[Fixed] Different portable packs of PDFXE conflict with each other SOLVED

[avada]

Update:
I think this was fixed a while ago, but I didn't mark it as solved.

Hi!

I can't start a portable version when a local version is running. I can't start a local one when a portable PDFXE is running.

This does not make sense. A local installation shouldn't care about portable instances. A portable version shouldn't care about anything except whether another instance is running from the very same exe.

Edit: Updated title to reflect new information.


PS:
The thread title limit is unreasonably and impractically short.

[HaPe]

Just tried it on my system and couldn't find a problem. Seems to be working fine for me.
I use a portable version Build 318.1 and a local version also Build 318.1.
No matter which program runs first,I can always run the other version too.

HaPe

[Will - Tracker Supp]

Hi avada,

I'm not seeing this here either:


How are you launching either application?

Thanks,

[avada]

Just tried it on my system and couldn't find a problem. Seems to be working fine for me.
I use a portable version Build 318.1 and a local version also Build 318.1.
No matter which program runs first,I can always run the other version too.

HaPe

You probably have some feature enabled to allow multiple instances. (which I can't find right now.)

[avada]

Hi avada,

I'm not seeing this here either:


How are you launching either application?

Thanks,

Via a shortcut, or directly. Doesn't matter.

[HaPe]

Hi @avada,
I downloaded the portable version just for testing purposes only before replying to your post.I didn't make any changes to the settings.
Changes to local version were only made to re-arrange the toolbar - nothing special.

HaPe

[Tracker Supp-Stefan]

Hello avada,

There are no such settings in the Editor - as it would normally run multiple windows out of the same instance of the process. In any case - as HaPe and Will said - there are no such issues that we can observe. It seems to be specific to your system?
Maybe your antivirus is preventing two applications with the same name from running at the same time? Can you please check the settings at your end?

Regards,
Stefan

[avada]

I don't have an AV, or anything special. And I fail how could anything other than PDFXE be at play when focus is transferred to the already running instance in particular. It's not as if nothing happens when I double click it. If I open a pdf the pdf opens in the already running portable instance not to which it's associated to.

I don't know why, or how, or if it's because of a bug. But a form of "prevent multiple instances" feature is active. It can't be anything else. Nothing else would behave like this.

[Patrick-Tracker Supp]

Hello avada,

Could you please specify the version and build of both the local and portable version?

Thank you!

[avada]

Hello avada,

Could you please specify the version and build of both the local and portable version?

Thank you!

I actually use the 64 bit version with portable.dat so I can have the settings there with the app. This is what I use locally with pdf-s associated to it.
The portable version is just the portable version from the website. Both's 318.1.

[Will - Tracker Supp]

Hi avada,

To make sure that I understand correctly, you have copied the Portable.dat from the Portable Editor to the installation folder of the installed Editor? If so, I suspect that's what may be causing the issue. Can you please try deleting/renaming the file extension on that .dat file and see if that helps?

Thanks,

[avada]

Hi avada,

To make sure that I understand correctly, you have copied the Portable.dat from the Portable Editor to the installation folder of the installed Editor? If so, I suspect that's what may be causing the issue. Can you please try deleting/renaming the file extension on that .dat file and see if that helps?

Thanks,

I actually just unpack the files and overwrite old ones.

Okay. So I can start one portable and one local instance. I can't start more then one portable versions, from different locations.
It makes no sense for a portable version to block other portable versions from running. So this is the actual bug. (It should only care for it's own exe.)

[Will - Tracker Supp]

Currently, that is the case and I'm not if we have any ability to do otherwise. I'll have to check that with the Dev. Team.

For now, I would recommend that you enable multiple frames under Edit --> Preferences --> Documents --> Tabs and Windows --> Open each new document in a new window, or simply deleting the Portable.dat file in the Editor installation folder.

Thanks,

[avada]

Currently, that is the case and I'm not if we have any ability to do otherwise. I'll have to check that with the Dev. Team.

