PortableApps.com is proud to announce that PortableApps.com Launcher 2.2.1 has been released. The PortableApps.com Launcher™ allows developers, publishers and even technical end-user to portablize apps in PortableApps.com Format without needing to write any code. It's an easy to use multilingual launcher that makes creating portable apps a snap. Once you've updated your app to the current PortableApps.com Format Specification, you can use the PortableApps.com Launcher to handle registry keys, command line options and updating configuration files just by editing a simple INI file. This minor release bundles NSIS within. The PortableApps.com Launcher brings the power behind our launchers used in hundreds of apps to everyone. It's already used in many of our apps. And it's open source and completely free.
Update automatically or install from the portable app store in the PortableApps.com Platform.
Features
The PortableApps.com Launcher allows you to easily make your apps portable. It features:
- Proven NSIS core included within the builder
- Easy configuration with no coding required
- Automated language switching of apps with the PortableApps.com Platform
- Powerful settings file and directory moving
- Easy registry portablization
- Custom code in launchers where needed
- And many more features for making professional portable apps
- Works from command line and Send To (just pass the portable app's main directory, e.g. X:\PortableApps\FileZillaPortable)
- Licensed for use with free open source and freeware
- Commercial use by contacting PortableApps.com
For complete details, read the PortableApps.com Launcher Manual (also included with the app).
For creating portable apps, we recommend that you use the PortableApps.com Application Template 2.4 as a starting point.
Get Help Packaging for PortableApps.com
If you need help packaging your software in PortableApps.com Format or using the PortableApps.com Launcher, just post a note to the Development Forum and we'll help you out.
PortableApps.com Installer / PortableApps.com Format
PortableApps.com Launcher is packaged as a PortableApps.com Installer so it will automatically detect an existing PortableApps.com installation when your drive is plugged in. It supports upgrades by installing right over an existing copy, preserving all settings. And it's in PortableApps.com Format, so it automatically works with the PortableApps.com Platform including the Menu and Backup Utility.
Download
The PortableApps.com Launcher is available for immediate download from the PortableApps.com Launcher homepage. Get it today!
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Comments
Minor Update
For the curious, this is a minor update not based off the upcoming 3.0 work in source control. This release bundles the final NSIS-Unicode release within for use with PAL why the code for PAL 3.0 is updated to target NSIS 3.0.
Thanks, will incorporate
Thanks for the update. I'll incorporate the updated files into the 3.0 repo
Generator and Splash
I think it's just the generator, checksplash, and latestnsis that changed. I didn't incorporate anything else. It was getting in the way of NSIS Portable 3.0.
Make AIO
This version included the full version of NSIS. How about make a packet combine PAL, Installer and NSIS into one?
Different Versions and Purposes
They serve different purposes, use different versions of NSIS, and have different plugins. The whole reason I bundled NSIS within PAL for this maintenance release is because PAL's dependence on NSIS 2.x was holding back releasing NSIS Portable 3.0. The PortableApps.com Installer uses a minimal build of NSIS 3.0 bundled within with only the plugins needed for it. PAL 2.2.1 currently bundles the old NSIS-Unicode 2.46.5 Rev 3 build with all our custom plugins. In a later release, it will be using a minimal version of NSIS 2.46.5 and later a minimal version of NSIS 3.0 with only the plugins it needs. NSIS Portable will be a full package of NSIS with all the plugins needed to compile the PAL generator, Firefox Portable's Unicode launcher, Google Chrome Portable's ANSI launcher (moving to Unicode post NSIS 3.0 soon), and standard installers for local apps that developers need.
The original plan was to have NSIS, PAI, and PAL be separate packages that referenced each other. That was a bad call as development of one would hold back the other. Bundling them all as one package would be worse in terms of dependencies.
I thought Chris Morgan was
I thought Chris Morgan was back.
Sadly, no
Sadly, no. He hasn't been here for 1 1/2 years.