PortableApps.com Releases 1.1 Update to the PortableApps.com Platform and Suite

John T. Haller's picture
Submitted by John T. Haller on May 22, 2008 - 12:30am

PortableApps.com Flash DrivePortableApps.com is proud to announce the 1.1 release of the PortableApps.com Platform and the PortableApps.com Suite, making it easier than ever to carry your favorite software with you. This new update makes the most popular portable software platform even better than before. Now you can take your digital life with you on your USB flash drive, iPod, portable hard drive, memory card or other portable device. Browse the web, check your email, chat online, listen to music, keep your passwords secure, work on documents, check your datebook and even play a few games... all on the go. And, as always, it's all open source and completely free.

The PortableApps.com Platform 1.1 and the PortableApps.com Suite (Standard and Light Edition) are available for immediate download from PortableApps.com.

Read on for more details...

Included Applications

PortableApps.com ScreenshotAll versions of the PortableApps.com Suite include the integrated PortableApps.com Menu (pictured at right) and the PortableApps.com Backup utility along with a set of custom icons, an autoplay configuration, folders and a quick start shortcut. In addition, the packages include:

*Note: The Light Suite includes AbiWord Portable (word processor) instead of OpenOffice.org Portable.

New In PortableApps.com Platform 1.1

Multilingual - The PortableApps.com Menu is now localized into 33 languages so whether you speak English, Russian, Japanese or Romanian, you can see the Menu in your own language. Just click Options - Language and select the language of your choice.

Wallpaper Swapper - The wallpaper swapper is built right into the platform so there's no need to add an extra app. Just place a file called portableapps_wallpaper.bmp in your Documents\Pictures on your drive and the platform will swap it for the Windows background of the machine your on and swap it back when you're done.

Movable - Now you can drag the menu to any area of the screen you'd like. It'll remember where it was when you use it again, even when you move to another PC with a different screen resolution.

120dpi Support - The menu now scales as do all menu components for higher resolution displays making it much easier to read.

Tray Right Click - There is now a right-click in the tray so you can have quick access to your directories or to close the platform.

Personal Picture - Now you can personalize the menu with your own personal picture in the upper right corner. Any 48x48 bitmap or JPG will work. Just click it to set it.

Eject Button - The eject button closes the menu and launches the Windows safe eject dialog making it easier to safely eject your device.

Improved Installer - The Suite and Platform are available within a full PortableApps.com Installer making installations and upgrades a snap.

Other Features and Bug Fixes - There are dozens of other bug fixes and features added including: global hot key (WINDOWS+P), Page Up / Page Down to scroll, uninstallers filtered, the ability to rename the drive just by clicking its name in the menu, advanced options in the INI and more!

Installing and Upgrading

First time installers can download their choice of the PortableApps.com Platform weighing in at only 1MB, the full PortableApps.com Suite at 113MB or the PortableApps.com Suite Light Edition at 35MB. Just run the installer and choose your drive. When done, the Platform will start automatically.

As with all our releases, upgrades are a snap. Just download the Platform or Suite Edition of your choice and install it right to the same location as your existing installation. All your data and settings will be kept and your portable apps and Menu will be upgraded for you. PortableApps.com's in-place upgrades make it easy.

Download Today

The PortableApps.com Platform 1.1 and the PortableApps.com Suite (Standard and Light Edition) are available for immediate download from PortableApps.com/download.

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Comments

First comment! Yay for new suite release! Thank you John for all your hard work on this. Great to have it updated and have those new features!

Thanks.

I used Portable Start Menu for a while before switching back to the version 1.1 of the Platform, and found the eject functionnality pretty well done.

It attempt to gracefully close any opened files from the USB key, and automatically eject the key when completed. Click on it, and remove the key when prompted. A similar behavior might be more than desirable for such an application.

By the way, nice job for the launcher Biggrin !

Thanks John.

We have waited a long time for this, and it looks worth the wait. Thanks for all your hard work.

... lets see those 1000 thank yous... Blum

I'm just kidding, don't take down Drupal now. Blum

Steve Lamerton's picture

John, thanks for all the hard work that goes into the entire project.

He may have set it like that as there's a link to the suite on the front page, and this story will be copied verbatim to various other locations.

hi, first of all PortableApps is great!

