Portable Version

The portable version of iPool Suite 1.0.0 is supplied as a zip file, iPool-Portable.zip. It does not use the installer: extract the zip to a folder and run iPool Suite from there. Settings, logs and other app data are kept inside that folder instead of in your Windows user profile. Sample data is a separate download, iPool-Portable-SampleData.zip.

Portable Guide (PDF)

How to Install

1. Extract the portable package. Use Windows File Explorer or your preferred archive utility to unzip iPool-Portable.zip into a folder you can write to, for example D:\iPool-Portable or a USB drive. Do not extract it into C:\Program Files or another read-only folder. The extracted folder contains an iPool folder (the program) and README-Portable.txt.
2. Keep the extracted files together. Do not move files out of the iPool folder. In particular, do not delete or rename iPool\iPool-portable.ini: that file is what makes this copy portable. Without it, iPool Suite behaves like an installed copy and keeps its settings in your Windows user profile.
3. Launch iPool Suite. Run iPool\iPoolSuite.exe. If your organization has specific folder or access requirements, follow your administrator's guidance.
4. Optional: sample data. Extract iPool-Portable-SampleData.zip into C:\iEnergy, so that you get C:\iEnergy\WorkingFolder.

Existing data

Extracting over an existing C:\iEnergy\WorkingFolder replaces files with the same names. Back up that folder first.

Before you start

• Confirm that the package has finished extracting before launching the application.
• Keep a copy of the original downloaded zip until you have confirmed that the portable version runs correctly.

Important Differences from the Installed Version

Where your settings are kept

Settings, session data, logs and crash reports are kept in a UserData folder inside the portable folder, next to the iPool folder. It is created the first time iPool Suite starts. Nothing is written to %APPDATA%\iPool. If the portable folder is not writable, iPool Suite shows an error and closes instead of saving its settings somewhere else.

Defaults.csv

Like the installed version, the portable version reads its folder and database settings from C:\IENERGY\Defaults.csv. The engines read the same file. It never overwrites an existing Defaults.csv.

• If no Defaults.csv is found, iPool Suite shows "No Defaults.csv was found on this PC." and offers to create C:\IENERGY\Defaults.csv. If you extracted the sample data, it copies the sample's Defaults.csv; otherwise it uses a built-in template with folders under C:\iEnergy\WorkingFolder. Choose Create Defaults.csv, Not now (asked again at the next start) or Don't ask again.
• If you decline, iPool Suite runs without a Defaults.csv, as on a new computer. You can set the folders later with the Directory Initializer in Scenario Studio.
• If iPool Suite is also installed on this computer, both copies use the same C:\IENERGY\Defaults.csv. A folder change made in either copy applies to both.

Folder names

Do not put the portable folder in a path that contains a comma (for example D:\Tools,Old\iPool-Portable): Defaults.csv cannot hold such a path, so the file cannot be created. If you move the portable folder after Defaults.csv was created, the DirMain line still points to the old location and is not changed automatically; edit it by hand if needed.

iPool.ini setting

An installed iPool Suite can also find Defaults.csv through an iPool.ini file (C:\ProgramData\iPool\iPool.ini). The portable version only reads it if you choose so, in Settings → Portable (this section is shown only in a portable copy):

Option	What it does
Ignore iPool.ini (default)	No iPool.ini is read.
Use the installed iPool's iPool.ini	Finds Defaults.csv exactly as the installed version does.
Use this file	An iPool.ini you choose with Browse…. A file inside the portable folder keeps working after you move the folder or the drive letter changes.

C:\IENERGY\Defaults.csv always comes first; iPool.ini is only used when that file is not there, and it is only read, never changed. A change takes effect after you restart iPool Suite (Settings offers Restart now).

Licensing

The license works the same way as in the installed version (see System Installation and Licensing). A license already activated on this computer is found and used. You can also license the portable version through the normal licensing process in iPool Suite. If licensing through iPool Suite is restricted by administrator permissions, place the machine-specific .lic license file in the iPool folder, next to iPoolSuite.exe, then launch the application again.

Not kept in the portable folder

These stay where the installed version keeps them:

• C:\IENERGY\Defaults.csv and the working folders it points to;
• the Historical Store (C:\iEnergy\Historical Store by default, or the folder chosen in Settings → Historical Store), shared with an installed copy;
• the default Downloads folder, Windows temporary files and the default folders of open/save dialogs.

The portable version does not register file associations. A portable copy and an installed copy can run on the same computer.

Quick Checklist

• iPool-Portable.zip has been extracted to a writable folder whose path has no comma.
• iPool\iPool-portable.ini is still in place, and iPool Suite is started with iPool\iPoolSuite.exe.
• Defaults.csv is available in C:\IENERGY, or was created from the offer at first start.
• If needed, the iPool.ini option in Settings → Portable has been set and iPool Suite restarted.
• Licensing has been completed using the normal process or the .lic-file alternative where administrator restrictions apply.

Need help? If you have issues extracting, launching, configuring or licensing the portable version, email support@ienergyglobal.com.au.