Repository Applications Update Information

It's basically a virtual drive driver, but it does have a UI with some other functions like copying a disc to image file, and creating an image file from a folder with contents. What the installer would normally do is load their webpage after installation, even with the first version with switches (1.9.5.1) but they fixed that with 1.9.6 so now you can do silent installs without it starting a browser to load their webpage. So it's all good now. What's important for me is that a virtual drive soft is small, to the point, and has context menus for mounting and unmounting iso's.

EDIT: LOL, looks like it does load the webpage when I uninstalled and install again, even for new 1.9.7. Okay, I'll bring that up soon to the developer

Yes, Atlantis Word Processor. The issue you're describing I'm not familiar with, but that must have occurred during when Atlantis went from v3.x to v4.x or something. I do have a lifetime license as well but had no issue like that, but then I've always kept up with it. Atlantis is just really writer-friendly. It also shows you how small a word processor can be when someone who is not Microsoft is making it

As far as formats, it depends on how they're made to a degree. Most of the books I got from Archive.org are actually image-scans to PDF, and they mostly also offer OCR versions of the same. There are some surprisingly well-scanned books, but some are done badly and are not uniform as in skewed pages, too far left or right, and with some books they didn't even divide the pages into 2 pages so you're getting two pages at a time. When the real book scans are done well it's kind of nice because it looks like a real book on your tablet. When a book is kind of rare or important to me then I usually run it through ABBYY FineReader because it can do some page correction (editing the image layer of the PDF to deskew, straighten lines, brighten, etc.) or to add an OCR layer when the book doesn't have one. Also, some book scans to PDF are huge (like 250mb or 130mb or whatever) and running these through ABBYY like that will reduce the size dramatically in most cases.

For documents like DOCX converted to PDF they retain the Letter or A4 format (because that's the format of the original doc) and straight up convert those to PDF, which of course isn't good for reading on tablet because the pages are way too big, although you could read in landscape mode I guess. And also, with those type of PDFs that are made straight from text (not image scans) you can use the various reading modes in the reader app (tablet) although that may mess up formatting to a degree. But for book scans with a questionable OCR layer (or none) it won't work to use those reading modes because those modes only use the text layer and unless that (OCR) layer is very good you will most likely end up with a lot of weird and non-words.

 

My personal favorite is Comical (for cbr/cbz). I had even made a ppApp for it a few years back.

 

You could try right clicking the setup .exe and pick "Run As Administrator" many older installers do not ask to self elevate and don't have access to folders or registry keys.

 

Yes, I remember using CDisplayEx -- or perhaps it was the even older CDisplay -- for comic books for a bit there before I found and started using Comical as my favorite instead. But it's been a while so I'm not sure why I switched though. They're both sequential image viewers that do their job well but as you said, they've not been updated in a while. For me not really an issue -- see what I did there? LOL -- unless you need or want them to support 7z archives or the latest RAR formats (such as v5.x).

I also can't find any ssApp or ppApp of CDisplayEx (or CDisplay) anywhere.

 

http://www.lastos.org/repo/CDisplayEx_v1.10.33_ppApp.apz

I could add .7z .zip etc to the extensions supported, but I agree, it's better to rename them as you download them, use a tool like Advanced Renamer to make doing multiple files faster.

 

Thanks for the latest qBittorrent_v4.5.1.0_Win7+_x64_ppApp.apz. But unlike previous versions, the files like qbittorrent.exe, qbittorrent.ini, qbittorrent.pdb are NOT in the _x64 folder, but are in the "root" folder with ppApp.app, etc. While this is "OK" since the app is x64 only, I didn't think that this is the way we were doing things. Since I was updating a previous releasae, this means that I now have the new version in the root folder and the old version is still in the _x64 folder. So was this a goof?

 

You know, you're right. I should have just left the app in the _x64 folder regardless (even if there are only x64 versions of qBittorrent now).

I will say this, it is a bit confusing with their available installers now. They are all x64 since v4.5.0, but they now have Qt5-based build (Win7+) and Qt6-based build (Win10+). However, they have various Qt6-based builds and in glancing I could not immediately find the difference between these various installers (they have 4 of them now).

I'll re-up the above ppApp so that it installs in _x64 folder, so it can just be installed over previous ones, to avoid confusion. Will update this post after upload.

EDIT: Done, reverted to _x64 folder location.

EDIT2: Deleted it for now. Weirdest thing, when I install ppApp on fresh restore of OS, it works fine. When I delete install locations and appdata stuff, and install another version or run another version from folder, nothing happens. It simply won't run for me. Not sure if it has anything to do with newer versions and the qt mess, but reverting to older versions also won't work for me after that.

