer btw.

As for the tester, it would be nice to have a program which checks that every file created by the program/launcher is inside the PA drive. Anything it touches outside of this has to either be deleted or moved back to the drive on exit.

Also, i'd like to request that someone create a proper launcher for UT. I'm hoping someone has this 7 year old game, its very good.

dangermouse
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UT & Aquaria

I own a copy of UT, and every version after it as well. I'm trying to make my Aquaria game portable, but it requires a user name and password to run it for the first time after it has been installed and thus puts that information into the registry. I don't know enough about how to get around it since it doesn't ask for my user name and password till after I've installed the game. I was thinking, what if I range regshot, installed the game, then ran it for the first time and put in my user name and password and then finalized regshot. Would it then store my current register keys for me? I don't know enough about how this all works. Anyways, my main purpose of posting this is to see if I could get in contact with you about how to make UT portable for myself. I must say portableapps rocks for military computers, since you don't have administrative rights on them and can't make any installations.

Ellis Thomas Place
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Portable Apps Games

I am trying to create my own portable app's
Any tips on what to use?

I have posted to this forum before and no reply so far
Whenever I use this program I get the following error

AutoIt Error.

Line -1:

Error: Variable used without being declared.

Can anyone reply and offer some assistance?

I'm a nube, I have no knowledge of scripting, please be considerate!

Nathan9222
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FrostWire portable??

Does anyone know how to make all of a programs app data save in the ENVIRONMENT folder after you have used it because i am trying to get frostwire portable, but the only thing that is stopping me is the app data is always saving on the computer.

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
Mahatma Gandhi,
Indian political and spiritual leader (1869 - 1948)

maroesjk
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Set the app-data folder

Isn't there a way to set the path where the app-data should be stored in frostwire. If you'd change that to the PortableApps-drive it would be solved...

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand Binary and those who don't.

digitxp
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A few Q's

I managed to portablize TuxType, but I got a few Questions:
1)Can it be possible to make the portablizing pauseable? I don't get that much computer time in one place.
2)What the variable thing? I try to install something twice (actually just taking the first shot), it closes.

Oh, and I love the simplicity of the app.

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TaffinFoxcroft
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UT works portably to some

UT works portably to some extent, as it ended up drifting around through everyone in school for like a month or 2. then some people broke into a computer lab and LANned it up, until they got 3 days suspension. go figure. anyways, the point of my story is that it saves all the data into a couple of .ini files, or at least with GOTY edition.

But there’s no sense crying over every mistake,
You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.

maroesjk
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Should work

Portable App Creator should detect the ini's IF they are present after an install (and run/close). If they are detected, they are put to the host-system while playing and removed afterward. If the ini's are not created during an install (and run/close). They will (indeed) stay on the host computer and will not be copied back to the PA-drive, as the ShortCut doesn't "know" that they belong to the game...

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand Binary and those who don't.

Ryan McCue
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Hmm

Have you tried compiling it with AutoHotkey? I believe it can handle some AutoIt scripts and it's open source, so I think it would be worth a try. I can have a go at rewriting it for you if you want.

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

maroesjk
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AutoHotKey

I thought about that, but I just love (and, more important, know) AutoIt. I've taken a brief look at AutoHotKey, but seem to be missing some commands that are present in AutoIt. I'll take a closer look to it in January, but am not really enthousiast to rewrite the script for AutoHotKey myself...

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand Binary and those who don't.

Ryan McCue
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Well...

If you can mention which these are, I'll see if I can change it for you. Doesn't look like it's too hard.

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

maroesjk
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I Thought

I thought it wasn't possible to see which button of RegShot was enabled, but now I see this can be done with AutoHotKey as well, so porting shouldn't be much of a problem after all, i think...

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand Binary and those who don't.

digitxp
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No shortcuts

Can an portableapp be made by reshacking the actual exe rather than make a shortcut exe for it. It's not being allowed on the computers where you have limited rights.

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DJHasis
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Notepad doesn't close

Is it normal that after the step where both spapshots are compared notepad opens with a text-file and doesn't even close although every step is done and the creator shows next-button?

maroesjk
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Normally it should close

Normally Notepad should close. If it doesn't, there is no problem closing it yourself...

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand Binary and those who don't.

Ellis Thomas Place
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Walkthrough

I cannot get any program I try to create portable
I get AutoIt error line -1
I can get thriough the whole process but when it comes to running it it fails with this error.

