I have been trying to find the paths where apps put their config, recent, cache etc. One reason is so I can load the paths that track and store info of browsing and downloads in a file shredder and have a simple sweep at the end of a session clear everything out. I like also to be able to find the config and driver files so I can see how the program hangs together, and what I can customise etc. Searching through each app forum etc to find the info takes a lot of time, is frustrating, and generally unfruitful. Could we build a central repository of such info built along the lines of a simple spreadsheet, where a column lists the apps, which when you click on the app you get a column of the file types, ie ini, config, cache, driver, etc. When you click on the file you want it has the default layout and syntax explained. Each app developer should be able to fill in the blanks. This would help standardize the file structures, be a great resource, save a lot of time and posts to the forum to locate this info.
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Did you try searching using the search bar up there, or did you browse through the forums? In PApps, all settings (ie bookmarks, history, etc.) are stored in the Data folder. Cache is disable by default in FFP (saves writes). See, we don't modify the apps, we write a launcher that redirects/manages all the data. There isn't much a point of a repository because we only need to know how the settings are saved in the app. Drivers are only for hardware usually, unless it's something like KQEMU. File structures are currently being drafted here. I would believe that these file descriptions would be easier answered in the forusm of the apps.
And happy 4th day of being in the forums :D>
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I think it is sufficent to check the Apps data folder and the Launcher. If You find a reg file then it saves its stuff to the registry. If you find a settings file, it either is copied back and forth from/to the Appdata folder or copied back and forth from/to the executable folder or it uses a env var redirect.
"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate
I think ElJay meant for place where developers can share these path and registry usage information of non-portable apps. Because many people here have gone over the source code of many applications, placing what they have learned into a central, publicly-accessible place could be a massive time-saver to others interested in the same applications.
Yes, thanks, this is what I meant, and I agree that many people, especially the developers, have got this info. They probably don't see the value of the information because to them it is like second nature. They would see it as being obvious, and to anyone working with a app for a long time it would be obvious. Also I must admit that I have trouble reading text to get info, I like it presented in a logical form (like equations, spreadsheets, tables etc) or otherwise I can't visualize the structure of the program. I write a lot of assembler programs and I have to go through the process of a spreadsheet and pseudocode myself. Centralizing and cataloging file structures, paths etc., would save a lot of time and bandwidth, and would provide a resource to other developers. I do of course take the point that mostly portableapps are just modified to remove the writes to harddisk and traces on the host OS. However many developers seem to be migrating their apps to portable, and many people seem to extensive knowledge of the working of these apps. They could contribute to sum of knowledge that would assessable to all.
I do of course take the point that mostly portableapps are just modified to remove the writes to harddisk and traces on the host OS.
I understand your request, but in reality, most Portable Apps aren't modified at all. Most are launchers written in NSIS (some unofficial ones are written in AutoIt) that simply call the unmodified native app and clean up after it.
Some native apps take command line parameters or environment variables to make them behave in a more portable-friendly way; some do not.
As they are Open Source Software (OSS), the source code for all PortableApps.com launchers is included with the distribution, in the Portable App's Other\Source subdirectory. NSIS code is actually very assembler-like and very straightforward to figure out if you're used to reading ASM programs. That's the most direct way to find out what registry entries and filesystem objects are being tracked by the launchers. Hint: search for ExecWait (which launches the native app) in the launcher's NSI file and pay attention to all the cleanup activity that happens between there and the end of the script.
Hope this is helpful. -hea
I think you misunderstood him.
I think he wants something like a huge database. And If I want to make program X portable, I check the database ans (hopefully) it says:
Program X stores it settings by using the "APPDATA" variable.
Program Y stores its settings in the exe folder.
Program Z takes the "-setting "absolute-path-to-setting"" commandline to get the location where it stores its settings.
"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate
Yes thanks Simeon (and Eric Burdon and the Animals). What I would like is a huge database along the those lines. It would probably be more widely helpful to users, rather than just those working on the app, wishing to understand how the application is configured, what input comes from where, etc. It would of course be useful to people wishing to migrate apps to portable as well. However an all inclusive database is probably beyond what could be realized, if however we started with the ones that have been migrated, that are in the PortableApps Suite, that would be good. To take further what Haustin says in his reply about where I can find the info and how to go about getting it, these are good suggestions and I thank him for making them. If this forum was just a conversation between us as two people, my question would be wrapped up. However if the forum is to be a resource for other people with similar questions but from a different environment, the info available needs to be both general enough for wide useage across a range from newbie to old hand, and specific enough to answer the actual question. This reflects scalability (ie., one answer solves many questions). That is why I would like to see such a database, so that a lot of "how do I make it work, what has gone wrong' questions may not even need to asked.
right, since folks who have worked on the programs had to figure it out to make it work in the first place?
Of course, it took a long time before we got the database/wiki list of the programs that are in development/beta/release/etc. Maybe those structural points could be a part of that same wiki.
I'm talking about this list: https://portableapps.com/development/test though I thought there was another wiki somewhere else that had more info. Maybe not.
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