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How to run SoftMaker Office 2008 from a USB flash drive
If you want to carry SoftMaker Office 2008 for Windows and important
documents with you, you can copy SoftMaker Office to a USB
flash drive. You can then insert this USB flash drive in any
Windows-based computer (for example, those of friends or in Internet
cafes) and run SoftMaker Office to access your documents.
The important issue is that SoftMaker Office must be prevented from
changing the Windows Registry, the Start menu, or other parts of a
Windows installation that is not your own. This is possible with all
programs in SoftMaker Office 2008 for Windows. Proceed as follows:
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1. |
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Install SoftMaker Office 2008 on your regular PC's built-in hard disk.
This lets you work with SoftMaker Office in the regular way, even
without a USB flash drive. |
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2. |
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Click on the Windows Start button, then select Programs, SoftMaker
Office 2008, Utilities, Install SoftMaker Office on a USB stick. |
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3. |
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Follow the instructions in this program. When prompted to do so,
insert the USB flash drive in your PC. |
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4. |
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The usbstick program now copies the complete SoftMaker Office folder
and the complete folder My Documents\SoftMaker to your USB
flash drive. This makes all SoftMaker Office program files, all
documents and all settings available on the USB flash drive. |
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5. |
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When the usbstick program is done, your USB flash drive contains a
fully functional copy of SoftMaker Office which does not register
itself in Windows, as well as all your documents, spreadsheets, and
configuration files. |
What does usbstick.exe do exactly? If you want to know the
details, here they are:
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It determines the folder in which SoftMaker Office
2008 is installed, and copies the complete folder to the USB flash drive. |
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It then copies the complete folder "My
Documents\SoftMaker" to the USB flash drive (more exactly: into
the folder "SoftMaker" below the SoftMaker Office folder). |
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However, the program only copies files that do not
exist yet on the USB flash drive and replaces only those which are
older on the USB flash drive than on the hard disk. |
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Finally, the usbstick program creates a file named portable.txt
in the SoftMaker Office folder on the USB flash drive. This file,
whose contents are irrelevant, is a "marker file". Its
existence causes SoftMaker Office to not install itself in the
Windows Registry or the Start menu.
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Tips & Tricks for TextMaker and PlanMaker
You'll find more tips and tricks for both applications on the
respective tips pages for TextMaker
and PlanMaker.
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