ScribusPortable

Scribus Portable is a windows version of scribus, tweaked to be easily installed on a USB key or network disk, and be launched from there.

Scribus Portable 1.4.2 can be downloaded from PortableApps and is compatible with Ghostscript Portable. Scribus Portable is packaged in the PortableApps.com Format, so it can easily integrate with the PortableApps.com platform.

= FAQ =

Issue with ghostscript paths
-- Issue : The basic situation I have at work is that the crusty XP is being replaced by Win7. In the process, I can no longer install to the hard disks (this is a hospital, where I may use any one of 20, 30, or more computers depending on where I am and what is available). I have network drive space of my own that I can write to. Fortunately, Scribus Portable came to the rescue so that I could install a working Scribus to that network drive. What I am struggling with is assigning a path for ghostscript, also installed on the network drive. I can find it, assign it, but it doesn't stick. Other various preferences settings are saved Ok Even though I may not need ghostscript, it's still annoying to get the message about it every time you start Scribus, even though ghostscript too is installed on the network drive.

-- Solution (solved with the help of the folks, esp. Gord Caswell, at portableapps.com) :

So I had a Scribus-ngPortable folder with Scribus inside. The trick, courtesy of Gord, is to create a folder at the same level (not inside Scribus-ngPortable) named CommonFiles, then put gs in there. I also renamed the gs9.14 folder to Ghostscript (don't know if that's necessary) and from then on Scribus finds it automatically! The beauty of this in my setting is that I don't have to reset the gs location every time I use a desktop I haven't used before. This is better than the situation with XP, where I had to install Scribus every time I used a computer I hadn't used before. Then I would have to tell Scribus where gs was. Then I would have to change my settings from the defaults. And the recent files, and scripts, and etc. on one computer are the same everywhere. Life is good.

Notes of Gord Caswell, at PortableApps : 1) Ghostscript is detected using an algorithm that detects first Ghostscript located where the PortableApps launcher installs it, then where %GS_PROG% points, and finally, wherever gs is located if found in PATH. Scribus Portable sets the path for GIMP Portable and Ghostscript Portable. Currently, the path for GIMP Portable is hardcoded to use GIMP only, and only in a standard PortableApps setup, however future versions might provide the ability to change the path. 2) The path must be \CommonFiles\Ghostscript