AutoIt Error.

Line -1:

Error: Variable used without being declared.

This happens after the creator has completed and I go to run the app from my pen drive.

Im a complete nube and would like a walkthrough, i must be doing something wrong. Also is there a more user friendly version available for free.

Used ceedo and argo without any problems but dont want to fork out so much money.

Thanks for your patience
Ellis

I'm a nube, I have no knowledge of scripting, please be considerate!

maroesjk
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Strange

It's a pitty that I cannot reproduce your error. Next, all script-checkers told me there should not be any problem with the script. It's strange... The problem is that exe's only give "line -1"-errors, which generally means the error could be in any line in the script...

What OS are you using?

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand Binary and those who don't.

linkhyrule5
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Compiling troubles

Okay, I open PAC compiler, it searches for AutoIt files, doesn't find them. It downloads the file, extracts it, and freezes. I try again, it doesn't see the files. I can see them if I look in [drive]:PortableApps/[folder]/files/install, but it doesn't. I tried directly downloading it from the AutoIt website, it still doesn't see them. Any tips?

maroesjk
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Copy them yourself

I re-read the PAC-compiler script of version 0·93·1, but can't find anything which could go wrong at that point. I did retest it, and it worked for me. Nevertheless (a.o.) that part of the script will change in version 0·94, which I hope to post in a few days.
For now, you could manually put the files in [drive]:\PortableApps\[folder]\files. The three files you should copy there are aut2exe.exe, autoitsc.bin and upx.exe. They sould be in the folder [drive]:\PortableApps\[folder]\files\install\aut2exe if the extraction of the SFX downloaded from the AutoIt website went right.
Once the three files exist in the folder [drive]:\PortableApps\[folder]\files, start "PAC Compiler" again, and it should compile Portable App Creator for you...

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand Binary and those who don't.

linkhyrule5
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worked

It worked! Thanks a bunch, maroesjk. About to try it out.

(nice sig. btw :))

App Guy
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Did not work

I tried the exact same thing but I could not copy the autoitsc.bin because it said that it could not be copied. Could you help me and tell me what I'm doing wrong.

May the Shwartz be with you

maroesjk
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Portable App Creator 0·94 beta

After some 500 downloads of the previous beta-version of Portable App Creator, it's about time for a new version. Most of the changes are based on suggestions people made in this thread. No real new functionality, just some small modifications again:

  • Changed the routine to detect environment-variable folders.
  • Added text to the “ShortCut Information”-screen in Portable App Creator to remind the user to install any service pack, patch, hotfix, update and/or add-on before continuing.
  • Detected (and repaired) a small error in the message displayed when Portable App Creator runs using Vista with UAC enabled.
  • Changed the way Portable App Creator interacts with RegShot (getting the title of RegShot and clearing old RegShot data). Now changes the priority for RegShot to ‘low’.
  • Added “Installer”, “Uninstall”, “Cache”, “Streams” and “UserAssist” to the array of unnecessary RegKeys.
  • Some behavioral changes in the routines of PAC Compiler.

You can now download Portable App Creator 0·94 beta (MD5: 0898216C355FC8BC0374FCA9178FB910, only 330 kB). Please see the readme-file supplied with this package to find out what you need to do before you can use "Portable App Creator".

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand Binary and those who don't.

ednetman
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Setup Question

I have PAC installed to a Windows XP VMWare session. The software seems to work properly as far as capturing the various changes, etc. The only thing that I have to figure out is why I have so many new entries listed on my menu.

For instance, I own a copy of VBSEDIT (www.vbsedit.com)I installed it and went through activation with no problems. But now when I look at my PortableApps menu, there are two entries for the program. The same for JetAudio. I now have 15 entries in the list! Should I be installing to %PotableAppsDrive%\PortableApps\JetAudio? or should I be making a sub menu like %PotableAppsDrive%\PortableApps\JetAudio\App\JetAudio? I have seen that structure on other portable apps in the past, but the menu just says: "Please install the application to your PortableApps Drive (G:)" with no mention of any of file structure needed.

Otherwise, a very nice app, and I would be happy to mirror the first production release on my site.

Ed

rab040ma
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The PortableApps menu is

The PortableApps menu is (currently) designed to create an entry for each .exe it finds in the directories just below \PortableApps.