For now, I would recommend that you enable multiple frames under Edit --> Preferences --> Documents --> Tabs and Windows --> Open each new document in a new window, or simply deleting the Portable.dat file in the Editor installation folder.

Thanks,

Yeah, I don't think this behavior is changeable either. But I do think this is a bug/flaw. Different portable packs have nothing to do with each other. So they shouldn't affect each other at all.

Opening a new window is not a fix though. One might have different configuration between different portable instances.

In my case I'd like to have one for reading a document and another for searching the same one (and/or others) without navigating away from where I'm at.
Or someone might have a different set of documents open in different portable packs.

[Will - Tracker Supp]

Hi Avada,

As mentioned above, I'll ask the Devs. if this is possible and feasible for us to change, but I can't make any guarantees.

For now, deleting the portable files in the Editor installation folder will allow you to do exactly what you want, by having the file open in both the Portable and installed Editor.

Also, it's worth noting that the Split option under Window --> Split Will also allow you to achieve the same thing, though you obviously don't have the added benefit of having both documents in fullscreen with a two screen setup.

[Will - Tracker Supp]

Just heard back from the Developers, so there's two things:

1) Make sure that you are using build 318.1 of the Portable Editor, as it was not correctly updated on the website. This was only corrected yesterday - best way to make sure is to redownload via the Editor's main product page:
https://www.pdf-xchange.com/produc ... nge-editor

2) While not ideal and not inkeeping with the idea of a Portable application, an 'unofficial tweak' would be to import this reg key (extract from ZIP folder and rename the extension from .txt to .reg):

pxe_allow_multi_inst.zip

(314 Bytes) Downloaded 179 times

This should then allow you to run multiple instances of the Portable Editor, without requiring multiple copies of the Portable Editor's files.

Thanks,

[avada]

Just heard back from the Developers, so there's two things:

1) Make sure that you are using build 318.1 of the Portable Editor, as it was not correctly updated on the website. This was only corrected yesterday - best way to make sure is to redownload via the Editor's main product page:
https://www.pdf-xchange.com/produc ... nge-editor

2) While not ideal and not inkeeping with the idea of a Portable application, an 'unofficial tweak' would be to import this reg key (extract from ZIP folder and rename the extension from .txt to .reg):

pxe_allow_multi_inst.zip

This should then allow you to run multiple instances of the Portable Editor, without requiring multiple copies of the Portable Editor's files.

Thanks,

Thanks for the tip.
Will this issue be fixed in the future? I'd say that reading/writing/relying on registry keys are against the idea of a portable app to begin with. The registry is inherently local.

Edit:
After trying this I realize this is quite an ugly hack, with a huge side effect. I definitely don't want two instances from the same portable/local package.
This however enables precisely that.

[Patrick-Tracker Supp]

Hi avada,

This should be a temporary workaround. I am sorry for the inconvenience this may cause you.

Cheers!

[Willy Van Nuffel]

1) If I understand it correctly, I think that Tracker Development has the intention to NOT allow multiple instances of the Editor, probably for a good reason. The registry key is just meant to disable that built-in behavior.

So when that registry key has been applied, it is possible to run multiple instances.
To me, it seams that these multiple instances are all running independently from each other.
They are also shown like that in the Details tab of the Windows Task Manager (in Windows 10).

I wonder where the problem still is for 'avada', or was it just the intention to mention incorrect behavior of the Editor (local/portable version)?

2) A question for Tracker Support:
Changes to settings that I make via Edit > Preferences in the Portable version are not stored/remembered.
Was this meant to work like that?
I would suppose that these preferences should be stored in a file in the same folder as where the portable version itself has been installed.

Best regards.

[Willy Van Nuffel]

2) Sorry, I have to recall my remark about not saving my settings in the Portable version of PDF-XChange Editor.
I had installed it in a folder where I only have write permissions via my administrator account.
When installed in a user folder, everything goes well, and a "Settings.dat" file is being written.

