When I double click a file downloaded here to open a portalbe application a window opens asking for the language and then after clicking "OK" a second window says something like "...will assist you...through the installation...".
Does that mean there will be installed / copied / written anything to the registry or to somewhere else, what will stay on the PC (besides of a single folder with will contain the files of the application)?
All the other portables I use don't need an installation, after downloading a file of a portable application it can just be opened and then it is fully running without installing anything.
Nice greetings, Dirk
P.S. Where can I set to be notified of new replies to my posts?
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Welcome, and no, PortableApps.com apps don't get installed in the usual sense. All the installer does is conveniently unpacks the files and folders for you. It's to make it as simple as possible. But no, it does not write anything to the registry. A self-extracting archive would accomplish the same goal, but it is not as pretty.
One huge misconception folks have with software, thanks to Microsoft, is that it must be installed. All software starts portable (unless it's made with something like .NET or Flash) and must be designed to tie itself into the system. Microsoft software does this very well, but a lot of non-portable software just uses the registry for storing configuration, because it's there for that. But some ordinary Joe programmer writes some software, doesn't have it write to the registry, it just does something, it is portable. Same with installers. An installer's basic function is to get files and folders onto your computer. Everything else is icing on the cake.
Lastly, Drupal is the software running this message board, and either it does not have the reply notification feature, or it is turned off. I understand Firefox has an extension or two which will notify you on changes to a site (or page), but I've never used such a thing. What I'd do is, if I weren't tracking this forum, I'd mark the page by clicking the star icon. Then, later, I'd just start typing the name of the topic, and Firefox would pull it up. Wouldn't tell me if I had replies, but I'd be able to check in a hurry.
Many thanks for your welcome greetings and the very understandable answer, Nathan,
So, is there any drawback by using portables (on the own PC) instead of their (real) installed versions / correspondents? May be especially, if the PC shuts down in cause of an error, hangs or regarding security?
As far as I know all the portables on this website are updatable the same way like their correspondents, automatically or manually, aren't they? I am asking, because I tried to update a portable version of CDBurnerXP, but it installed the real and newest installer version then.
It seems to be a big advantage, that, if you would change the OS (e.g. from Vista to Win 7, XP to Vista) or / and the PC, you wouldn't have to install the applications (the portables) again on the new OS, but just use the already existing ones with all their custom settings you did by yourself.
Okay, that is a good idea (I use Firefox)...and I will try the RSS-Feed to get notified...
Thank you very much, nice greetings, Dirk
Windows 10 Home, 64bit
1. No drawbacks from using portables locally. In fact, I do this at home, simply because when I have a problem with Windows I can't fix, I reformat and reinstall. My wife is not tech savvy, and does not care what I do as long as she can get on the Net and IM, and everything works the same, bookmarks, contacts, all that. I successfully converted her to open source (Firefox and Pidgin), so I can even put Linux up there, as long as those two apps are there and configured for her. You get a splash screen which gets old, but it is not hard to disable it. As for shutdowns, they can cause the app to leave stuff behind, but (1) if it's your own computer, you don't care as much, and (2) next time you run and exit the app in question, it should clean up all its tracks.
2. Generally, don't automatically update a portable app. If it's from here, just download the new version and run the "installer". It will update properly. Portable apps from here only write to the root, app, and other folder. Since all your config files and profile stuff are in Data, they remain untouched through the update. No portable app from here should store personal/config info anywhere but Data. And you cannot update a portable app with the non-portable version, though in SOME cases, you can unpack the ZIP distribution into the app\AppName folder. Audacity (audio editing) is one such app.
3. That's what I do and that's why I do it. Only problem there is you gotta recreate all the shortcuts to the desktop, or rely on the PortableApps.com menu. The solution is to make all the desktop shortcuts once, then make a folder on the drive, and back up the shortcuts there. Then, after your reformat/reinstall, first use Disk Management (in admin tools) to ensure that the drive letter remains the same (change it if not), then copy the shortcuts back onto the desktop.
4. Not the RSS feed, unless you're seeing one I'm not. The RSS feed I see at the bottom is only for updated apps. Same with the one in the address bar.
PS - An external hard drive -- the kind with the 7200RPM speed and its own "brick" power supply -- is great for portable apps. If you go on vacation, you can (carefully) pack the drive and take it with you. With today's capacities, 1TB drives are getting cheaper. Pack all your music, video, pictures, and documents as well. Sky's the limit there.
Many thanks, Nathan.