If there are two entries in the menu, but you don't see two executables, you could try Options | Refresh app icons.

if there are two executables in the applications directory, one solution is to move the application's directory tree down one folder, and then find a way to make an executable that "launches" the executable you want. That's what 90% of the development discussion is about in the forums, so there are lots of tips for doing just that. Browse through the forums and do some searching, and if you run into a brick wall, create a new topic to ask about it.

If there is only one executable but two (or more) menu entries, that would be a bug that should be raised in its own topic in the PAM support forums.

MC

ednetman
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PAC

Right, but I wasn't sure if PAC was handling the creation of sub directories, or if I was just supposed to know to do that. I am going to try a few more apps and will just make sure that the directory tree is deeper, but will PAC make the launcher in the deeper folder, or will it put it in the root application directory?

rab040ma
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Ah, sorry.

Ah, sorry.

I don't know the answer to your question about PAC, but I do know that the subdirectory structure is documented and pretty standardized. You can look at a couple of the apps that have been released recently in Explorer to see the common directory structures. In particular, the "launcher" goes in its own directory two above the regular application distribution's directory tree.

Seems like we need to have a new topic for PAC support questions, since the original one is more than two screens.

MC

maroesjk
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Where to install

Should I be installing to %PortableAppsDrive%\PortableApps\JetAudio? or should I be making a sub menu like %PortableAppsDrive%\PortableApps\JetAudio\App\JetAudio?

The only rule is NOT to install directly in a "%PortableAppsDrive%PortableApps\Some Application" folder, as you'll end up with multiple entries on the PortableApps menu in that case.
At first, I always installed to "%PortableAppsDrive%\Program Files\Some Application". In your case that would have been "%PortableAppsDrive%\Program Files\JedAudio". Nowadays, I install to "%PortableAppsDrive%\PortableApps\JedAudio\Program" or (more generally, to "%PortableAppsDrive%\PortableApps\Some Application\Program". So making a sub menu is fine and will give you just one entry in the PortableApps menu!

...but will PAC make the launcher in the deeper folder, or will it put it in the root application directory?

PAC will make the launcher in the root application folder (e.g. the launcher will be "%PortableAppsDrive%\PortableApps\Some Application\Some Application.exe")

I'll see if I can make this more clear in (the program or readme of) the new version.

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand Binary and those who don't.

ednetman
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Ok, that's not a problem. I

Ok, that's not a problem. I will revert my VM to a previous snapshot and install again. This time I'll use a sub-dir for the folder.

I love how easy this application is to use overall, though.

Thanks for helping us all by creating this wonderful application!

I've seen your signature file on a T-shirt before, my wife didn't get it...

Nathan9222
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About my comment before

I searched through frostwire but couldnt find a way to change it. I was wondering if there was a way u could change how it collects data so after frostwire launches it will copy the data that was created. Cause i have tried to copy it in the environment folder and deleted the app folder of frostwire from my computer but it makes another one every time i launch the application PAC created for frostwire.

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
Mahatma Gandhi,
Indian political and spiritual leader (1869 - 1948)

maroesjk
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I see your point, but...

I personally do not know Frostwire, I must say, but your point is clear. The problem is that PAC just monitors an installation and sees which files (in a few specific folders) and regkeys are added to the system. Next, it will detect and (re)store all changes to those files and regkeys.

In my opinion, it wouldn't be a good idea to "copy the data that was created" while Frostwire (and/or any other PAC-created-program) was running as a general feature of PAC. That would require to monitor (lets say) the "My Documents" folder before and after running the Portable App with regshot and detecting all changes. That will take quite a while (worst-case: minutes) before and after running the Portable App. And what if you also stored/changed pictures, documents, spreadsheets, ..... while running Frostwire??? All those new or changed documents should be copied to the PA-drive as well. On a next system, all those documents would be copied to the system again, etcetera.

But, while I think it isn't a good general feature for PAC, there is a relatively simple solution for you (if you know or are willing to learn anything about AutoIt). You would probably need a 4-lined script to

  1. FileCopy('source', 'dest', 8 ) the Frostwire-datafolder to the host
  2. ShellExecuteWait('filename') the executable created with PAC
  3. FileCopy('source', 'dest', 1) the Frostwire-datafolder back to the PA-drive
  4. DirRemove('folder') the Frostwire-datafolder from the host.

Hope I helped you a bit on this and that you understand my doubts on putting the "copy the data that was created" feature in PAC...

