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Using and Updating Multiple Copies of the Same App

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April 28, 2016 - 11:22pm
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Using and Updating Multiple Copies of the Same App

Hi John and the team,

Firstly, thank you for adding the ability to use and update multiple copies of the same app. I have just one small request:

Rather than having to rename the nth copy of an app to AppNamePortable_Copy_n, would it be possible to amend the app slightly so we can use user specified folder names so that we don't have to keep a spreadsheet to remember that, for example, FirefoxPortable_copy_6 is actually Firefox_banking?

Could the platform app pick up the folder names too, so that a copy of an app named FirefoxPortable_Banking in Windows Explorer would appear as that in the platform app? Would make for a lot less confusion!

Thanks for all your hard work.

Regards
3 cheers 4 JT Haller

PS and perhaps get rid of the need to retain the originally named app too for updates to work (FirefoxPortable in Windows Explorer in the example above)

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April 28, 2016 - 11:35pm
John T. Haller
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Rename in Platform

You can rename each copy within the PortableApps.com Platform which eliminates the need to worry about the folder names at all.

It's unlikely we'll remove the need to keep the main copy. That would add a bit to everyone's processing time for updates - especially on slower flash drives - for a niche feature that isn't used by most users. The easiest way to ensure you don't delete your main copy is to use that as your base or "general" copy of the app.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

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April 29, 2016 - 1:00am
(Reply to #2)
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> You can rename each copy

> You can rename each copy within the PortableApps.com Platform which eliminates the need to worry about the folder names at all.
Unfortunately I have about seven different versions, some of which I distribute to other people. Even if I don't get confused about which one is which, they will. It would be much easier if there was a way to have a descriptive name in the PortableApps.com Platform that matched what it was in Windows Explorer. Is that possible? If not, could it be?

> It's unlikely we'll remove the need to keep the main copy.
I guess for the main copy, just clicking 'hide' in the PortableApps.com Platform, so it doesn't show in the menu, would work.

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May 13, 2016 - 9:01pm
(Reply to #3)
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Ideas

A couple of further thoughts, John, as I do need a descriptor of some sort on the actual folder names so i can remember what I've set up for folks...

1) Could the Portable Apps updater do a 'begins with' match for updates so that as as it rolls through the PortableApps folder, it will update the contents of any folder if the beginning of the folder's name matches the standard folder name for an app. That way, users can append whatever descriptive text they need to and the updater will will still work? (It can't be many letters it needs to look at to uniquely identify the app.)
OR...
2) Could the Portable Apps updater look at a two-column section in the autorun.inf file with the first column identifying the folder path and the second which app to update it with?

Thanks again.
3c4JH

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May 14, 2016 - 12:05am
(Reply to #4)
John T. Haller
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Unrealistic, Two Years, Niche

The installer itself is coded to support the AppNamePortable and AppNamePortable_2, etc variants. It will not support installation to anything else. In order to support what you ask, we would have to code the installer and updater to support it and then all 300+ apps in all channels and all languages would have to be updated. That would likely take place over a period of 2 years. That's simply unrealistic given the other functions and apps we're implementing. It's a lot of work for a very specific niche case that falls outside the purpose of the platform and our apps. Additionally, it's technically illegal to distribute modified copies of Firefox to other people without Mozilla's permission. Any change, even changing bookmarks, is considered a modification in this context.

If you really need a window into the specific directories, just setup a shortcut to the FirefoxPortable_2 folder from your desktop or any other folder of your choice. You can name that shortcut whatever you want. Then you can copy those internal files to anywhere else you want. You could also have batch files that copy specific folders and files out (and they support relative paths). Or use another scripting language. There are a ton of options that don't involve manually changing the folder names.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

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