1. & 3. That is absolutely super (and I should have done it this way earlier, substitute the installed versions by portable ones): so simply just use all software (as far as possible / available) in the portable version and a new installation (of the OS) is done very fast and easily, you just can transport all your data wherever you want to. And, yes (as to "PS") that is what I do, I use an external hard disc having all my own / personal data (on H:) and the portable applications. And all (real installed) programs are on the intern hard disc C:. So, if C: crashes / fails or otherwise the need be, just plug in the external hard where it is needed.
2. Okay, so updating is quite easy.
3. Yes, I have a backup of the desktop, respectively the folders I have icons / links in (categorized in "more" or "less used") to the applications. Yes, and I changed / set (the way I did it until now) the drive letter in the "Device Manager" (or what's it called) of Vista / XP.
4. Ah okay, I thought, it would be the RSS feed, it doesn't seem to work the way I thought it would. I meant that icon: http://temp.galerie-der-fotos.de/screenshots/rss.jpg.
Many thanks again, nice greetings, Dirk
By the way, when I want to access portable applications (e.g. of the suite) directly from the desktop (what seems to make sense), I just could add a link to the desktop to them in the usual way (so I did it until now) or is there another, better way?
Windows 10 Home, 64bit
Make your shortcut to AppNamePortable.exe in the app's root folder, NOT app\AppName\AppName.exe. In some cases you can do the latter, but it breaks portability. In other cases that would be bad.
You can get rid of the splash screen if you get tired of it. Go into the Other\Source directory, right click AppNameSettings.ini, Copy. Go back to where AppNamePortable.exe is, right click, paste. Open in Notepad, and change DisplaySplashScreen=True to =False. Might have a couple terms wrong, but that's the gist of it. The splash screen does not slow down loading of the app, but they get annoying after a while. Pretty though.
You can get rid of the splash screen if you get tired of it. Go into the Other\Source directory, right click AppNameSettings.ini, Copy. Go back to where AppNamePortable.exe is, right click, paste. Open in Notepad, and change DisplaySplashScreen=True to =False. Might have a couple terms wrong, but that's the gist of it. The splash screen does not slow down loading of the app, but they get annoying after a while. Pretty though.
Okay, I see now, that works easily, but it is a bit of effort to do it with each single ini file of an application. I am wondering, whether these copied ini (AppNameSettings.ini) files (to where the exes are), will be overwritten with updates.
Make your shortcut to AppNamePortable.exe in the app's root folder, NOT app\AppName\AppName.exe. In some cases you can do the latter, but it breaks portability. In other cases that would be bad.
Okay, so e.g. a path (link to) like this one: C:\files\software\programs\PortableApps\$[31]\SumatraPDFPortable\SumatraPDFPortable.exe
Nice greetings, Dirk
Windows 10 Home, 64bit
A few different apps will break randomly if you use $ in the paths including OpenOffice.org.
Some will also have an issue with a path any longer than X:\PortableApps before you get to the AppNamePortable directory (OpenOffice.org also has this issue).
It's best to install to X:\PortableApps for whatever drive you are using.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Thank you John,
I have thought the "$" is necessary, because PortableApps has installed / set it. I have unzipped the suite with Universal Extractor and the other time with 7Zip...and always there was a "$" in the name...strange...
Can I just rename the $-names?
I have copied the suite to H:\PortableApps now, but the error message stays the same, anything didn't change: https://portableapps.com/node/20941
Thanks again, nice greetings, Dirk
Windows 10 Home, 64bit
Never use universal extractor on any of our apps. They're not self-extracting zip files. They are portable installers and do more than just unzip files. Universal extractor won't work with them properly. Chances are it'll mess something up, like the path. And it'll break upgrades.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Okay, sorry, thanks John,
So the only way to install the suite is by double clicking / open "PortableApps.com_Suite_Setup_1.5.2_en.exe" and then install that way and not to unzipp with neither 7Zip nor any other unzipper.
Many thanks for your help, nice greetings, Dirk
Windows 10 Home, 64bit
Just wanted to add my comments. Like Nathan, I also use portable apps on my desktop computer, and for the same reason too. I got tired of having to take 2 hours to reinstall Windows, and then another 2 hours to reinstall software.
Using portable apps is the simple solution to saving 2 hours of my life. I create two partitions on my internal hard drive (C: and D:). Windows goes on C: and the portables apps (and my personal files) go on D:. Now, when Windows invariably dies and needs to be re-installed, I can simply wipe the C: drive, leaving all my portables apps and personal files in tact on D:, reinstall Windows and my apps are ready to go the second Windows is.
