This thread is outdated; 2.0 Beta 3 is now available.
The PortableApps.com Launcher is your PAL in making applications portable. It's a universal launcher for which you don't need to write code. Instead, it's configured with an INI file (which goes in App\AppInfo\Launcher\AppNamePortable.ini), and uses a splash screen in App\AppInfo\Launcher\splash.jpg.
Download the PortableApps.com Launcher 2.0 Beta 2 [630KB download / 1.3MB installed]
(MD5: 493182db50d03459b429017a4813464e)
Download the PortableApps.com Application Template 2.0 Beta 2 [115KB download / 195KB extracted]
(MD5: f58081d20bf55c360f674e4d68b91702)
To get a custom build of the PortableApps.com Launcher with custom icon and name (recommended), download the main PortableApps.com Launcher package and Unicode NSIS Portable and install them next to one another. Then run the PortableApps.com Launcher Generator and select your directory. (While you can make a non-Unicode build of the PortableApps.com Launcher currently, Unicode is the way we're headed and eventually we'll be requiring Unicode NSIS.) You will probably want the Unicode build of the PortableApps.com Installer, available from the Unicode NSIS development thread above.
Known Issues:
- Restarts / Multiple Instances / Secondary EXEs Unsupported - If an app restarts itself (for updates or plugins), allows multiple instances (and the first could be closed first) or you have secondary EXEs set to be waited for, the launcher will quit early. This is due to a bug in the Unicode handling of checking for running processes. This will be fixed in the next release shortly. Until then, you can compile an ANSI build yourself that will function properly. Or, if multiple instances is the only issue affecting your app, disable multiple instances for now. Update: you can also now build from the tip of the repository and the issue should be fixed.
Links:
- Current documentation (included as help.html; the most complete documentation)
- Using the PortableApps.com Launcher (from the Alpha thread, file names mentioned are now outdated).
- New manual (included in App\Docs; far from complete).
- Development repository
Release Notes:
- 2.0 Beta 2 (2010-03-16): Unicode build, various bug-fixes and a few new features (better language switching in particular). See comments in the 1.0 Beta 1 thread or help.html.
Discussion, notification of some changes and earlier release notes are available in the 1.0 Beta 1 thread.