FR: Portable mode on windows

[AtmanActive]

Hi,

Thanks for this project, it looks really interesting.

This is about using it on windows.

The hardcoded config file path makes it unusable in portable mode (where an app is independent of the Installation path or a particular windows installation). Yes, command-line options can override this, true, but there is an even easier way to allow someone to use it in portable mode.

Advantages of running windows software in portable mode are numerous: never lose your config and time invested in setting up the software, and, also, have many versions set up in parallel (just by using different folder names), for testing, or for multiple use cases or multiple machines.

Here is how to make your app work in portable mode, in addition to the existing windows-way mode:

• on app startup, first self-discover your own executed path (do not try to presume some well-known path, like Program Files, for example, but relly on what your run-time exe reports back once running)
• then, check for the existence of a config dir/file in the same folder on that same path.
• If it exists, use that config dir/file. If not, continue as normal.

In this way, advanced users can copy or create an empty config file in the same folder where the exe is and take it from there, having all data encapsulated in that one folder, without creating anything on well known windows paths (like C:\Users\xxx). Then, if needed, advanced users can easily copy the whole folder for backups, copy the whole folder to other machines, or, make copies to maintain several versions in parallel.

For non-advanced users, the app continues to work as described in your ReadMe (using C:\Users\xxx).

Thanks!

[andzeil]

Hey @AtmanActive: Thanks for the suggestion. I will need some time to think about the best solution. The one you provided seems like a natural choice, for sure. Guess I could implement something like that and add some lines to the documentation to make users aware about this implementation. Will keep you posted here about the progress.

[AtmanActive]

Thanks.

Some background: I'm one of those people that like to build their own PCs, so I frequently jump from one machine to another. Sometimes up to 3 times per year. Windows OEM licenses are cheap but non-transferable, so I always start with a brand new windows installation. This makes the PC feel fast and snappy, a real joy to use. Simple utilities on windows always work portable, meaning, they don't depend on well-known paths, libraries or config files. This principle was soon after picked up by many PC users and today we even have dedicated developers that repack non-portable software into their portable versions, like, for example, https://portableapps.com or https://portapps.io

Hence, for me, a windows OS is just a shell, just a runner of my own selection of portable software. I can just attach my personal portable drive, set a drive letter I usually use (to help non-fully-portable programs), and I'm ready to go. Nothing to install. All my apps, documents, icons, settings, fully working, without me having to spend endless hours clicking "next->next->next->finish" each and every time.

Of course, I have no commercial software at all as they don't want you to use their software freely. Apart from a few exceptions, like, for example Reaper DAW.

[andzeil]

I had this idea: if the executable is named "Easy MQTT Handler-portable.exe" on Windows (or "Easy MQTT Handler-portable" on MacOS / Linux) the tool would look for configuration files in it's own folder, otherwise it would use the default paths for the configuration files. This way I'd just need to add a small paragraph to the Readme file to make users aware about the feature and we could skip problems / confusions about which configuration files the tool is actually loading, as it would need user interaction to active this feature. What do you think about this proposal?