Notepad++ Portable version - You can't update it, due to some security risk. Am I right?

Ricardo

Wrong.
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/repository/6.x/6.8.1/npp.6.8.1.bin.7z is completely portable. Keep configuration files (.xml) in the same folder.

Jorge Jorhoe

Is there some page that explains how to update the portable version?

If I click on the Question Mark / About Notepad++ . . . nothing is there, and

I don’t see anything under any of the other menus, with the portable version, either, that says “Check for updates”

Ricardo

Auto-updater is not included in portable, as it is made toward advanced users. Just need to replace old files with newer from package to update.
Whatever, one good source for information is the Wiki.
http://docs.notepad-plus-plus.org/index.php/Portable_Notepad%2B%2B
http://docs.notepad-plus-plus.org/index.php/NP%2B%2B_Guides

Jorge Jorhoe

Ok, I have run this experiment. Here are my notes:

07/09/15

From briefly reading around . . . it looks like in the portable version of Notepad++:

1.) It does not have an auto-updater, for security purposes - and there is no place to click to update it under the question mark

2.) If you update it manually, you will lose all of your plugins - and all settings go back to default

08/17/15

False

I just downloaded the current portable version, and installed over what was in . . . C: \ Notepad++Portable

It went from / to:

NotepadPlusPlusPortable_6.7.9.2.paf.exe
NotepadPlusPlusPortable_6.8.1.paf.exe

All plugins and settings were retained

. . . Did it check to see if my plugins were compatible, or not, though? It seems like the regular installer version shows itself checking them, where the portable version does not.

Ricardo

Official versions are downloaded here:
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/download/v6.8.1.html

I don’t know what fake portable versions do. I know that portableapps.com do a lot of “portable” craps for programs that are natively portable. (these .paf come from them, right?)

Jorge Jorhoe

Yes, .paf comes from them. I thought it was really cool how they had so much software that they had made portable. What makes it bad?

I thought PortableApps worked with all of these software companies, to make their software portable. They should put the link on their page, if the software can be made natively portable.

So, I just look at those two settings before I install it, and then the one xml file . .
. . . won’t I see Notepad++ in my Win 8.1 Programs as being installed? I see that it’s not currently there (I’m currently using the PortableApps version)
. . . if I do see it installed (maybe I wont?), am I still able to cut and paste the Notepad++ sub-directory to anywhere I want (like a flash drive), because it’s portable?

Since Notepad++ is natively portable, I think it would be good if they could make that more obvious, because that adds a lot to it’s usability. People should just install it as portable by default.

Ricardo

I think you need to understand what means the “portable” concept…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_application
Basically, portable programs you don’t install, you just extract and execute in place; it won’t leave shortcuts or other traces on the system.

Jorge Jorhoe

I’ll check it out, thanks.

This is my current situation / thoughts / what I did / to set up the natively portable NP++

This pictures on this page need to be updated:

Portable Notepad++ - Notepad++ Wiki . . . http://docs.notepad-plus-plus.org/index.php/Portable_Notepad%2B%2B

I un-checked for the Context menu on the first screen

I checked to not use the APPDATA folder on the second screen

My install had the xml file

Notepad++ now shows as being installed in “Programs and Features” (Win 8.1)

I put a copy of it, the Notepad++ folder, from “C: \ Program Files \ Notepad++” onto a USB drive

I then de-installed Notepad++ from C: . . . and then put the Notepad++ folder back on C: from the USB drive

I right-click a text file, and direct it to use notepad++.exe . . . and does it work? yes

So, any changes I make to Settings will be contained in the Notepad++ ? . . . Let’s see:

. . . Settings - yes

. . . what about Plugins?
Aspell . . . de-installed after getting it into NP++ . . . no, Aspell is not portable - I’ll put this in a new post
Customize Toolbar . . . from the Plugins Manager - yes
DSpellCheck . . . from the Plugins Manager - did I need this if I have Aspell? I did not re-install it
TextFX . . . a dll file for the Plugins folder - yes

Also observed with the natively portable version of Notepad++ . . .
. . . it has the option to update itself . . . ? / Update Notepad++
. . . The PortableApps version did not

Jorge Jorhoe

Is that the right way to do it?

1.) Install NP++, and your plugins
2.) copy and paste the NP++ folder to a USB flash drive
3.) de-install NP++ from your computer
4.) copy and past the NP++ folder back to your computer - it is now standalone

As I mentioned above, though, Aspell doesn’t become portable.
I think it did with the PortableApps version, though (I over-wrote it, so I would have to set it up again to say for sure, but maybe you know).

The only downside I saw to the PortableApps version was that you could update it from under the question mark - but, all that’s required is that you get the current PortableApps version, and over-write what you have . . . Now I’m thinking that the PortableApps version is better than the native version (since I think that it can make Aspell portable).

Jorge Jorhoe

I’ve found that you can update it, stand alone, or through their platform updater:

http://portableapps.com/support/portable_app#upgrading

[Just install an updated version of NP++ portable, over the current version]

Upgrading a Portable App

Standalone - To upgrade a portable app manually without the PortableApps.com Platform, just browse to the location of the AppNamePortable_x.x.paf.exe file you downloaded.

Double-click the file to start the installation. Follow the on-screen prompts and select the location you’d like to install to.

For upgrades, you should select the parent directory of the AppNamePortable directory in which the app is currently installed.

For example, if the app is within
X:\PortableApps\AppNamePortable,
you’d want to select the
X:\PortableApps directory in the Browse Folder window.

After clicking OK, it should show X:\PortableApps\AppNamePortable. All of your current settings and data will be preserved.

Uninstalling a Portable App

Unlike traditional apps, a portable app isn’t ‘installed’ with an entry in Add/Remove programs, so uninstallation is quick and easy.

Standalone - Delete the AppNamePortable folder to completely remove the app and all its settings.

[A plugin such as Aspell, though, is installed with an entry in Add/Remove programs - there is no way to make it portable with NP++, native or PortableApps]

In the NPP++ native version, made stand alone, you can do this in the menu across the top:

? / Update Notepad++
? / Set Updater Proxy…

The native version of NP++ also has fewer files, and a smaller file size.

I’ll go with that