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Nathan9222
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Some requests....

That u can remove the .ini file and put something where it would automatically change where to get the files(such as if i move it to another folder i wont have to modify the .ini to tell it where the program is) and also would it be possible if u could make it so it has folders like the ones here such as (app,other,data) and have the program u installed to the usb moved to the data folder so everything is organized. Also great app.

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
Mahatma Gandhi,
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maroesjk
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Folders & Stuff

I did not plan a "mover" for the applications. It would require to edit both the *.ini and *.reg to make it work. I'll think about it.

The main reason why I chose different folder-names in the first place was to make it obvious that the PortableApp was created with PAC, instead of being a PortableApp downloaded from this site. Changing the folders to the general folders used here crossed my mind a few times however. I'll rethink it!

Both features might show up in version 0·96 beta or higher. It surely won't be in version 0·95, which I plan to post soon. That version will try to solve those "Variable used without being declared"-errors mentioned below...

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DJHasis
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Having driver-support in portable software

Is it possible to make a portable program that also needs windows drivers that are made when the installation is done.
Like VirtualBox has it's own usb and network drivers.
I haven't yet tried but would be nice to know if it would work or it could be done to work.

rab040ma
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The USB and Network drivers

The USB and Network drivers generally need to be installed, which is something only an Administrator can do. Most of the programs around here try to avoid that, since we wouldn't want to rely on them working in a locked-down environment (e.g. a hotel computer while traveling).

There's nothing that says Portable Apps couldn't install drivers if the right privileges are present. It's usually a pretty straightforward process. Viruses and Trojans do it all the time. Blum

MC

cehk
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Cannot download Portable App Creator 0·94 beta

I cannot download it form RapidShare. Can any one upload the file to the other place?

Vincent C.Y. Tsui

Patrick Patience
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Yep

Gimme a minute.

Edit: See Main Post for Latest Version

cehk
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Thx

Thanks for your uploaded file.

Vincent C.Y. Tsui

Ianmoerkans
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Wath is Portable apps creater dude?

Is it not illegal?

[Removed duplicate comment - Moderator PP]

Be use Portable apps

solanus
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Portable Apps Creator is

a tool for making non-portable applications into portable ones.
It is not, in itself, illegal.
But like any tool, it can be used for good as well as evil.

For example: You can legally buy a lock pick, and it's fine to use if you've locked your keys in your car. But if you use it to break into someone else's car, that's illegal!

I made this half-pony, half-monkey monster to please you.

linkhyrule5
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Line -1 error

I believe I am getting the same problem as several others:

AutoIt Error

Line -1:

Error: Variable used without being declared.

Edit: I ran Portable Apps Creater.au3, got this:
E:\iadmin\My Documents\2G_U3_Backup\PortableApps\Portable_App_Creator_0_94_beta\Source\Portable App Creator.au3 (94) : ==> Variable used without being declared.:

Line 94

I did a search for $RegShotTitle, its not used in the code before that. Interestingly, I don't believe its ever defined; I can't find the definition in that file.

maroesjk
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$RegShotTitle should be declared

Normally, $RegShotTitle is declared in the "InstallHelperFiles" function, which is called in the "Welcome" function. Nevertheless, I'll take an other look at the code, see if I can find out what goes wrong. Maybe putting "Global $RegShotTitle = 'Regshot'" on top of the script could help?! At least your information helped a lot on where to search!
Could you point out which OS you are using. That might be of help too...

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patriziomunzi
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Line -1 Error

Hi all,

I had the same error as that in this topic.
PAC throws this error after having select the installation package of my application and click on NEXT button.

It seems again related to the $RegShotTitle variable..

Can anyone help me...?

Cheers

maroesjk
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Sounds like it

That will probably be the same error linkhyrule5 was mentioning in its post, indeed. I'll post a new version, which I hope addresses these problems, soon...

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patriziomunzi
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files names and folders inconsistence

By looking at the file "Portable App Creator.au3" I found some error in files and folders names.

For example if you look at the method "InstallHelperFiles" you can see that:
1) There are references to the folder "files" instead of "Files" (with a capitalized F) which is that in place in the PAC package
2) There is a reference to the file "aut2exe.exe" instead of "Aut2exe.exe" which is that created by the PAC compiler
3) There is a reference to "portable app shortcut.au3" instead of "Portable App Shortcut.au3"

maybe you should include also a files consistence analysis in your next release.

