4 - Portability checks

This is for sure the most critical step of the entire procedure, because it's entirely to the user read and interpret the analysis results and state if WPP_TEST is portable or not.
First of all we must exclude everything that is not directly related to WPP_TEST (both registry keys and directories/files). Or, if you prefer, we have to concentrate only on whichever item related to WPP_TEST. The first check is looking in our log file for the string WPP_TEST. Obviously, if it appears we will have to consider also all its sub-keys and/or sub-directories (and this even if they don't contain the string WPP_TEST).

4a) Registry

If you find "WPP_TEST" in the registry, ignore any item containing the following strings: RunMRU, OpenSaveMRU, MUICache.
If "WPP_TEST" only appears in these items, you can safely assume that it's a portable program, as far as the Windows registry is concerned.

On the other hand, and supposing that WPP_TEST is distribuited by a “WPP” software house: if you find any of the the following keys, or subkeys (or keys/subkeys similar to them):

HKU\[number]\Software\WPP
HKU\[number]\Software\WPP\WPP_TEST
HKCU\Software\WPP
HKCU\Software\WPP\WPP_TEST
HKLM\Software\WPP
HKLM\Software\WPP\WPP_TEST

then is possible that WPP_TEST writes its own options in the Registry. In order to ascertain this, you must check (using Regedit, or by running WPP_TEST again) whether changing the program options results in a modification of the subkeys. If so, then WPP_TEST is definitely NOT portable.

4b) User directories

When WPP_TEST writes its options into one of the following folders (or any related sub-folder), and/or when a directory named "WPP_TEST" or "WPP" (or similar) appears as a sub-folder of one of the following:

C:\Windows
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data
C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Application Data
C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Local Settings\Application Data

(they are usually listed in Regshot's settings), then you can assume WPP_TEST is NOT portable.

NOTE: Check the log files very carefully, and make sure to check their content as well, because the WPP_TEST may not appear in the file name but still be present in a sub-folder, which could lead to losing important data.






5 - Regshot customization

By modifying the "regshot.ini" file you can customize Regshot so as to create the most efficient and suitable version and to facilitate the scan environment.

Here is an example (based on Paraglider fork):


As you can see there are some noticeable differences between these settings and the default configuration used during Regshot installation.

First of all, look at the "ExtDir" value, which refers to what was written in the "Scan dir1 [;dir2;...;dir nn]" field (see Step 2: Introducing Regshot) and contains the folders listed above in the un-checked list.
Then , as you can see, there are two different groups, [SkipRegKey] and [SkipDir]. As their names suggest, under these groups you can list whichever item (registry key or subfolder) that you want Regshot to ignore during the scanning process and the subsequent checks. In other words, every item under [SkipRegKey] will be ignored in all the registry keys, while items listed under [SkipDir] will be ignored only for directories and subdirectories listed under "ExtDir" (typical example "C:\Windows\Temp"). This way, the resulting file will be lighter and will only contain significant data and leave out unnecessary information.

Note: please keep in mind that the ideal solution is half-way between keeping and ignoring all the items; the items should be chosen carefully, keeping in mind the effects that adding or removing an item entail. For instance, you may create an entire set of .ini files (each with different setup parameters referring to the [Skip...] section) in order to execute scans at different levels and finally choose the options that better suit your needs.


6 - Conclusions

Regshot is a very simple, fast, yet powerful tool to attest software portability and to amend and X-Launcher in order to convert it into a portable application. It is a user-oriented software where every choice is completely up to the user. Regshot enables every user to reach the results that best suit their needs. Have fun creating your own portable software!