[Old Thread] Calibre Portable for PortableApps.com

[MildBill]

OK, sorry it took as long as it did, but I had some issues with the latest version of the PortableApps Launcher. So, I dropped back to the previous version which has been working fine for me all the while.

You can find the Calibre Portable Edition for PortableApps at Link Removed

If you have any problems with the PortableApp install, please post your questions/issues here. I will do my best to assist you in their resolution.

Again, if you have questions or issues, please post them here for assistance!

MildBill

[MildBill]

I have been informed by the PortableApps crew that prapper, the developer of the previously existing PortableApps version of Calibre is still working on the project, and has released newer versions, the latest being 0.8.2 (at http://sourceforge.net/projects/prap...Test_1.paf.exe ).
Therefore, obviously, there is no need for me to work on this as well.
I have removed the version I created from Sourceforge, and have ceased and desisted any further development of it.

Sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused.

MildBill

[LGN]

It would be wishfull thinking that the original Calibre developer would change Calibre in such a way that it would adhere to the portableApps format right out of the box, so the Portable dev doesn't need to update it every few days/weeks when another version of Calibre is released.

[MildBill]

Originally Posted by LGN

It would be wishfull thinking that the original Calibre developer would change Calibre in such a way that it would adhere to the portableApps format right out of the box, so the Portable dev doesn't need to update it every few days/weeks when another version of Calibre is released.

But, you see, he nearly has! In making Calibre portable (using his supplied Windows Batch file), Kovid and the guys did all the hard work. I can't speak for the current CalibrePortable developer, but the effort I made to create the PortableApps version *I* use was such that I could simply copy the Calibre2 directory from my hard drive (where it is installed in the normal way) to my installation on mt USB stick, therefore updating my portable version.

Since the settings, plugins, etc. are in a separate directory, as is the library itself, only the actual program files need to be updated, and that was easy. Prapper, who is still doing the PortableApps version has made his setup (in my opinion) more complicated than it needs to be, but at least keeps the library and settings stuff separated. I suspect his version could be updated as easily as mine.

I'm still a bit miffed about the rather abrupt (and to my mind, *rude*!) way that the PortableApps folks told me the project was still being done by Prapper, but I may (or may not, so don't hold your breath) contact him and offer him a couple suggestions.

Anyway, for the 6 people who downloaded my version before I took it down, please let me know what you think, and feel free to ask any questions you have about the PortableApps aspect of it.

MildBill

[bosun120]

Bump..

Anyways, I was wondering if/when Calibre was going to appear on the PortableApps listing: http://portableapps.com/apps As I understand it all the functionality is there right?

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by bosun120

Anyways, I was wondering if/when Calibre was going to appear on the PortableApps listing: http://portableapps.com/apps As I understand it all the functionality is there right?

There will never be one put out by Kovid.

Release: 0.8.5 [10 Jun, 2011]

New Features

• A new 'portable' calibre build, useful if you like to carry around calibre and its library on a USB key For details, see: http://calibre-ebook.com/download_portable

Since there is a calibre portable version for download from the calibre site I think there is no longer a need for a portableapps.com version.

[bosun120]

I see. Out of curiousity, why not? It would seem advantageous for both Kovid and PortableApps to work together to get more exposure for both, as well as making Calibre (at least the portable version) easier to auto-update using PortableApps's new launcher.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by bosun120

I see. Out of curiousity, why not? It would seem advantageous for both Kovid and PortableApps to work together to get more exposure for both, as well as making Calibre (at least the portable version) easier to auto-update using PortableApps's new launcher.

He has stated that keeping up with three Operating Systems is enough. He doesn't directly contribute to creating the distribution versions for the various Linux flavors either. If someone wants to step up and create/maintain a version for Portableapps.com Kovid has no objections.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by bosun120

Anyways, I was wondering if/when Calibre was going to appear on the PortableApps listing: http://portableapps.com/apps As I understand it all the functionality is there right?

Originally Posted by dwanthny

If someone wants to step up and create/maintain a version for Portableapps.com Kovid has no objections.

There's already one being actively maintained by prapper but it's still a dev test:
http://portableapps.com/node/20518

Alas, given there's a Calibre update every week, I'm not sure if a final version will ever see the light of day.

Latest version can be found here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/prap...online.paf.exe
This is an online installer so if you want to update, just run the app again and it will download the latest version from calibre's website (specifically from http://status.calibre-ebook.com/dist/portable)

Originally Posted by dwanthny

Since there is a calibre portable version for download from the calibre site I think there is no longer a need for a portableapps.com version.