 

Here's what little I know:

Yes, the qBittorrent installers are all x64 now. The ones for Mac and Linux are all QT6 based, while the ones for Windows have both QT6 (Win 10+) and QT5 (Win 7+) options. On top of that, ALL of those installers have versions marked lt20, and ones that do not have that marking, for a total of 8 different installers. That last designation (lt20) refers to the version of the libtorrent library that is used. As I saw explained here - https://www.reddit.com/r/qBittorrent/comments/z7g2uf/what_is_lt20_in_the_links_on_the_download_page/:

"Libtorrent is the heart of qBittorrent, and it's a library. It does all the heavy-lifting. qBittorrent basically is "just" a graphical interface that let's people control this libtorrent library so to speak."

Anyway, qBittorrent had begun switching over to libtorrent v2.0 a while back [refer to here for details about libtorrent 2.0 - https://www.libtorrent.org/upgrade_to_2.0-ref.html], but apparently some folks had some issues, so - https://www.qbittorrent.org/news.php - Sunday Nov 27th 2022 - qBittorrent v4.5.0 release - NOTE: The default builds for all OSs switched to libtorrent 1.2.x from 2.0.x. Builds for libtorrent 2.0.x are also offered and are tagged with lt20. The switch happened due to user demand and perceived performance issues. If until now you didn't experience any performance issue then go ahead and use the lt20 builds.

And that's still the case today. The default install from the qBittorrent site is usually using libtorrent 1.2, but 2.0 is an option. FWIW, Trouba, I noticed that the qBittorrent_v4.5.1.0_Win7+_x64_ppApp.apz you originally uploaded is lt20 based, as is the version available from Portable Apps (qBittorrentPortable_4.5.1.paf.exe). I have no idea if that has anything to do with the problems you experienced, I just noticed.

I have made a few versions that seem to work correctly for upgrade situations. Please keep in mind that I am still a total beginner when it comes to creating apps, but here is the procedure I used. Please correct me where I did it incorrectly.

Back in January I was looking for the latest version of qBittorrent. The latest in the repo was qBittorrent_v4.4.5_Dark_ppApp.apz, which had some nice dark themes, but I had seen a couple of others that I thought would meet my needs better, and v4.5.0 was available on the qBittorrent site - https://www.qbittorrent.org/download.php. So I opened up qBittorrent_v4.4.5_Dark_ppApp.apz using 7-Zip, didn't extract anything, just opened it up, and opened ppApp.7z. I deleted the _x86 folder, then opened the _x64 folder. I added the extra theme files, then replaced qbittorrent.exe, qbittorrent.pdb, qt.conf, and the translations folder with the same files/folder from inside the qBittorrent installation file, qbittorrent_4.5.0_x64_setup.exe, the QT 5 lt1.2 version. Then I saved and closed the file, renamed it qBittorrent_v4.5.0_Dark_x64_ppApp.apz, then sent the file to SetupS Editor. I went through all of the tabs, correcting things like QT 4 --> QT 5, removing references to the old x86 version, etc, then saved it. I used that app to update my previous install, and I've been using that version until now, with it operating correctly, as far as I know.

I've used the same procedure to update qBittorrent_v4.5.0_Dark_x64_ppApp.apz to both qBittorrent_v4.5.1.0_Win7+_Dark_x64_ppApp.apz and qBittorrent_v4.5.1.0_Win7+_lt20_Dark_x64_ppApp.apz, and uploaded all three files to the repo for your ammusement and criticism. PLEASE help me learn by correcting whatever mistakes I made and showing me where I went wrong. I have not done extensive testing on these files, but I did verify that both versions are able to update my existing install, then apparently operate correctly. I am currently using the lt1.2 version to download some audiobooks.

One thing I noticed: I had installed qBittorrent_v4.5.1.0_Win7+_x64_ppApp.apz, didn't run it, but I did install it, and it took MUCH longer to install than any of the three versions I uploaded. Probably because of some steps I missed? No idea, but my versions seemed to work OK. I also did not have any issues reverting back to my old install, nor updating to either of the two 4.5.1 versions I made. All of this was on Win 7, of course.

I also used this article - https://www.rapidseedbox.com/blog/qbittorrent-settings - to verify the best settings for qBittorrent. It's titled 2022, but it has been updated as recently as two days ago - 2023/02/20.

