Question Portable software help

[smalltech]

Hello,

I have some questions about portable software

notepad++ official site does not have portable version https://notepad-plus-plus.org/downloads/
portableapps.com has notepad++ portable version https://portableapps.com/apps/development/notepadpp_portable
sourceforge.net has notepad++ portable version https://sourceforge.net/projects/portableapps/files/Notepad++ Portable/

Q1. If I use https://portableapps.com/apps/development/notepadpp_portable to open/edit/save files does it mean it will not leave any anything in the computer?

Q2. What is the difference between https://portableapps.com/apps/development/notepadpp_portable vs https://sourceforge.net/projects/portableapps/files/Notepad++ Portable/

Q3. Is https://portableapps.com safe to use? Is there any similar site like a collection of software portable version so it will not leave anything in the computer?

Q4. Are all the portable software at https://sourceforge.net/projects/portableapps/files/ safe to use and will not leave anything in the computer?

Q5. Is it all portable version of software the purpose is to let you use the software without installing anything and without leaving anything in the computer?

Thank you

 

[USAFRet]

1. If you don't save the file to that PC, true. Mostly. I imagine there might be some trivial entry in the Registry that the OS makes, but nothing major.

2. Nothing, really.

3. It is safe.

4. Yes.

5. It also lets you take your collection of favorite software with you. For instance, if you were a tech going to a clients office.

 

[Math Geek]

I like to go straight to portableaps.com rather than 3rd party sites like soundforge n such. I use a ton of portable apps and never had an issue. They don't install anything to the host system. Great for using public PCs or traveling type folks who need their own apps n settings on the go.

Portable apps site also has a creator tool to make your own portables if they don't already have it. They only make the free stuff so anything paid they won't touch.

I made a portable of my ms office to use on the go!! Overall they are great for on the go use

 

[zinkles]

portableapps.com has a section in their site (portableapps.com/development), so people can make apps portable. What's essentially being done here, is that all the extra files that are created when installing, is moved into the place you want. i.e. the portable app can be installed onto a USB drive and run from there. almost all of the files it needs are created on that USB drive and avoids the need of installing the app. (you still have to install it on to the USB though)
The same could be done if you move all the apps content into the USB drive, when its being installed and running the app from there, but this makes it a little easier. especially since many files are scattered in multiple locations, that make it harder to do so.

1) i'm unaware if any temp content is being saved on the PC, or at least created temporarily, but even if so, nothing of sorts that could be used to track what you've done or a file you made.

2) basically none, interms of how they function.

3) ofcourse it is safe, but not to say any portable app is safe. typically the ones in the above mentioned sites (portableapps.com, sourceforge.net), are trustworthy, but other sites claiming to have portable versions might not be.

4) they are safe to use, but the "will not leave anything in the computer" part is not entirely guaranteed. the software you choose might use the Windows' temp directories to store some cache.

5) yes, that's the main purpose, but as i said, nothing stops those apps from using the Windows Temp folder, if the portable version doesn't have its own. meaning it "could leave some files", but they may be of no use. (i.e. some small temp files)

 

[smalltech]

Just to share, I saw a thread mention about PortableApps.com leaving something:

"PortableApps.com applications leave no PERSONAL data or any settings behind, but due to the nature of Windows itself there will always be some trace that an app was run. Just stuff in Most Recently Used and Cache and stuff like that will be left."

"First to answer your second question, the apps here don't suffer from any such lack of features. I can't speak for all of them, but there are a couple things Firefox and VLC can't or shouldn't do portably that you could do at home. A bug in Firefox will reportedly cause problems if you automatically update. Go in and disable this. It updates fine for me, but that's what I read up here. Also for VLC you don't want to stream from your USB drive. And if your USB drive is slow, your apps will suffer from that, but not because it's portable, but because the drive sucks.

VLC leaves a record of DVDs you've watched in Documents and Settings\Your Name\Application Data\dvdcss in the form of folders with the volume label of the disc(s).

Firefox occasionally leaves behind a Mozilla folder in Documents and Settings\Your Name\Application Data.

The registry folder HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\MUICache lists all the apps your computer has used, including apps on your portable device. You can safely remove these references if you like.

That's what I know."

source https://portableapps.com/node/17931