JohnTHaller's favorites (31)

PortableApps.com Platform is an all-in-one tool for portable software download, management and updating. An included launcher shows nested folders organized automatically by function or favorite status, as well as a cascading app view on right-click of the tray icon. The program's appearance can be customized with transparency and several color, texture, and background options.

Other tools include a find-as-you-type search functionality, available cloud installation, drive error checker, backup/restore utility, portable fonts, automatic application closing on shutdown and more. The program can also work with portable software outside of the PortableApps format (see Extract instructions).

Functional in 64-bit and WINE, includes broad language support and proxy support.

jPortable (formerly Java Portable) allows you to easily add a Java runtime environment to your portable device. It can be used in combination with jPortable Launcher to open Java JAR programs (many with their settings made portable) or used automatically with Java-enabled apps like PortableApps.com versions of LibreOffice and OpenOffice as well as web browsers like Chrome/Chromium, Opera, SeaMonkey and Firefox.

Firefox Browser is a fast, powerful and secure web browser that supports open standards and many of the latest web technologies. The program includes smart search, bookmark management, web development tools and built-in download manager. Smart content blocking for ads and trackers is available in both standard and private browsing modes.

Versions available for Mac, Android, iOS and Linux with synchronisation of passwords and browser state across devices. Additional features and customisations are available via the add-on system, which allows for thousands of specialized functions.

Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition is a special build licensed by Mozilla and includes both the 32-bit and 64-bit builds and selects the appropriate one for each PC. Beta, Developer, Extended Release, and Win 7/8/8.1 and XP/Vista versions are also available.

LibreOffice is a complete productivity suite including word processor, spreadsheet, presentations, database, drawing tool and more. Includes strong compatibility for 100s of file formats including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio etc.). The program is similar to OpenOffice, a program that it was derived from, but has added many new features and improvements.

LibreOffice Portable is a special build developed in conjunction with the publisher. On systems without Java installed, some functions such as document creation wizards and the Base database application etc. can be enabled by adding jPortable, though this is optional and can be skipped if those functions are not needed. Alternatively, X-LibreOffice (64-bit version) is also available.

Other available portable versions:

• Still - more tested and stable but with fewer features/capabilities
• Legacy - for WinXP/Vista users (unsupported)

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a powerful photo and image editor for composition and authoring. It can be used as a simple paint program, a high quality photo retouching program, an online batch processing system, a mass production image renderer, an image format converter and much more.

The program is cross-platform with versions available for Mac and Linux. GIMP Portable is the PortableApps version of the program.

Notes:

1. If you're willing to risk trying a 2012 add-on, mimic Photoshop adjusts GIMP's layout to a switched on Photoshop-like single-window mode.
2. Alternatively, another portable package (though outdated from 2021) is X-Gimp.

Mozilla Thunderbird is a skinnable, feature-rich email, calendar, task and instant messaging client with support for plugins and many protocols. It comes with advanced search tools, message filtering, Bayesian spam detector, built-in spell checker, mailbox compression and many more. Program features can be extended with add-ons, including a specialized version of email encryption tool GPG.

Email protocols include SMTP, POP3, IMAP (including uploads, albeit a date issue), NNTP and RSS and chat support for IRC, Twitter, XMPP, Google Talk, and Matrix. Also supports OAuth for use with accounts that require it instead of a password.

Mozilla Thunderbird, Portable Edition is a special build licensed by Mozilla. Alternatively, X-Thunderbird is also available. For XP/Vista, version 52.9.1 is available here.

Skype allows users to make voice and video calls over the Internet. Although calls to other Skype users are free, other types of connections (landlines, SMS text) are not. Additional features include instant messaging, file transfer and conferencing.

sPortable is a version from PortableApps.com.

Note: The program became adware after its inclusion in the database (after its purchase by Microsoft).

FocusWriter is a full-screen word processor that aims for a distraction-free, immersive way to write and edit. The minimalist interface puts options and tools on the edge of the screen and auto-saves progress. Upon relaunch, the program reloads your last file to make make it easy to jump back into your work.

Alternatively, FocusWriter Portable is stealth and automatically adjusts paths.

VVV is an application that catalogs the content of removable volumes like CD and DVD disks for off-line searching. This allows you to keep an index of all the files on multiple drives and optical media in a single location. Folders and files can also be arranged in a single, virtual file system. Each folder of this virtual file system can contain files from many disks so you can arrange your data in a simple and logical way. VVV also stores metadata information from MP3 files: author, title, album and so on.

Export to spreadsheet (CSV format) available.

VVV Portable is a PortableApps version of the original program.