 

Thanks for digging. Well, the version I made ran fine on my Win7 at first, but then the weirdness began when I deleted the app and did a final test before re-upload. And it wasn't a fluke, I actually did a system restore from backup image to verify the issue. So, on fresh install (Win7) I can install any ppApp version of qBittorrent I made before. I then upgraded to the newer version(s) I made, which also ran correctly. Since I was making the ppApp for Win7+ systems, I then deleted the apppath files and appdata/localappdata stuff and installed the final ppApp .apz. Then I tried to run it and nothing happens. I mean, not even a blip in Task Manager. Just nothing. So then I got intrigued. I then deleted the relevant apppath files and appdata and localappdata stuff related to qBit, including registry entries (did searches in registry even). Rebooted, etc. Installed the same ppApp(s) that worked before, nothing. Like, it won't even run for a millisecond. But also, ANY older qBit ppApp then would not work.

I then started analyzing what happens when I install the ppApp(s). It was then that I came across the weirdest thing. The ppApp.cmd creates a dir (mkdir command) in %AppData% (AppData\Roaming) and installs qBit's .ini file there. When qBit starts failing to run as I described above, the ppApp(s) (all of them, old ones too that always worked like v4.4.0) then fail to create the folder and/or copy the .ini file in AppData. I mean, nothing happens. I then thought the SetupS install might have broken, so I reinstalled SetupS. Same. I then tested other ppApps with MkDir commands, but they worked fine.

Then the really weird stuff started happening. For testing purposes, I then changed the name of the folder in AppData that gets created ("qBittorrent"). I took off the "q". Still, nothing gets created. I then tried "ittorrent" or similar folder names, or ANY other name, and the folder creates. So anything with "bittorrent" or "qbittorrent" could not be created. This with all files removed, reg entries removed, no relevant processes running in Task Manager, or anything. Extremely baffling.

I did a restore, was able to reproduce this again after installing and deleting various versions. At that point, even the original installers (which do install) won't run the app. Just absolutely nothing. I even did a fresh install to verify it's not the backup image. Same story. I then had to quit because I needed to upload the Win10. However, after the fresh install and setup, I installed one of the ppApps (4.5.1) I made before and it worked. The same ppApp(s) that won't work whenever the botched condition occurs, work fine. So it's not the ppApp(s) as such. It is whatever happens when deleting it (or various deletions and reinstalls). I don't necessarily recommend trying to reproduce this, because if you do you will not be able to run qBittorrent anymore (be prepared to restore or reinstall). I don't think I ever ran into something weird like this before that I could reproduce.

It's weird enough that I could reproduce qBit not running on various installs. But that somehow a condition was created wherein the mkdir command cannot create qbittorrent or bittorrent folder via the ppApp.cmd (but it can any other name) it just baffling. So needless to say I'm a little alerted regarding qBittorrent at this point I was going to tell Freezer about this as well but he may not have the time or energy to trace this issue down.

But yeah on fresh install any Win7-compatible ppApp of qBit works fine:



So what could possibly create that botched condition? It baffles me. Especially the mkdir command not working in relation to q/bitorrent folder names. Then installing and uninstalling from original qBit installers does not alleviate the condition either.

 

Very, very weird. It's especially weird that it only (hopefully) happens with qBit. I can't think of anything to try in order to troubleshoot the matter further. You already did more than I thought of. Maybe Freezer will have an idea if he sees this and has time.

Did you have a chance to review my app construction methodology? How bad did I mess it up?

 

Yeah, that's what it always does/did and the ppApps are based and that and have always worked. But when I started fooling around with installing/deleting various ppApps of it, at some point it quit working altogether, even from original installer... It's weird. And then ended up blocking creation of q/bittorrent folder via ppApp.cmd script.

 

Right now, yes Because I had just made the updated Win7 image and of course I'm a little partial to it

 

It may be a Gremlin, might have spilled some water on it BTW LTSC 10 links are up.

 

I use bittorrent web that seems to do the trick found here

 

It seems that the current ppApps we have of qBit aren't really truly portable since they store their ini files in %AppData% (AppData\Roaming), or has that always been the case for qBit? I would have thought that the ini file would have been stored somewhere in the ppApp install folder.

 

Yeah, ppApps have always been like that. I haven't had time to test your ppApps yet, bp. But I can botch my install now that the rars are uploaded

 

Installing qBittorrent_v4.5.1.0_Win7+_Dark_x64_ppApp.apz over my existing install of 4.5.1, it worked fine. So I'm sure you did good. I'm not going to delete, reinstall, etc., at this time, lest it messes up on me again

 

We could actually use PortableApps methods to force some ppApps to be more portable and this would also move the folder from AppData where Trouba was having issues and then it would be in the apps own Data sub folder. may be worth doing in this case?