Best regards.

[Will - Tracker Supp]

Hi Guys,

Willy: Thanks for the input!

1) If I understand it correctly, I think that Tracker Development has the intention to NOT allow multiple instances of the Editor, probably for a good reason. The registry key is just meant to disable that built-in behavior.

That's correct - we don't use multiple instances anymore because while there were certain benefits, there were also drawbacks that made things quite complicated from a developmental standpoint. Generally speaking, we use multiple frames of a single instance instead. This registry hack shouldn't actually work, technically speaking and one of our developers has said that the Portable Editor shouldn't look to the registry at all beause, as Avada pointed out, looking to the registry defeats the purpose of a portable application.

I wonder where the problem still is for 'avada', or was it just the intention to mention incorrect behavior of the Editor (local/portable version)?

Avada would like for it to be possible to run two instances of the Portable Editor, but not from the same executable. For example, if two copies of the Portable Editor folder are created (so there are two copies of all Portable Editor files), it should be possible to run each simultaneously because the two should be entirely independent of one another. I'm inclined to agree with this, but I'm not a developer and so cannot speak to the technical limitations (if any) standing in the way of that.

I'm going to bring this up tonight at our support meeting tonight, to see if we can and should change this behaviour.

2) Sorry, I have to recall my remark about not saving my settings in the Portable version of PDF-XChange Editor.
I had installed it in a folder where I only have write permissions via my administrator account.
When installed in a user folder, everything goes well, and a "Settings.dat" file is being written.

Best regards.

Awesome, glad that you solved it!

Avada:

Thanks for the tip.
Will this issue be fixed in the future? I'd say that reading/writing/relying on registry keys are against the idea of a portable app to begin with. The registry is inherently local.

I can't say at the moment as I'm not sure if it's a bug, or by design. As mentioned above, to Willy, I'll talk with the Dev. Team tonight and will let you know.

Edit:
After trying this I realize this is quite an ugly hack, with a huge side effect. I definitely don't want two instances from the same portable/local package.
This however enables precisely that.

This is exactly why we don't use multiple instances any more and the term 'hack' is quite appropriate here. It's not necessarily intended to be a definitive solution for you, only a temporary workaround until I get more information. Unfortunately it's the best alternative I can offer at the moment.

Cheers,

[avada]

Hi!
Are there any improvements for this issue in 6.0 Build 319.0? (There's no changelog)

[Will - Tracker Supp]

Hi Avada,

I'm not sure offhand, I'll have to double check and get back to you. The changelog shoudl be posted tomorrow.

Cheers,

[avada]

Nope. They're still conflicting.

[Will - Tracker Supp]

I've asked for an update and will let you know as soon as I hear back.

Cheers,

[Will - Tracker Supp]

Hi Avada,

I've spoken with the Dev. Team and it appears that it simply couldn't make it into 319. I've created an internal development ticket to track this - the ticket number is RT-3753.

Thanks,

[avada]

Hi Avada,

I've spoken with the Dev. Team and it appears that it simply couldn't make it into 319. I've created an internal development ticket to track this - the ticket number is RT-3753.

Thanks,

Cool. Hopefully it gets implemented by the next the next release.

[Will - Tracker Supp]

[generosis]

It works also with both PDFXEs being portable.
Just tested it. Downloaded the zip. Extracted to two different folders.
Deleted either one of the Portable.dat files - they do not have anything written in them anyway.
Then the two exes do not come into conflict.
I suspect because the Exe without Portable.dat "behaves" as if it was normally installed. I say this because on launch it automatically read the settings from the third and actual installation in the "Program Files".

Cheers

[Tracker Supp-Stefan]

Hello generosis,

Yes - if the .dat file is removed - the portable Exe will check the registry and see if there are any settings there. And if found - it will use those, and act as a copy of the installed version and have the same settings as it.

Regards,
Stefan