PortableApps.com provides free portable software. PortableApps.com is a
trademark of Rare Ideas, LLC. The PortableApps.com Launcher is a
product of PortableApps.com.
PortableApps.com Format
The format in which PortableApps.com releases must be, providing a common
arrangement for all PortableApps.com applications so that data can be
backed up easily and the PortableApps.com Platform can easily find
application details. See PortableApps.com Format™ Specification for details.
PortableApps.com Launcher
A universal launcher for running portable applications without needing to
write code (this is what this documentation is for). It’s configured by an
INI file.
INI
A plain-text data storage technique used primarily in Microsoft Windows
for storing configuration. Used extensively by PortableApps.com. See
INI files for a discussion of the format along with details of how to use
it.
NSIS
Nullsoft Scriptable Installer System. A programming language generally
used for installers but used at PortableApps.com for various products
including the PortableApps.com Launcher. Unicode NSIS is a Unicode
branch of NSIS and is the preferred build of NSIS for usage at
PortableApps.com. NSIS Portable is available as an official release
from PortableApps.com, in ANSI and Unicode builds.
Unicode NSIS
A Unicode branch of NSIS, available from scratchpaper.com; a
portable edition is available as NSIS Portable (Unicode). All new
PortableApps.com projects use Unicode NSIS instead of ANSI NSIS builds.
Environment variable
An environment variable is a dynamic system variable. The PortableApps.com
Launcher utilises environment variables to aid string replacement. See
Environment variable substitions for details on the use in launcher.ini values and
[Environment] for a section in launcher.ini which can be
used to set environment variables.
Splash screen
An image which appears on the user’s screen while an application is
starting, generally to give an indication that something is happening.
See Splash screens for more details on their use in PortableApps.com
applications.
A test release of a portable application, generally of alpha or beta
quality. When a portable application is first developed, it bears this
label; in appinfo.ini, its DisplayVersion should end with
DevelopmentTestN, where N is the Development Test release number.
The Development Test release number starts at 1 and should go back down
to 1 again if there is a new release of the base application. These
releases may be very buggy and may also contain malware and so it is
generally a good idea to scan them before testing.
Pre-Release
A release of a portable application after it has gone through the
Development Test stage, just before it becomes an official
PortableApps.com release. Generally stable and deemed ready for release
after. In appinfo.ini, its DisplayVersion should end with
Pre-ReleaseN, where N is the Pre-Release release number. The
Pre-Release release number starts at 1 and should go back down to 1 again
if there is a new release of the base application. After final testing,
the application will be made an official PortableApps.com
release.
Official PortableApps.com release
Once an application has passed through testing as a Development
Test and as a Pre-Release, it is released officialy at
PortableApps.com as a supported portable application. It will have its
own splash screen (see Splash screens for details). The
DisplayVersion in appinfo.ini should not have any appendage unless a
revision is released.
Revision
If an official PortableApps.com release is found to have problems
or new features must be added for compatibility with the PortableApps.com
Platform, or for some other reason, a revision is released. The only
difference in the released package is that the DisplayVersion in
appinfo.ini will have RevisionN added to it. The revision number
starts at 2.