I hope I've been useful

linkhyrule5
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OS

Win32, XP pro, intel core 2 duo

Nathan9222
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Yeah that would be cool if u did

yeah i have been trying to do that whole script but quick question would i add it to the PAC one or where would i put the script??? cause i want to try to avoid doing something i might regret. Also what would i put in the filecopy ones since there are two? on the first one that says the frostwire data folder to the host(i dont get where i need to put it)and also do u want me to copy frostwire datafolder to my usb afterwards?

FileCopy('source', 'dest', 8 ) the Frostwire-datafolder to the host

FileCopy('source', 'dest', 1) the Frostwire-datafolder back to the PA-drive

is there a command for auto it that after i run the app PAC made that i could just save my app data for frostwire on my usb then it would just open that, instead of it deleting the app data all the time?

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
Mahatma Gandhi,
Indian political and spiritual leader (1869 - 1948)

Nathan9222
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I figuired out what u meant

my app data for frostwire is in my account and i wanted to use it on another computer. what is the command that would automaitcally find out where it is so it can delete it.

DirRemove("?????", 1) would there be some @user or something like that

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
Mahatma Gandhi,
Indian political and spiritual leader (1869 - 1948)

maroesjk
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in my account

I don't know what you mean with "in my account", but you are probably referring to 'c:\documents and settings\[username]\application data\[folder]' I guess. In AutoIt, thats the folder/macro: @AppDataDir & '\[folder]'

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maroesjk
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Portable App Creator 0·95 beta

After more than 500 downloads of the previous version of Portable App Creator, it's time for a new version again. Most of the changes are under-the-hood behavioral changes no-one will probably notice. Most important is the fact that I changed the script in order to try to avoid the 'Variable used without
being declared'-errors. I hoped I solved these errors, but I'm not sure as I never experienced those problems myself...

No real new functionality, just some small modifications again:

  • Created a workaround in Portable App Creator for ancient 16-bit installers.
  • Changed the way some variables were declared. This might solve the ‘Variable used without being declared’-errors which were mentioned by some people.
  • Some small visual and behavioral changes in all scripts

You can now download Portable App Creator 0·95 beta (MD5: 1656927EFB85E29BD858593B88FC5024, only 335 kB). Please see the readme-file supplied with this package to find out what you need to do before you can use "Portable App Creator".

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patriziomunzi
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files names and folders inconsistencies

Did you consider in this last release my last post about files names inconsistencies??

How can I fix that issue..?

maroesjk
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Issue?

I missed your previous post until today, sorry for that. I don't see the problem on the inconsistencies you mentioned, which are all about (non-)capitalization of file- and foldernames. Windows and AutoIt / AutoIt-scripts work case-insensitive with all files and folders, so mixing capitals and normal letters is absolutely no problem according to me. I never heard of anyone having problems on that part.

So if your question is: "How can I fix that issue..?", I'd say: "There's no need to fix it". Wink

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DJHasis
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0.95 PAC can't compile correctly Portable Application Creator

with the new 0.95, it searched for autoit, didn't find it so it downloaded it, installed it and compiled Portable Application Creator but when it tried to open it: windows gave a error-report saying that this isn't proper win32-exe (translated from a Finnish-windows). I looked at the exe-file and its size was 0 bytes.

maroesjk
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I'll take a look

Thanks for mentioning that. I just reproduced and found the problem. It has been fixed in the 0·95·1 beta. You can find the new version in the post below!

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maroesjk
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Portable App Creator (version 0·95·1 beta)

After more than 500 downloads of Portable App Creator, it's time for the 0·95 version(s). Most of the changes are under-the-hood behavioral changes no-one will probably notice. Most important is the fact that I changed the script in order to try to avoid the 'Variable used without being declared'-errors. I hoped I solved these errors, but I'm not sure as I never experienced those problems myself...

No real new functionality, just some small modifications again. Listed are the changes in version 0·95 beta and 0·95·1 beta:

  • Created a workaround in Portable App Creator for ancient 16-bit installers.
  • Changed the way some variables were declared. This might solve the ‘Variable used without being declared’-errors which were mentioned by some people.
  • Some small visual and behavioral changes in all scripts.
  • Fixed a small issue in PAC Compiler, when unpacking the self-extracting RAR from the AutoIt website.

