Portable version (Windows) writes stuff in $appdata

Relevant code is in zim/config/basedirs.py line 48 - 76

There are 3 XDG parameters that are using the APPDATA folder as a default: XDG_DATA_HOME, XDG_CONFIG_HOME and XDG_CACHE_HOME.

The files mentioned in the description above would be looked up relative to XDG_DATA_HOME.

To complete the list, the remaining paramaters XDG_DATA_DIRS and XDG_CONFIG_DIRS are only used for reading. They fall back to other known default locations.

-- Jaap

PLEASE ESCALATE: I would like to add a little something about the "Importance" of this issue. I just started using the portable version of Zim (v0.62 packaged by PortableApps.com) for tracking my college class work and notes. I work with it on my desktop and then clone it to my USB key for use at the college. Because of this bug, changes that I make to settings do not copy over to the USB key making this not a truly portable application. I work with the USB copy of the wiki on the school computers and everything works okay UNLESS I try to change any settings. Changing settings in Zim at school causes an error because campus IT security blocks "unauthorized applications" from writing data to the %APPDATA% folder. I am not sure yet but I think this also affects installing/using some plugins which also would want to read/write files in the %APPDATA% folder.

Correction: I am using v0.62 but it is not packaged by PortableApps, it is the package file from glump.net (http://www.glump.net/files/release/zim-windows//ZimDesktopWikiPortable_0.62.paf.exe). I have it "launched" by my PortableApps launcher which is what caused the confusion. It looks like there is a newer version (0.65) which I am going to download and see if that changes anything regarding this issue but since this bug is still open I am guessing it wont.

A nice helpful person over at PortableApps provided a solution that should be trivial (see Step 2 below) to implement into the codebase. It definitely solves the problem for ZimWiki application and it might solve the problem for any reasonably well-behaved (i.e. *NOT* hard-coded) plugins.

NOTE: If I knew how to read Python code better (total Py novice) I might be willing to try and figure out where this particular INI file is built.

The solution is as follows:

0. Close and EXIT ZimWiki.

1. Find the ZimDesktopWikiPortable.INI file. Mine was located at
 - F:\PortableApps\ZimDesktopWikiPortable\App\AppInfo\Launcher\ZimDesktopWikiPortable.INI

2. Make sure the [Environment] section has at least the following 4 lines at the top:
<code>
[Environment]
HOME=%PAL:DataDir%
XDG_DATA_HOME=%PAL:DataDir%\Data
XDG_CACHE_HOME=%PAL:DataDir%\Cache
XDG_CONFIG_HOME=%PAL:DataDir%\Config
</code>

3. If you have any setting or plugins in the old %APPDATA% pathway you will need to bring them over manually to the new path or just reinstall/adjust them from scratch.

4. Start up ZimWiki and you should be good to go.

----

SOURCE: http://portableapps.com/comment/229303#comment-229303

Please ignore the <code></code> tags above, I thought this forum used markdown with limited HTML.

AMBROSE, thank you for posting the workaround.

I will be sure to include the requested modification in the next portable package of Zim for Windows, soon after the next upstream release occurs.

BRENDAN, Cool! Please give credit to mwayne (http://portableapps.com/user/193818) since it was his idea.