Writing a non-portable app converter: need apps to test with

[portable-freak]

ok.... if u dont need portableapps help then where did u get QuickPortTemplate_v1.1? not portableapps by anychance?
i was just trying to help... but never mind ... jeez

Come down a little, will you? I am not twisting your arm, am I?
What I actually meant, people are requesting a portable version of a given application there and most of the time the answers are like "Oh well ... why don't you .. erm"
If you're a member there, fine but for the sake of me don't come and advocate here.

[redllar]

Andrew et. al., I think I've fixed the "can't find portaPotty dll except in original path from which the portable app was built" bug. You can download the new interim build here.

I didn't have time to make a proper distribution zip or readme or changelog so I only included the new exe plus some pngs for a new display mode (see change list below.) Gotta run now. Will check back late tonight.

Changes for PortaPotty 20060814-001 build:
o fixed bug where portaPotty dll was always required to be in the path from which it was used to build the portable version of an executable
o added "Build even if the executable may not run" optional to force a build of an application's portable executable that PortaPotty does not think will run correctly
o PortaPotty window should now position its checkboxes and resize itself according to the system font in use when it is started (no automatic re-adjustment when running yet)
o added ability to display itself as a 32bpp alpha-blended desktop image rather than as a basic window:
o must have the image file in the same directory as the PortaPotty exe
o the image file must be named PortaPotty.png (try renaming one of the supplied png files to see what they look like - the number at the end of the filename indicates the image size in pixels)
o the image file must be a 32bpp image with a valid alpha channel (I can't guarantee what will happen if it's not)
o the gdiplus dll must be in a directory in the path (it will crash with a "dll not found" message otherwise)
o drag-n-drop an executable onto the image as usual
o a menu will popup at the cursor's location
o select from the list or click anywhere outside of the menu to cancel the request
o left click-n-drag-n-drop somewhere in the middle of the image to move it around on the desktop
o right-click somewhere near the top of the image to bring up a standard system context menu (move, close, etc.)
o quit via Alt+F4 or close on context menu

[Fluffy]

Very cool ability to make PP into an icon and all. That is, until you want to close it. OH NO!

I'm glad to see you're so diligent in updating and fixing PortaPotty. It's a very cool application you've got on your hands! I'll be testing more once I get some of the yardwork done and Warsow out of my system.

[portable-freak]

More testing
Cathy ( thanks heaps for the hint Darkbee )
1. Build a portable version --> Unable ... cannot see the IAT
2. Build even if --> Cathy_portable and portaPotty.ini created but when you try to launch Cathy_portable --> PortaPotty.dll not found.

Running Cathy through PortyPotty is running like a charm of course.

I am doing these tests for info purposes only and I just want to help getting further with this brilliant application.

until you want to close it. Surprised OH NO!

I don't know what you mean but Alt+F4 is closing PortaPotty properly.

[portable-freak]

Unfortunately, that bug "can't find portaPotty dll" is still persistant redllar.
Moving for instance Power Tab Editor 1.7 to my USB Thumbdrive reproduces the same error. This only happens when launching the portable version of the application.
Running the original exe through PortaPotty from different locations causes no problem.

[Andrew Lee]

Here's my report on the latest version:

- The "can't find portaPotty dll" seems to be gone for me.

- portaPorty.exe no longer runs on my Win2K machine. The window does not appear at all, and the process is not present in Task Manager.

- No problem. I created the portable EXEs on my WinXP machine instead. This time, both IECookiesView and JPegger yields to the "Build even if the EXE may not run" option.

- However, both IECookiesView and JPegger cannot run. IECookiesView showed nothing, while JPegger crashed.

- xplorer2lite now appears to work fine on my Win2K machine. However, the same problem (hang) occurs on my winXP machine. Yes, I am working with the default settings. I delete the "ZabaraKatranemia Plc" branch using REGEDIT before testing.

[Fluffy]

until you want to close it. Surprised OH NO!

I don't know what you mean but Alt+F4 is closing PortaPotty properly.

I just meant that you had to resort to Alt+F4, as there's no graphical means to close it.

[redllar]

Hi all. New versions of the exe and dll are available here. They should fix the "can't run on 2K" bug. At least they do here within a VMware 2K virtual machine. I also reduced the file size of the dll. And I was able to get 7-Zip to run via PP (I think with the last version as well but definitely with this version.)

[redllar]

Unfortunately, that bug "can't find portaPotty dll" is still persistant redllar.
Moving for instance Power Tab Editor 1.7 to my USB Thumbdrive reproduces the same error. This only happens when launching the portable version of the application.
Running the original exe through PortaPotty from different locations causes no problem.

Could you please verify the PortaPotty.exe build info for me via its properties (File->Properties->Version in explorer)? It's located in the Special Build Description field and should be 20060814-001. You will also need to rebuild any portablized executable with the "14" PortaPotty.exe version (or use the new versions I just uploaded and rebuild.)

[redllar]

portaPorty.exe no longer runs on my Win2K machine. The window does not appear at all, and the process is not present in Task Manager.