I've been using lots of these apps and follow update advices.
then, how can I easily update to the suite 1.1 just improving it with new features but leaving the apps as they were before?

thanks

upgrade. None of you Data will be touched!

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

The portable apps have been those that I tell everyone I can about them. I use them daily! Thanks again for all the hard work.

Hi, i was windwring if tou where making changes to the platform, this is good news, but, there is always a but Blum

I'm a big user currently with 35 app and more to install today, and i was wondering that a good improvement is a app organizer schema, with categories and other stuf, my sugestion is to take a look to the new kde app menu, you can see a screen shot in (http://www.kde.org/announcements/4.0/screenshots/kickoff-favorites.jpg) but using it would give a good idea of a good app menu.

Thanks to all and sorry about my poor english writing Blum

That photograph is awful. I would not download the next menu if the menu looked like that! Grose! I'd rather stay with an old version, rather than having a newer version looking like that! John, please, DON'T USE THAT, PLEASE! the looks looked great a year ago when I discovered PortableApps.com, and it still rocks! so don't change the theme. in stead use folders that say OpenOffice.org or games or utilities. but for pete's sake, DO NOT MAKE THE MENU LOOK LIKE THAT PHOTO!

LOL! You need to chill out man... Nobody wants to have PortableApps Menu look like that and mostly John. ricardojds was only talking about the ability to categorize Apps like in the menu on the screenshot. Nothing more, nothing less. Blum

Hi,

I suppose ricardojds suggested to integrate the functionality of KDE menu in to the suite not what it looks like. If you don't like KDE menu just see how the standard Win98 menu looks like.
By the way that would be good idea if I would be able to organize my apps. I use about 40 apps and it is hard to find what I'm loking for.

I'm back and now with a video Blum
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqZjADZ3l9Y
that gives a better ideia about whant i thinks is a good kickoff menu Blum and in about 4 or 5 mounths i can come an give some help, oh yeeeh! i'm going to became a software engineer lol, i hope that its this year that a finish lol Blum good work to you all!

So, there is no theme switcher or app renamer yet? I'll stick with R30, but fantastic work on this!

Simplifying daily life through technology

He has said renaming apps will be in 1.5 several times. As for theme switching, I think that should be implemented as well.

The developer formerly known as ZGitRDun8705

Well, very good job!!!

I still miss the ability to categorize apps like in geek.menu though...
But I think I'll come back to PortableApps as geek.menu is still buggy.

I noticed that there is no "Remove an App" link in the option though it is still in the locale files. Was it removed or forgotten?

I like the localization ability but there is no Greek language so I thought I'd make one:
http://www.4shared.com/file/48529193/f853cf75/Greek.html

Could it be included in the release? Thank you!

And again thanks for the good work!

Yes, a big THANK YOU to John for the hard work and great results!

And this is the kind of user we like -- someone who sees something they'd like included and then makes their own fix! Bravo!

Note: Nothing important, I just changed 3 letters to Capitals so they can match together. Link is the same.

downloading today but waiting for some clear time to backup for upgrade. Can't wait. So hard to be patient. Must maintain control......

I just... Wow Biggrin
What would my flash drive be like without portable apps... Id be using the stupid U3

"Bolshoye spasibo" (Thank you very much) for the suit and the Russian translation especially.

May the FOSS be with you!

Where can I get information on the advanced options in the INI? Which INI? What directory is it in?

Can I suggest to add support for multiple resolution wallpaper, like to be able to define a different wallpaper depending of the screen resolution ?

Like to have a portableapps_wallpaper_1280x1024.jpg, portableapps_wallpaper_1024x768.jpg, portableapps_wallpaper_1440x900.jpg ?

A 4:3 wallpaper doesn't look nice on a 16:10 screen.

Thanks a lot for this great release, I can't wait to try it out!

I was recently thinking about the eject button, and how useful it would be. I use PortableApps every day, and this new menu seems to be awesome!

Kevin Porter's picture

This is really cool, and really needed. Thank you so much, John, for all the hard work.

"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

im only getting the links to download version 1.0 and not 1.1, is 1.1 mislabeled as 1.0 or am i just missing something?