You can now download Portable App Creator 0·95·1 beta (MD5: 1656927EFB85E29BD858593B88FC5024, only 335 kB). Please see the readme-file supplied with this package to find out what you need to do before you can use "Portable App Creator".

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand Binary and those who don't.

HalosGhost
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ERROR

I have the 95-1 beta, and I must say, I do enjoy the idea of being able to create my own portable apps. However, when I try to compile PAC, it can't find autoit files, so it downloads them, and afterwards, i try to compile it, and an error comes up that says, "Error changing icon: Unable to read icon or icon was of the wrong format." After that, the compiler closes. If you could figure out what is wrong with it, that would be great, thank you. Keep up the good work.

maroesjk
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Unpacking AutoIt-v3-SFX.exe

In order to minimize the time a user should wait while the SFX was unpacked, I introduced a new routine in 0·95 and 0·95·1 beta. The routine killed the upacking-process after the required AutoIt files were detected. Because of the way the SFX handles files, this may have lead to erroneous behaviour on some systems (though it worked on my system). I deleted the new routine again in version 0·95·2, so now the whole SFX is unpacked before the compiler continues.

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StephenQ
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Admin rights?

I have created 2 portable apps with this, Unreal Tournament Portable and Peggle Portable. Both when i open the launcher on a limited user with restrictions, i get a 'run as' dialog. Any idea why? how do i fix this? All other portable apps ive tested play well on these restricted pcs.

maroesjk
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Administrative rights

Because of the behaviour you mentioned, I retested the "Portable App Shortcut" script using a (normal) limited/restricted user account on XP and found the issue: the administrative requirement (meant for Vista only) erroneously was used for all Windows versions. I guess AutoIt didn't realy take the 'if ... then' construction into account. This must have been an issue since 0·91 beta. Strange that nobody mentioned it before!

In version 0·95·2 beta, I deleted the whole requirement for administrative rights. As far as I could see, administrative rights (for the shortcut) are only necessary when writing to the system32-folder. Therefore, I introduced some extra code to avoid writing to the system32-folder if the user doesn't have adminstrator rights. I recreated all shortcuts to my PAC-created PortableApps and retested them all. Most applications - even those that normally do write to the system32-folder - seem to work fine using a (normal) limited/restricted user account on XP now. Only some applications that really need administrative rights (p.e. a portable partitioning tool) won't work if they lack admin rights.

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maroesjk
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Portable App Creator (version 0·95·2 beta)

I tried to repair the issues StephenQ and HalosGhost mentioned. The issue StephenQ mentioned invoked deletion of the requirement for administrative rights. Because of that deletion, I introduced a new check to see if the PortableApp uses the system32-folder while the user doesn't have administrative rights. In that case, an informational message will be shown for (maximum) 5 seconds.

I recreated all shortcuts to my PAC-created PortableApps and retested them all. Most applications - even those that normally do write to the system32-folder - seem to work fine using a (normal) limited/restricted user account on XP now. Only some applications that really need administrative rights (p.e. a portable partitioning tool) won't work if they lack admin rights. As I lack a Vista system (any sponsors? :)), the current behaviour hasn't been tested using that OS.

Listed are the changes in version 0·95 beta, 0·95·1 beta and 0·95·2 beta:

  • Created a workaround in Portable App Creator for ancient 16-bit installers.
  • Changed the way some variables were declared. This might solve the ‘Variable used without being declared’-errors which were mentioned by some people.
  • Changed (back) the routine to unpack the self-extracting RAR from the AutoIt website.
  • Removed the administrative requirement (meant for Vista only) in Portable App Shortcut: it erroneously was used for all Windows versions. Introduced a new check to see if the PortableApp uses the system32-folder while the user doesn't have administrative rights.
  • Some small visual and behavioral changes in all scripts.

You can now download Portable App Creator 0·95·2 beta (MD5: 1C4E829978EDA3ABCECFCEBD5B5A5977, only 335 kB). Please see the readme-file supplied with this package to find out what you need to do before you can use "Portable App Creator".

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HalosGhost
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Still want to try out this program but...

Now that I've updated to 0-95-2 beta, when I first start PACompiler, it gets an error. It says: "Line -1:" a blank line, and then "Error:" It says nothing after either colon. I really do want to use this program, and I have a couple things I have planned, but until it decides to work for me, I don't really have a choice in the matter.

maroesjk
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Delete

Did you delete the old location where you unpacked (and tried to run) 0·95·1 beta? You might still have corrupted AutoIt-files at that location which could cause this problem...

