Multiple Portable REAPER Installations

[harryupbabble]

My 60-day trial has expired days ago. This idea did not occur to me during the trial so I don't even know if it is "problem-free" possible. When I buy REAPER 6.0, will I be able to install, for example, one thousand (or more) portable versions of REAPER 6.0? A portable REAPER installation doesn't take that much hard drive space anyways, right?

Why would I want to do that? Well, it occurred to me, just minutes ago, that rather than remembering how a problem was solved why not just keep that "solved" state of REAPER and have it locked. Evil Dragon has solved at least 5 problems I have had, and Guenon and others as well, but each solution might have altered the REAPER Preferences.

So, I am thinking that multiple portable REAPER installations, if doable, could be valuable to REAPER-Is-Like-The-Cockpit-Of-A-747-Airplane-To-Me newbies like me.

So, for example, in drive C, could I have a folder named "REAPER Portable Installations" and in it, these sub-folders:

"REAPER - Delete All Tom Toms"
"REAPER - Batch Export 20,000 Midi Items"
"REAPER - Lyrics"
"REAPER - Video"
"REAPER - Live Electric Guitar"
"REAPER - 16-channel Drum Setup"
"REAPER - Lua Script MIDI Randomizer"

And so on? And will such multiple installations be better than REAPER templates (do templates freeze or save the Preferences?)?

Geez us. Time flies. Time flew. I thought "60-days, that's plenty of time". And it is. Only if you don't have the mindset that "60-days, that's plenty of time", right from the start.

[Kypresso]

You really dont do anything in a simple way do you.

[enroe]

...will I be able to install, for example, one thousand (or more) portable versions of REAPER 6.0?

Only if you install exactly 20,000 versions you will succeed!
It's always 20,000!

[harryupbabble]

You really dont do anything in a simple way do you.

I'm a simple person trying to cope with complicated-to-me REAPER. I love that REAPER lets me edit mass midi data so I need REAPER mainly for that reason. But I am already forgetting some of what I learned in REAPER.

I figure that if I have "snapshots" of REAPER then if I encounter the same problem months or years later all I have to do is activate that REAPER "snapshot" that dealt with that problem. My REAPER folder "album" could have a thousand or more "snapshots".

After I created this thread, I have been Googling the topic. It seems that yes, it's possible to have multiple portable installations of REAPER. Yeeehaaa.

Also, to my amazement a couple of months ago, I found out that even the newest REAPER still works in Windows XP!!! So if my Windows 7 computer fails, I could use Windows XP. I presume lots of people donate their older computers. I have a few donated Windows XP computers myself.

I didn't do the math, but I am guessing I could archive hundreds, maybe even thousands of REAPER portable installations or "snapshots" to DVD-R.

Also, I just realized that every time I make a song I could do a portable install of REAPER and keep everything that was used by the song in that folder.
One new portable REAPER install per one new song. Not complicated.

Also, I just realized that templates might not work with future REAPER updates?

[harryupbabble]

...will I be able to install, for example, one thousand (or more) portable versions of REAPER 6.0?

Only if you install exactly 20,000 versions you will succeed!
It's always 20,000!

If I recall correctly, it was around 2012 that I said to myself "I'm going to make a thousand songs by 2020". So far I only have about 40 really really really sucky songs. Hahahaha.

So no way Hosay, 20,000 songs is impossible, for anybody? A song a day for 8 years = about 2920 songs. Machines could do it easily and probably do, already.

Why does "Florence And The Machine" have machine in their name? Oh wait, I just Googled it. Never mind.

[woggle]

Portable installs are a good idea

I think your solution - one install per project is not bad - my portable install is 140MB with track templates taking up over 40MB of that.

The only issue is that you might have to reconfigure each instance of Reaper unless you use it "bare-bones" or save a standard config file that gets reused each time

[EvilDragon]

I think doing it like what you mention in the first post is needlessly complicating things for no good reason.

[woggle]

I think doing it like what you mention in the first post is needlessly complicating things for no good reason.

my god, this is becoming like the other threads - and so quickly!

[do_androids_dream]

Yes, you could do multiple portable installations if you wanted to.. I used to have one for mastering and one for writing/producing/mixing. But as time went on I realised that you always have those moments where you're working in one and you want the set up from the other one - so I went back to just one set up. Don't needlessly complicate things but also, try these things out for yourself to see what works for you. All the advice in the world is meaningless until you try if yourself.

[harryupbabble]

Portable installs are a good idea

I think your solution - one install per project is not bad - my portable install is 140MB with track templates taking up over 40MB of that.

The only issue is that you might have to reconfigure each instance of Reaper unless you use it "bare-bones" or save a standard config file that gets reused each time

I am guessing that my "snapshots" would all be "bare-bones", meaning that they won't have additions like track templates, 3rd party themes, etc. I am guessing that most of the changes will be done in the Preferences and Actions.

Whoa. 100 MB? That's the size of a REAPER fresh portable install? I Googled to make sure.

http://thehouseofportable.com/1489/cock ... -portable/

"This portable release includes:
- main package (~80 Mb): 1 exe file"

That's for REAPER 5.77. So, I guess 100 MB sounds right for version 5.94. I was expecting much less than 100 MB because the installer itself is only about 10 MB.

If my guess-math is correct, at 100 MB per portable install, I can archive about 47 of them to DVD-R. 47 is nowhere near "thousands" but still, it's acceptable.

[mcbpete]

Just learn about using project templates and screensets and don't worry about having 4 billion portable Reaper installs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXvjh7FASMo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dzz3uXI1b2E

[harryupbabble]

I think doing it like what you mention in the first post is needlessly complicating things for no good reason.

Hello again Evil Dragon. I really value your POV and input. Can you please explain why portable installs would be a waste of time in my case? And what is the alternative(s)?

As it is, I had to resort to taking screenshots whenever I make any changes to the Preferences or anywhere else (like in the Actions menu). And sometimes, even taking screenshots fails because... I'm not sure why.

I guess REAPER is like the Windows Service. Everything is interdependent and complex, to me at least.

[EvilDragon]

Because you can export and import full Reaper configurations right from Preferences->General?

Not sure why you'd need to screenshot after every change in Prefs, though...


But even putting all that aside, the example you stated in your first post here doesn't even warrant a separate portable install to me. It's either an action which can be placed on a toolbar, or a track template to be loaded. All from one single Reaper install.

[harryupbabble]

Just learn about using project templates and screensets and don't worry about having 4 billion portable Reaper installs:

I was trying to find out what gets saved in a REAPER template. I can't do it now because I have uninstalled REAPER days ago because the 60-day trial expired.

I wanted to find out if changes made in the Preferences gets saved in a REAPER template.

And also, I was guessing that REAPER templates may not function years later.

[harryupbabble]

Yes, you could do multiple portable installations if you wanted to.. I used to have one for mastering and one for writing/producing/mixing. But as time went on I realised that you always have those moments where you're working in one and you want the set up from the other one - so I went back to just one set up. Don't needlessly complicate things but also, try these things out for yourself to see what works for you. All the advice in the world is meaningless until you try if yourself.

In addition to the "snapshots" portable installations I was thinking of keeping a "normal install" for general composing. And if in the "normal install" I can't batch edit 20,000 midi items anymore, rather than configure or troubleshoot the "normal install", I could just use the "REAPER - Batch Edit 20,000 Midi Items" portable installation.

But I have uninstalled trial REAPER so I have to wait up to a year to buy REAPER 6.0.