PortableApps.com
Encyclopedia
PortableApps.com is a site offering portable
software
for Windows
.
The site was founded by John T. Haller and includes contributions from over 100 people, including developers, designers and translators.
and OpenOffice.org
. Soon the open source
suite of programs outgrew Haller's personal website and Haller moved it to a community site, PortableApps.com. The site currently hosts various projects created by forum members. The site is also used for bug
reporting and suggestions.
or later Most apps will also run under Wine
on Linux
-based operating systems. Older versions of many apps support Windows 95/98/Me, but no new releases support these systems.
documentation and store data in the Data directory, allowing for simple backup of data with the PortableApps.com Backup utility. Installers intended for use with the PortableApps.com menu should be NSIS
installers, generated with the PortableApps.com Installer, but can be compressed archives with self extractors, or any installer executable.
) and Suite Standard (400 MB) are packages containing the PortableApps.com Platform and certain popular apps for various tasks. The Platform by itself does not have any bundled applications, permitting users to only install what they want more easily. To View on the Suite Light and Suite Standard versions
The 2.0 Pre-Release 2 does not include any bundled apps.
Portable application
A portable application , sometimes also called standalone, is a computer software program designed to run independently from an operating system...
software
Application software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
for Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
.
The site was founded by John T. Haller and includes contributions from over 100 people, including developers, designers and translators.
History
The site and project started out of a portable version of Mozilla Firefox in March of 2004. John T. Haller then expanded the project to include Mozilla ThunderbirdMozilla Thunderbird
Mozilla Thunderbird is a free, open source, cross-platform e-mail and news client developed by the Mozilla Foundation. The project strategy is modeled after Mozilla Firefox, a project aimed at creating a web browser...
and OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org, commonly known as OOo or OpenOffice, is an open-source application suite whose main components are for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases. OpenOffice is available for a number of different computer operating systems, is distributed as free software...
. Soon the open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
suite of programs outgrew Haller's personal website and Haller moved it to a community site, PortableApps.com. The site currently hosts various projects created by forum members. The site is also used for bug
Software bug
A software bug is the common term used to describe an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program or system that produces an incorrect or unexpected result, or causes it to behave in unintended ways. Most bugs arise from mistakes and errors made by people in either a program's...
reporting and suggestions.
Compatibility
The majority of applications can run on most computers with Windows 2000Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the...
or later Most apps will also run under Wine
Wine (software)
Wine is a free software application that aims to allow computer programs written for Microsoft Windows to run on Unix-like operating systems. Wine also provides a software library, known as Winelib, against which developers can compile Windows applications to help port them to Unix-like...
on Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
-based operating systems. Older versions of many apps support Windows 95/98/Me, but no new releases support these systems.
Format
Application installers designed for use with the PortableApps.com menu follow the convention of using filenames ending in a ".paf.exe" extension, include HTMLHTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
documentation and store data in the Data directory, allowing for simple backup of data with the PortableApps.com Backup utility. Installers intended for use with the PortableApps.com menu should be NSIS
Nullsoft Scriptable Install System
Nullsoft Scriptable Install System is a script-driven Windows installation system with minimal overhead backed by Nullsoft, the creators of Winamp...
installers, generated with the PortableApps.com Installer, but can be compressed archives with self extractors, or any installer executable.
PortableApps.com Launcher
The PortableApps.com Launcher is used to make applications portable by handling path redirection, environment variable changes, file and directory movement, configuration file path updates and similar changes, as configured. The PortableApps.com Launcher allows software to be made portable without the need to write custom code or make changes to the base application. While some of the software packages released on PortableApps.com currently still contain their own custom launchers, the PortableApps.com Launcher is used in all new apps released.List of bundled applications in the PortableApps.com Suite
The Suite Light (150 MBMegabyte
The megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage or transmission with two different values depending on context: bytes generally for computer memory; and one million bytes generally for computer storage. The IEEE Standards Board has decided that "Mega will mean 1 000...
) and Suite Standard (400 MB) are packages containing the PortableApps.com Platform and certain popular apps for various tasks. The Platform by itself does not have any bundled applications, permitting users to only install what they want more easily. To View on the Suite Light and Suite Standard versions
- Mozilla Firefox
- Mozilla ThunderbirdMozilla ThunderbirdMozilla Thunderbird is a free, open source, cross-platform e-mail and news client developed by the Mozilla Foundation. The project strategy is modeled after Mozilla Firefox, a project aimed at creating a web browser...
- Mozilla SunbirdMozilla SunbirdMozilla Sunbird is a free and open source, cross-platform calendar application that was developed by the Mozilla Foundation, Sun Microsystems and many volunteers...
- ClamWinClamWinClamWin is free, open source antivirus software for Microsoft Windows. It provides a graphical user interface to the ClamAV engine.- Features :* Scanning scheduler ....
- PidginPidgin (software)Pidgin is an open-source multi-platform instant messaging client, based on a library named libpurple. Libpurple has support for many commonly used instant messaging protocols, allowing the user to log into various services from one application.The number of Pidgin users was estimated to be over 3...
- Sumatra PDFSumatra PDFSumatra PDF, also known simply as Sumatra, is a free, open source, lightweight PDF, DjVu, XPS, CBZ and CBR reader for Microsoft Windows, written by Krzysztof Kowalczyk....
- KeePassKeePassKeePass Password Safe is an open-source password management utility for Microsoft Windows, with unofficial ports for Linux, Mac OS X, and a variety of other systems.-Cryptography:...
- SudokuSudokuis a logic-based, combinatorial number-placement puzzle. The objective is to fill a 9×9 grid with digits so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3×3 sub-grids that compose the grid contains all of the digits from 1 to 9...
- Mines-Perfect
- CoolPlayer+
- PNotes
- LibreOfficeLibreOfficeLibreOffice is a free and open source office suite developed by The Document Foundation as a fork of OpenOffice.org. It is largely compatible with other major office suites, including Microsoft Office, and available on a variety of platforms...
- OpenOffice.orgOpenOffice.orgOpenOffice.org, commonly known as OOo or OpenOffice, is an open-source application suite whose main components are for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases. OpenOffice is available for a number of different computer operating systems, is distributed as free software...
(only in the Standard suite - it replaces AbiWord which is in the Light suite) - AbiWordAbiWordAbiWord is a free and open source software word processor. It was originally started by SourceGear Corporation as the first part of a proposed AbiSuite. Development stopped when SourceGear changed their focus to Internet appliances. AbiWord was adopted by some open source developers and AbiWord...
(only in the Light suite - it replaces OpenOffice.org which is in the Standard suite)
The 2.0 Pre-Release 2 does not include any bundled apps.
See also
- Comparison of application launchersComparison of application launchers- Windows :- Linux :- Mac OS X :Although arguable, some consider desktop search tools to be application launchers as well, given their ability to quickly find and launch indexed applications. Such desktop search tools able to launch applications as well include Spotlight or Google Desktop...
- List of portable software
- Portable applicationPortable applicationA portable application , sometimes also called standalone, is a computer software program designed to run independently from an operating system...
- Portable application creatorsPortable application creatorsPortable application creators allow the creation of portable applications . They usually use application virtualization.- Creators of independent portable applications :...
External links
- PortableApps.com - Official Site
- CNETTV.com Video
- Download.com editors' review