I love the new menu. But why bitmaps for wallpapers? It's great that you can change the wallpaper but a 1280x1024 bmp is 5MB. I only have

John T. Haller's picture

PNG theming is coming in 1.5 which will be released as an alpha soon (watch the forums).

Windows only supports BMPs for wallpaper images. It doesn't support JPGs. You can set a JPG as your wallpaper, but Windows first converts it to a BMP and then saves it to disc before displaying it. We would have to do the same and either store it on your portable device (which has the same space issue you're worried about) or load it, convert it to a BMP, save it to disc and then delete on exit each time you run the Menu.

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

since that picture is intended to be a wallpaper, convert it and delete the original in the portableapps folder and replace the jpg with the bmp, and what about animated gifs?

Well it all makes sense now. I kind of assumed it was a windows related limitation. Couldn't you:
1. Conver the image to BMP
2. allocate xMB of ram as diskspace
3. load BMP into ramdisk?
Something like booting a compressed os. 5MB of ram isn't going to slow anyone down. I don't know exactly what I'm talking about so w/e. Anyways, thanks for the wallpaper switcher : p.

Hi, the upgrade went perfectly. All my existing apps are fine!
I'd like to play with the Personal Picture but there's nothing to click on in the upper right corner. I bet I'm missing something silly.
Same day, 30 seconds later!
Found it. Sorry.

I know I might have missed it if I didn't know you had to hover too.

The menu has improved. I love it. John, would you make the eject button like the one I've seen in the U3 a friend has? I pressed the eject button on her menu and thing that says that the device can be securely appears. It would be easier, faster, and even more practical than opening the window of safe removal.

LeGrandTaupier's picture

Menu 1.1 is such a great leap forward compared to menu 1, makes us wonder what's next!!!

Maybe that improved eject button, but you can't complain, the eject button as it is is already nice and it is one of the latest features on the PortableApps menu...

I sell ice in the winter
I sell fire in hell
I am a hustler baby, I sold water to a well...

Hi John,

I'm so happy you've now released the proper version of PortableApps Menu 1.1! I'll let you know if Australian PC User puts your fabulous creation on their cover DVD like they did last year (which is how I came to know and love PortableApps.com!!!!

Keep up the great work! Oh and to everyone else, you have all released such great programs for John to include in the menu and/or in the Applications download section! I swear if I could find the need to use all the programs on this site, I sure would, but at the moment, I've only got a 1GB SanDisk Cruzer Micro, so that is going go be so useless.

I can't wait to see what is going to happen with the future of PortableApps like the theme switching and the categories, that is all going to be fantastic!

As I said above, I'll let you know when PC User puts an article about your cool apps in their magazine and puts all the menus on their cover DVD like they did last time! You never know, if I can find a way to tell Australian PC User, you could even be in the August edition. It's probably too late for the July edition.

Thanks again for the wonderful, fantastic, cool PortableApps!

Bradley

Bradley Eaton
(eltonbrad)

The "Read on for more details..." link above points to this page (self referencing). That should probably point elsewhere like https://portableapps.com/suite

Cancer Survivors -- Remember the fight, celebrate the victory!
Help control the rugrat population -- have yourself spayed or neutered!

The Platform menu needs to have scrolling work with hovering over the up/down arrows before this become functional for me. Hitting the mouse 60+ times to scroll down to a program that starts with a "W" takes a loooong time. Browsing the drive directory structure "manually" takes a lot less time with less "clicking".

Cancer Survivors -- Remember the fight, celebrate the victory!
Help control the rugrat population -- have yourself spayed or neutered!

John T. Haller's picture

There are multiple ways to scroll. As you know, you can click the buttons with your mouse (that's probably the most inefficient). The mouse wheel is the most efficient way. You can also use the Page Up and Page Down keys to scroll a full page at a time. And you can use the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard as well. Those can be held down to keep scrolling.

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

Can you tell I only have this on one drive and don't use it at all? Smile

Cancer Survivors -- Remember the fight, celebrate the victory!
Help control the rugrat population -- have yourself spayed or neutered!

Having implemented all the mentioned scroll options is great!