On this point, I disagree. I've found the PortableApps version to work better than the official download. The former has better support for multiple libraries.

With the "official" version, the library must always be in the "Calibre Library" folder and it will re-spawn if you even change the library name. If you use more than one library, then the official portable app will use absolute links for the additional libraries. It also doesn't remember the last library used. It will always use the library in the "Calibre Library" folder.

Say you have the official portable app, install it in a flash drive and create multiple libraries. On computer A, the flash drive is assigned F:, on computer B, G: and computer C, H:, you would have to locate the additional libraries each time you use the flash drive on different computers.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

There's already one being actively maintained by prapper but it's still a dev test:
http://portableapps.com/node/20518

I was aware of this version but it is 11 versions behind and hasn't been updated in over 2 months.

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

On this point, I disagree. I've found the PortableApps version to work better than the official download. The former has better support for multiple libraries.

Good to know. If I ever want to backtrack versions or if prapper starts updating it again I'll have to consider this.

[MildBill]

Even before Kovid created the portable version he has now, Calibre has been portable using the batch file that was included by Kovid and the team. This is indeed what I based my portable apps version on before I was rather rudely told to quit.

The biggest issue I had was how to get the batch file into the portable apps menu, and that is why I created my version in the first place. Aside from that, all you really need to do is edit that batch file to change the library location, locations of other data, and whether or not the library is static. Indeed, once I had things set up with Kovid's batch file for portablization, the only reason for creating a PortableApps setup was, as I said, to get both Calibre and it's E-Book Reader properly listed on the PA menu.

As for updates, I am still using the version I created for PortableApps, but I update it simply by copying the latest and greatest from Kovid onto the file structure I set up on my flash drive, this works perfectly to update the executables and does not break the PortableApps setup for it, since all of that exists in separate directories. It even updates the plugins installed, assuming they are the same for both installations.

MildBill

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by MildBill

The biggest issue I had was how to get the batch file into the portable apps menu,
...
to get both Calibre and it's E-Book Reader properly listed on the PA menu.

I'm going slightly off topic, you can use the following to launch calibre from the portableapps.com menu.

There are two ways I use to launch non-portableapps.com programs from the portable app menu.

The first is to make sure the .exe of the program you want to run is at the same folder level as all of the other portable apps, an example would be dragging the Calibre Portable directory under the portableapps folder. When you launch portableapps the program (in the example calibre_portable) will be included in the menu under Other. Now it can be renamed and added as a favorite.

The second method is what I use. I keep all of my non-portableapps programs in a separate folder. I then add Pstart.exe to a pstart folder under the portableapps folder. Pstart will now show in the portableapps menu. I rename the menu item to Third Party Apps. Pstart is a free Menu program to launch portable apps from mobile media. I launch Pstart from my portableapps menu then use this menu to launch whatever other portable apps I have on the flash drive. See attached for images of the menus.

[MildBill]

Originally Posted by dwanthny

There are two ways I use to launch non-portableapps.com programs from the portable app menu.

While I greatly appreciate the suggestions, this is an issue I solved long ago by making my own PortableApps setup for Calibre.

MildBill

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by dwanthny

I was aware of this version but it is 11 versions behind and hasn't been updated in over 2 months.

Again, the calibrePortable dev test version by prapper just downloads the latest release of calibre-portable-0.8.xx.zip so it's never behind - at least, not until calibre moves to 0.9 or higher. I don't think Kovid has made any changes to the parameters used to "portabilize" calibre so there really wasn't a need to create a new portable installer everytime a new version of calibre was released.

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

This is an online installer so if you want to update, just run the app again and it will download the latest version from calibre's website (specifically from http://status.calibre-ebook.com/dist/portable)

By the way, a new version of the PortableApps installer was just released yesterday, it seems.

[kovidgoyal]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Again, the calibrePortable dev test version by prapper just downloads the latest release of calibre-portable-0.8.xx.zip so it's never behind - at least, not until calibre moves to 0.9 or higher. I don't think Kovid has made any changes to the parameters used to "portabilize" calibre so there really wasn't a need to create a new portable installer everytime a new version of calibre was released.

The changes to ensure portability was a custom DLL loader that allows loading of dependencies from the local directory. That should remain stable for the rest of calibre's lifetime, unless a future version of Windows breaks it.