On the Apps tab of Home Updater v5.0.3, portable apps are listed with the word "Portable" in bold yellow appended to the name if necessary. This clearly distinguishes portable apps from non-portable apps. (Note: "Portable" is only explicitly part of the raw name of a supported portable app if there is supported non-portable version of app in the library.)
However, on the Uninstaller tab, portable apps are identified by their raw name only. Since most supported portable apps do not explicitly include "Portable" in their name, the distinction between portable and non-portable installations is more difficult to determine, particularly in the case where a user has installed the non-portable version of an app not in the library and a supported portable version of the same app. Even where the word "Portable" is included in portable app's name, it is not highlighted in yellow to better distinguish it.
This inconsistency in appearance of portable apps names between two highly related tabs raises the likelihood of confusion about what type of installation of the app is being uninstalled. Having to correct a situation where a wrong app installation has been deleted can be difficult, particularly if the error goes unnoticed initially. Each app in My Apps, whether it is a supported portable or supported non-portable app, appears in the Uninstaller tab. One would expect them to be listed in a similar manner in both tabs, particularly since a user can uninstall an app from either tab and because installing or uninstalling an app on the Apps tab or uninstalling an app on the Uninstaller tab has an effect on the other tab.
The recommended solution is to correct the display of portable apps in the Display Name column of the Uninstaller tab to match the Display Name column of the Apps tab. (Note: Since this issue can easily lead to errors and confusion, it needs to be fixed. Therefore, I consider this issue to be a bug, not an enhancement.)
Could you let me know if you are still seeing issues in version 5.1? We made a few improvements around portable.
Yes, I am still seeing issues.
Portable Apps
As a simple example, I have "DesktopOK Portable" listed in My Apps but the corresponding entry for the item on the Uninstaller tab (Filter = Installed Apps) is listed as "DesktopOK". Ideally, the names for the same item should be the same on both tabs and possible confusion about the difference in name avoided.
Q1: Why is the display name currently different between the two tabs?
A1: Because most portable apps in the Library do not include the word "Portable" in their raw name. That the app is portable appears to be maintained as a separate property which is appended to the raw name when displayed on My App/App Library tab. On the Uninstaller tab, the raw name is displayed for portable apps and "Portable" will only be included in the displayed name (raw name) if there is also a non-portable version of the app in the Library.
Q2: Is the item "DesktopOK" on the Uninstaller tab referring to the portable installation of DesktopOK?
A2: Yes. Even though the name on the Uninstaller tab does contain the word "Portable" and might be confused for a non-portable version, PMPC-HU only supports updating the portable version of that app. However, it is still possible to have a non-portable installation of DesktopOK on the same PC which will show on the Uninstaller tab (Filter = All Apps).
Suggestion: Use the name as displayed on the Apps tab on the Uninstaller tab to eliminate the difference in names. The display name of a portable app on the Apps tab already includes the word "Portable".
Non-portable Apps
Similarly, names of supported non-portable apps may be different between the Apps tab (where the display name = raw name) and Uninstaller (Filter = Installed Apps) tab (where the display name comes from uninstall data in the registry or embedded properties of the app executable file.
Suggestion: Use the name from Apps tab for the same item in the Uninstall tab. Version number currently included in the name of some apps in the Uninstall tab is not needed in the display name since there is a separate column or item on both tabs with the version.
Attachment
The attachment (zipped PDF, 5 pages) includes a comparison of names of the 48 non-portable and 13 portable apps in the My Apps and Uninstaller (Filter = Installed Apps) tab on my PC to illustrate the differences.
It also lists the 12 apps (out of 99 portable apps currently in the Library) that have both portable and non-portable versions supported by PMPC-HU. These are the only apps where the portable version would be expected to include the word "Portable" in their name on the Uninstaller tab. Also pointed out are some inconsistencies in the naming of several apps.
Unless a non-portable app has already installed by PMPC-HU, there will be some uncertainty about what a new install or uninstall will actually do. PMPC-HU would benefit from the addition of descriptions and supplementary info to define what adding, updating or uninstalling a supported app or uninstalling a non-supported app will do before the user takes action. For example, allow the user to open the file location of the app to be updated or uninstalled to make sure the intended installation is the one that will be affected. For apps which can be installed at machine or user level, specify that in the description of the installer package. Specify whether package includes installation of required apps, removal of old apps, etc.
My Apps - Uninstall Tabs - PDF.zip