Despite of this, implementing scrolling on hovering over the up/down arrows will improve the Platform Menu even a little more (since, not only novice, users expect it to work that way, these days).

Please make a note of this for consideration for future inclusion.

It would be great if you included a feature that lets you chose exe files from programs that arn't portableapps to not include in the menu, because programs that arn't portable apps often have multiple exe files that don't run the program and clogg up the menu.

thanks john (I DON'T SPEAK ENGLİSH) :s:s SORY THANKNS

I just loaded the new apps suit. I cannot get open office to work. The splash screen comes up, but the app does not start. Any ideas?

the integrity of your dowanload?
To do so, you can use WinMd5Sum and compare the number Winmd5Sum calculated with the one on the download page. If they dont match you have a corrupted download.

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

first of all, great work john!
i have a quick question though. i like to have the portableapps folder and the autorun.inf file invisible so that the window isn't cluttered when i am exploring the drive (also so that my brother doesn't mess with the files or something), but i noticed that after upgrading to the new version, the option is grayed out when looking at the folder properties (autorun.inf can still be made invisible).
anyway, is there any way around this so that i can hide the folder again?
am i the only one that does this?

John T. Haller's picture

Support questions go in the support forums so people can follow along the questions and answers.

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

first of all i want to say that this is the best thing i ever found to my pen drive... example: i have all my bookmarks of Firefox where i am! this is perfect! before portable apps (Firefox portable in this case) i had to send myself an e-mail with the links i most use (a loooot of links hehehe example: one of my bookmarks folder have 35 links!).

well...

second of all Blum my suggestion passed in my mind right now! too late...

but can be used in next generation of PA...

is about the folders in the menu...

there is the Documents, Music, Image, Video and Explorer folders but could have the others we use... like i have one folder for my faculty and one folder for my job... it could be added in the PA menu!

thanks

Carpe Noctem

folders will be added in the next big release so stay tuned.

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

or am I just misremebering it.

Now it's:
PAM 1.1
-Documents
--Video
--Music
--Pictures
-PortableApps

Did it used to be:
PAM 1.0 and 1.1beta4
-Documents
-Video
-Music
-Pictures
-PortableApps

For some reason I thought it was.

Don't be an uberPr∅. They are stinky.

it wasnt.

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

I must have had on my old usb key:

PAM
-Documents
--Video
--Pictures
--Music
-Video
-Pictures
-Music
-PortableApps

Probably when I was moving folders around last year, I must have transfered my document folders back and forth and messed up final locations.

I do know I was thinking about why I had two sets of video,music and pictures when I was trying to figure out where to my wallpaper.bmp file so it would get picked up by the PAM. It didn't work until I did the Pictures folder inside the Documents folder.

Don't be an uberPr∅. They are stinky.

for me there is no reason to jubilate about 1.1

maybe i didn't discovered the real benefit after one week of testing. as like already written in https://portableapps.com/node/13590 the mods (yes i know it is just an unofficial mod) got already features, which are (eventually) planned for future releases of the official menu.

so no change/update needed imho.

Nice job - thanks... Just two notes to Personal picture feature:
- Is it possible to not have a light frame around it when instaled?
- What about .PNG image format support?

I'd just like to say thanks! I'm a relatively new user to portable apps but I find it invaluable.

On the main photo at the homepage, the PA Updater is in the menu!

Simplifying daily life through technology

I noticed that a couple of days ago. I was confused as well.

John T. Haller's picture

That was accidental when I was working on compressing the image. It's been removed.

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

So you use the updater, or you accidentally added the updaters image.

Simplifying daily life through technology

John T. Haller's picture

The updater was being tested with the 1.1 Suite and Suite Light releases. The image was included accidentally in the screenshot.

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

John, I am curious how the menu would look in blue. Could you make a picture or something?

Thanks for everything you do, John, to make Portable Apps easy and fun to use. When I found out that you can download apps to a jump drive, I went and bought a U3 Ready drive. About 3 months later I found this site through Kim Komando, dumped the U3 program and never looked back! It's awesome what you do. Keep up the GREAT work!!

I really enjoy your App, and have been using it for quite awhile now-

(2 port drives, 1 media player). The LEAST I can do for you is get my noodle to Source Forge and vote for ya. Many thanks and respect!