Just a quick query regarding the U3 device support. I currently have DOpis installed as a app on my U3 drive but having read a few things about U3 recently it seems as though come mid '08 it will no longer be supported. Since then I have looked at the Portableapps system instead and have started using a few of those instead. Is it possible to make the DOpus installer use portable apps at all instead of U3? (don't like having to run the U3 software as well as portableapps if at all possible)..
You can just export Opus to a normal USB key (assuming you have the license to do so) and run it directly from there on any system. It's competely portable and doesn't rely on any extra stuff.
I assume this reply means you're not sure what Tanis is saying? If so, let us know if when you run the Backup & Restore option and select to export to USB, do you NOT see TWO entries for your U3 USB key like in the attached screenshot?
If you do... by selecting the entry that does NOT have the U3 icon on it... I believe Opus will just export the portable Opus files directly to that USB drive at the root of the drive... instead of exporting a .U3P package that you tehn otherwise 'install' through the U3 Launchpad...
Either way... I'm not sure if Tanis is familiar with PortableApps' architecture... and so maybe the regular USB/Non-U3 export option in Opus doesn't alltogether do what you 'ultimately' want to do. From what I know, PortableApps is basically like an "open" ended version of U3 in some way, and I don't know what it would take to get Opus added as an entry to the PortableApps version of the "Launchpad". This may be a better question for the guy that runs PortableApps.com... as I understand that he has 'packaged' many of the apps he redistributes himself. He may be able to (if he has not already done so...) provide easy instructions to say "if you have a directory with executables... do this, this, and this to get an application on the Launch Menu".
I'm not familiar with the portableapps architecture which is why I said : "It's completely portable and doesn't rely on any extra stuff.".
Opus doesn't need any third party distribution method - it just works from the USB key itself without changing any files on the host PC - the ideal situation imo.
All true... but it also just seemed like a question of "can" Opus be installed within the PortableApps launcher. Your answer told him he didn't NEED PortabelApps integration so that he wouldn't have to worry about running "both" the PortableApps AND the U3 Launchers... but it still might be nice to be "able" to run it from inside the PortableApps Launcher for those who like what it offers...
Either way, it didn't seem like he understood what you had described so I figured a screenshot would show what he should be seeing even if he has U3 but is running PA from it...
FWIW: a check on the PA website shows that 'some' packaging is required... using the Nullsoft installer. So the answer about 'can' Opus be made to run under PA seems to be "maybe" if someone figures out how to 'stuff' the regular USB exported version of Opus into a PA/Nullsoft wrapper... which is probably doable, and therefore maybe not worth GPSofts time to code directly into the Backup & Restore utility...
Guess what I will end up doing is killing all the U3 stuff off this drive and then just install DOpus directly onto the drive itself. Hopefully it won't take over the host system as I would rather keep control of what happens when the usb key thing is inserted into the machine..
No matter, thanks for the replies.. I am gonna go play now (hoping I can export using the U3 version to make it run as stand-alone..)
Opus as a standalone USB app will not write anything to the host system, except in a few special circumstances where it will clean itself up when you exit, exactly the same as would happen with U3.
(Those circumstances are like when you are on Vista and need to run something as admin under UAC. This requires a COM DLL to be registered, so Opus registers it and makes a note to unregister it when it exits.)
There's no disadvantage to the standalone USB mode compared to the U3 mode. U3 is useful to some apps which always write stuff all over the host system and need someone else to clean-up their mess but Opus isn't one of those apps.
You will need to use a standard (non-USB/U3) install of Opus to export a standalone USB copy. You can't do that from a U3 install.
nope, not blond.. hrmmf..)