I use Toucan to sync my portable apps directory on D: with a USB flash drive or portable, external hard drive, so then I can also take all my portable apps with me on the go and I don't have to maintain two separate applications. e.g. My Firefox configuration on my desktop PC is exactly the same as is on my portable hard drive because it's an exact copy.
I even take this a stage further, and now each family member has their own portable apps directory on the Desktop PC. Granted it means that I have to update each copy of an application but most of my family only uses a small number of the portable apps (far less than what I use), so it's not a huge problem. Which brings me to another advantage that I find with PortableApps apps...
These portable applications are easy to update. I simply run the install (more of a "Wizard" than an install) and it takes care of everything for me, replacing the files that need to be replaced, but making sure I don't lose any of my settings. There's no need for me to uninstall previous versions, or copy my settings and restore them. I just follow the PortableApps install and I'm done.
These days there is very little software I install on my computer. I find the portable apps offer me almost everything I need, and it's much more convenient.
Yeah, I was thinking of that kind of backup/sync system as well. The only problem I'm running into is that I want it to do it automatically if I'm on a "known" computer.
I'll go look into the AHK manuals...later...
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Hello Darkbee.
Using portable apps is the simple solution to saving 2 hours of my life. I create two partitions on my internal hard drive (C: and D:). Windows goes on C: and the portables apps (and my personal files) go on D:. Now, when Windows invariably dies and needs to be re-installed, I can simply wipe the C: drive, leaving all my portables apps and personal files in tact on D:, reinstall Windows and my apps are ready to go the second Windows is.
Okay, so you do it the same way I do...or vice versa.
I even take this a stage further, and now each family member has their own portable apps directory on the Desktop PC. Granted it means that I have to update each copy of an application but most of my family only uses a small number of the portable apps (far less than what I use), so it's not a huge problem.
You may be could consider to use Synkron (http://synkron.sourceforge.net/ & https://portableapps.com/node/13024) to synchronize, it can synchronize / mirror the source with an unlimited amount of destinations (but may be Toucan can it also).
Yeah, I was thinking of that kind of backup/sync system as well. The only problem I'm running into is that I want it to do it automatically if I'm on a "known" computer.
Synkron can schedule...not exactly what you want...
I installed the suite in a sandbox, this is, what is installed by using the installer:
http://temp.galerie-der-fotos.de/screenshots/install-portapps.jpg
http://temp.galerie-der-fotos.de/screenshots/install-portapps-2.jpg
To just unzipp PortableApps.com_Suite_Setup_1.5.2_en.exe with 7Zip doesn't seem to work, after unzipping I get an error message when I double click StartPortableApps.exe: "Could not find StartPortableApps.exe".
Many thanks, Nathan, the "splash screen" is the window / screen showing the portApps logo, when starting an application, isn't it? It seems to last longer as the starting time is of e.g. PDF viewer Sumatra, so Sumatra is fully opened, but the logo stays some seconds longer.
Many thanks, nice greetings, Dirk
Windows 10 Home, 64bit
You may be could consider to use Synkron (http://synkron.sourceforge.net/ & https://portableapps.com/node/13024) to synchronize, it can synchronize / mirror the source with an unlimited amount of destinations (but may be Toucan can it also).
If I synchronize the apps with a "Master" copy, how do I make sure that I don't overwrite the individual settings of each user with the defaults? I suppose I could create some exception rules, but it would take some time to set up. I have thought about this very solution though. I would probably use Toucan to be consistent with trying to only use PortableApps apps.
Thanks for your comments.
Hello Darkbee.
If I synchronize the apps with a "Master" copy, how do I make sure that I don't overwrite the individual settings of each user with the defaults?
May be exclude the folder(s) "data".
I suppose I could create some exception rules, but it would take some time to set up.
Not that much time, I guess (do it for one user, then copy the settings). Once done, you can use it always without caring about it.
I would probably use Toucan to be consistent with trying to only use PortableApps apps.
May be see here (should be portable): https://portableapps.com/node/13024
Nice greetings, Dirk
Windows 10 Home, 64bit
I understand, so you are saying that the advantage with Synkron is that I can run the sync for all users at the same time, effectively a one-button-click updates all!
Otherwise I would still have to run the sync each time for each user and if that is the case then I might as well just run the portable apps install x number of times.
Maybe I should stop being so lazy and automate my process a little more!
I understand, so you are saying that the advantage with Synkron is that I can run the sync for all users at the same time, effectively a one-button-click updates all!
Yes, I would say so.
Maybe I should stop being so lazy and automate my process a little more!
You may be will need such kind of synchronization more often, so it will be amortized after some time, I assume...
Nice greetings, Dirk
Windows 10 Home, 64bit