I just started using a PortableApps app in order to improve the page about that option on our FOSS wiki. I hope to add a page about how a portable version (as a complement to a normal install) can expand options.
Download & installation went well, except for a few minor ambiguity hitches regarding what was included in the Portable build.
But my big issue arose when doing support for a new user on Facebook. He had downloaded a Standalone (rather than the whole suite), then installed with selected his non-English language. But, when launched, the application was still in English! I am a monoglot and was pessimistic about whether I'd be able to do useful tests.
(I was able to discover the solution in an .INI setting that hadn't been updated from 'us-EN')
But my experiments had 3 items that could be addressed:
1) first & foremost, the installer should've set the dialect DefaultIfNotExists value in the Languages chunk of the .ini for the portable (This is probably a glitch in a single standalone installer.)
2) The installer's language selection label is English and lacks an icon. That might present a problem for users of non-Latin alphabets. It would probably be good if the translated word for the label 'Language:' was part of the menu item. e.g.:
language: english
idioma: español
langue : français
言語：日本語
Gengo: Nihongo
3) As the final part of the installation, there was a notice (in English) about file compatibility with previous versions. Once the other language had been installed, the rest of the installer GUI was in that language. But this final message was not.
I was installing the Italian dialect of GrampsPortable v5.1.3 from the Education category.
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Standalone installers generally don't set the language of the app within. It became too much work to keep up with them as every app sets languages differently and sometimes changes them. So, if you're installing an app without the platform, you're likely to get your system language (if the app supports that) or English.
The installer language selection is provided by NSIS. You can inquire with them about changes to it.
The notice at the end is a rarity when an app totally breaks with previous settings, often without notifying the user in the app at all. These are never translated as it would take too much time to do so.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!