When I realized what I had done (tried to use XP's shadow feature no matter what OS), I was surprised that it ever worked on 2K. The new version checks for the OS version and should fix the problem.

However, both IECookiesView and JPegger cannot run. IECookiesView showed nothing, while JPegger crashed.

Same results here for several of the portablized apps I tested, so it's not unexpected. Detours 2.1 may fix the problem but I have to change my code substantially to use it, so I'm going to hold off on doing so for a while.

xplorer2lite now appears to work fine on my Win2K machine. However, the same problem (hang) occurs on my winXP machine. Yes, I am working with the default settings. I delete the "ZabaraKatranemia Plc" branch using REGEDIT before testing.

Thanks for verifying the use of defaults. I tried your version of the app and I don't get the hung process here (XP Home as well.)

So you have the app installed on the box you're trying to run on via PP? I need to know so I can try and mimic your setup as close as possible as there are some non-"ZabaraKatranemia Plc" keys that get mucked with when installing and when running xplorer2lite and maybe that's what's causing the hanging.

If you would like to try one more thing, I have uploaded a logging version of the dll that you can get here. To use it, temporarily replace the other PP dll with this version, rebuild the exe that hangs, and then run it. It will take a bit of time to open up as it will be spitting out a bunch of stuff into a portaPotty.log file. Once it does open up, delete the portaPotty.log file and then close down the app. The portaPotty.log file should continue to log info as the app gets into its infinite loop. After the log file is about 100KB in size (the "good" close-down log file I get is 39KB) kill the hung process. Then get me the log file so that I can see what's going on that's different on your box vs mine.

[portable-freak]

Could you please verify the PortaPotty.exe build info for me via its properties (File->Properties->Version in explorer)? It's located in the Special Build Description field and should be 20060814-001. You will also need to rebuild any portablized executable with the "14" PortaPotty.exe version (or use the new versions I just uploaded and rebuild.)

Yes, that was the 20060814-001 version.

Using today's build 20060815-001, the original exe(s) run fine but the portable ones are still reproducing the " cannot find portaPotty.dll" error.
No big deal really mate, I can live with it.
I mean, I can carry 'em two files ( PortaPotty.exe and portaPotty.dll ) wherever I go and let the applications run through

Correct me if I am wrong but if you get around to it and fix that bug, the original exe(s) aren't needed anymore, are they?
So basically you can run the application just by starting prog_portable, am I right?

[Andrew Lee]

redllar, I have downloaded your latest build, but don't have the time to try it now. Will report results later.

Anyway, an idea popped up and I just wanna put it down in case I forget later:

Is it possible to use an INI name that is the same as the EXE name? eg. xplorer2_portable.exe => xplorer2_portable.ini?

That way, one could put multiple PortaPotty-ed apps in one folder without worrying that they will mess each other up.

[redllar]

Using today's build 20060815-001, the original exe(s) run fine but the portable ones are still reproducing the " cannot find portaPotty.dll" error.

Okay, I'll ask two more questions then stop bothering you. When you get the error message, does it have a complete file path in front of portaPotty.dll. In other words, does it say "This application has failed to start because C:\Blah\Blah\Blah\portaPotty.dll was not found." Or does it say "This application has failed to start because portaPotty.dll was not found." If you get the one without the path, is the portaPotty.dll in the same folder as the prog_portable.exe file when you start the prog_portable.exe file? If so, then I give up. If not, then put a copy of the dll there and try again. If you get the error message that has the complete path in it, somehow you are still using the old portaPotty.dll.

Correct me if I am wrong but if you get around to it and fix that bug, the original exe(s) aren't needed anymore, are they?
So basically you can run the application just by starting prog_portable, am I right?

For every successfully built and running prog_portable.exe, you don't need the original and you don't need PortaPotty.exe. You just need prog_portable.exe and portaPotty.dll (and portaPotty.ini.) However, I will be changing how the dll works and how the ini is formatted several times in the next few weeks, and you will probably want to have those changes incorporated into your prog_portable versions of the application, so I personally would keep the original exes around until those 2 files get finalized.

[redllar]

redllar, I have downloaded your latest build, but don't have the time to try it now. Will report results later.

Okay. It would be nice if someone else would volunteer to try out this app as well (hint, hint.)

Anyway, an idea popped up and I just wanna put it down in case I forget later:

Is it possible to use an INI name that is the same as the EXE name? eg. xplorer2_portable.exe => xplorer2_portable.ini?

That way, one could put multiple PortaPotty-ed apps in one folder without worrying that they will mess each other up.

Yeah, I have that down as a to-do item. It will probably involve having PP create the exe-specific ini at the time that the portable version is made. The PP dll would then check for the exe-specific ini first and use it if found, otherwise revert to using the generic ini. Or I could have one "controlling" ini around for all apps, and have the PP dll look into it to see if it needs to run with the exe-specific ini or with the generic one. Either way would be fine with me.

[redllar]

until you want to close it. Surprised OH NO!

I don't know what you mean but Alt+F4 is closing PortaPotty properly.

I just meant that you had to resort to Alt+F4, as there's no graphical means to close it.

Eventually the thing will be completely skinnable. But not until I get the tough issues out of the way.