Whenever I start up Portable AbiWord, it creates an empty AbiSuite folder in C:\Documents and Settings\Owner. It's a minor detail that doesn't really affect anything, but I figured I should note it, this being a portable version of a program that shouldn't leave any files lying around on a hard drive after use.
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Yes, I also noted that.
In addition, it edits the registry by associating itself with the .abw and .zabw extensions.
Otherwise, a great app. Thanks!
The registry thing actually bothers me more than the local folder creation. For one thing, associating files with yourself without asking is bad design--the user may actually want that file extension associated with something else--and a portable application really shouldn't associate anything with itself, since the minute you remove the USB key, Windows can no longer open the application.
But I realize nothing can be done; this is a problem with AbiWord itself, not the Portable wrapper.
So set the wrapper to check for the key before launch, and if it wasn't there, delete it when it's done.
How many programs actually use the ABW association though? Is it really going to cause a problem?
~nm35 {blog} {projects} {standalone apps}
It's actually not extension-stealing I'm most worried about. It has more to do with the fact that I just don't like the idea of having file types associated with a transient application whose drive letter may change over time.
For the curious, this is now a known issue. I have a fix ready for the next release that should handle the problem.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!