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HalosGhost
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Deleted

First I deleted the entire folder which had PACompiler on it, then I got new beta, and the Line -1 Error thing that I mentioned in my last post occurred on start of launcher.

maroesjk
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Reproducing your error

I may have managed to reproduce the error you are mentioning. If I only unpack "PAC Compiler.exe" and not the other files/folders in the package, I get the error you showed when running the exe. Please make sure that you unpacked all files/folders from the package. Some helper-files (in the files-, icon- and source-folder) are needed to make PAC Compiler run correct.

If you did unpack all files/folders, I have no idea what possibly could go wrong. Anyone else who's experiencing this problem?

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HalosGhost
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Nope

I unpacked all files and folders, so I have no idea whats going on either. Wait, do I need to unpack the stuff to a certain place or under a certain folder name?

P.S. That read-me has nothing in it that tells about what you need for PAC. It just tells the history about PAC and it's components.

DJHasis
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Ask if you have autoit or download

Would be nice that when you start pac compiler, it won't automaticly search autoit. It would ask if you have it on your hdds and if you have it then it would search it or you could manually tell where it is located. And you have also an option to straightly download autoit without searching it.
Every time a new version of PAC comes, I delete the old version and I recompile it again to get rid of bugs and would be nice if you could make this faster.

maroesjk
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Automation

I see what you mean, but I automated that part because of the fact that many people wouldn't know where to point to. If you just unzip all files in the (newly downloaded) PAC-package to the location where the old version was, it'll overwrite the old files when needed. As the necessary AutoIt files are not included in the package, these files will remain there (in the Files folder). As PAC Compiler searches for the necessary AutoIt files in the Files folder first (and will find them), compilation will take place right away.

That's how I do it myself. I never delete the necessary AutoIt files from my PAC-folder(s), unless a new(er) version of AutoIt is released...

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StephenQ
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Awesome

Thanks for the great prompt response and fix. Now i can play UT or Peggle anywhere.

I only just realised you can skip the installer, so i can just copy the program folder back over and make the shortcut again. Easy as.

Okay im now getting massive problems with PAC. Upon selecting an installer it mentions a variable being -1. I'm running it on XP Pro SP2 on a virtualbox PC, so it should be completely unaffected. It ran once before and now it refuses to run, even after restoring it to the saved state just after SP2 has been installed.

I tried compiling it again, but PAC Compiler is reporting Line -1: Error: and nothing more, after not finding any autoit files.
Also there should be an option that it doesnt search every hard drive for the files, chances are most people dont have them, so add in a skip option.

Its a virtually untouched fresh XP install on virtualbox that has been restored to. Makes no sense to me.

maroesjk
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dot instead of comma

I found out there was a dot (.) somewhere, instead of a comma (,). Eliminated that problem in 0·95·3 beta. Sorry for this!

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maroesjk
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Portable App Creator (version 0·95·3 beta)

Because of the (reoccuring) error StephenQ mentioned, I debugged PAC Compiler again and found a (hopefully) last glitch in that script. So here's a new version...

Listed are the changes in version 0·95 beta, 0·95·1 beta, 0·95·2 beta and 0·95·3 beta:

  • Created a workaround in Portable App Creator for ancient 16-bit installers.
  • Changed the way some variables were declared. This might solve the ‘Variable used without being declared’-errors which were mentioned by some people.
  • Changed (back) the routine to unpack the self-extracting RAR from the AutoIt website.
  • Eliminated a small glitch / error in PAC Compiler.
  • Removed the administrative requirement (meant for Vista only) in Portable App Shortcut: it erroneously was used for all Windows versions. Introduced a new check to see if the PortableApp uses the system32-folder while the user doesn't have administrative rights.
  • Some small visual and behavioral changes in all scripts.

You can now download Portable App Creator 0·95·3 beta (MD5: F33F82A6AB6F67EEDC9B42A25A47E342, only 333 kB). Please see the readme-file supplied with this package to find out what you need to do before you can use "Portable App Creator".

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand Binary and those who don't.

HalosGhost
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FREEDOM!!!

Okay, so with new beta, I finally got the entire thing to work. Thank you. I do have one question, Does this still need to have a clean install for it to get an app into portability?

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