Making the portable install work and better.

My main problem with the portable installation is that it doesn't work if you
have Opera installed also. If I want to make a folder with a new Portable version
the installation program refuses to let me choose portable because I have Opera
installed, which makes it difficult to make and update portable versions.

I would like the portable installations to be completely self sufficient, ignoring
and being ignored by other instances of Opera on the same computer.
Preferably they should be able to upgrade themselves online without
affecting any other instances or upgrading themselves to installed versions
which one of mine did.

It would be such a practical way of keeping personal Operas for different users
on a computer. With a bit more functionality in Opera link it would basically become
a cloud application that is alway available and updated.

Use the USB install option. It has no affect on the default Opera installation, does not add entries to the registry, and keeps all of its files in the installation folder.

Crap! My mistake was not seeing the obviousness of having to change the path in the installation before I am allowed to install as stand-alone.
But I have still experienced that an installed and a stand-alone Opera have conflicted when it got updated. Does that work better for everyone else?

Originally posted by Zoroff:

Crap! My mistake was not seeing the obviousness of having to change the path in the installation before I am allowed to install as stand-alone.

A zillion people make the same mistake, so it's not just you.

Originally posted by Zoroff:

But I have still experienced that an installed and a stand-alone Opera have conflicted when it got updated.

That shouldn't happen, doesn't happen for me and not sure why it would happen.

The installer for the update looks at the registry for the prior version - you always have to change the directory and select stand-alone. That is what they need to fix, when updating it should tell the installer where it is.

Originally posted by sgunhouse:

The installer for the update looks at the registry for the prior version - you always have to change the directory and select stand-alone.

Yeh, that's what I always do.

Originally posted by sgunhouse:

That is what they need to fix, when updating it should tell the installer where it is.

Makes sense.

Since a USB install doesn't touch the registry, how is the update installer going to find where you last installed it? And since you could install any number of USB installs in any number of different folders, which one is the installer going to update?

When installing software, always read the dialogues. If you forget, be prepared to accept the consequences.

Originally posted by Pesala:

Since a USB install doesn't touch the registry, how is the update installer going to find where you last installed it?
And since you could install any number of USB installs in any number of different folders, which one is the installer going to update?

HKEY_CURRENT_USER;Last CommandLine v2

Originally posted by Pesala:

When installing software, always read the dialogues. If you forget, be prepared to accept the consequences.

Exactly. Reading a few lines isn't such a big intelectual effort even if for a zillion people it seems to be.

Originally posted by Krake:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER;Last CommandLine v2

I don't think so. I am currently using Opera 11.52, and testing Opera 11.60 and Opera Next. My key value is:

O:\Opera 11.60\opera.exe http://my.opera.com/desktopteam/blog/2011/11/11/the-first-opera-11-60-post-beta-snapshot?startidx=50#comment74539512

I would expect it to upgrade Opera 11.52, not Opera 11.60, which is already fully up to date.

Originally posted by Pesala:

I don't think so.

Created value during installation:



As soon as you will start and close an existing Opera (11.52, 11.60 or 12.00) the value of the key will change accordingly:



At least that's the way it behaves here.

I thought the Opera key under HKEY_CURRENT_USER is checked by the installer before install but apparently it isn't.
Never bothered to test but I did now. The installer doesn't check the registry. It only perceives an existing "Opera" or "Opera Next" folder and upgrades there. If your existing Opera installs are in folders you have renamed the installer won't find them and will create a new folder.

The extra complication is when Opera auto-updates itself, you don't get many opportunities to check up
or change folders then. And that is one thing I was having trouble with, it seems that stand-alone installations
don't always do so well auto-updating. Mine just hopped onto the installed version that I had instead of
working with its own folder.

Set "Auto-update" to "Notify me about available updates".
Best practice is to download the install package and install the software from your HDD. Moreover the install package should be kept as a precaution.