Output - Deployment

ExeOutput for PHP is designed to generate the smallest possible application files, primarily through file compression.

Compressing Application EXE Files to Reduce Size¶

If you plan to distribute your application online, we recommend compressing it to minimize its size and download time. Several methods are available:

Compress the final .EXE file with UPX: UPX is a free executable packer available at http://upx.sourceforge.net. ExeOutput for PHP can automatically call UPX if you enable the option.

Finally, if you enable Obsidium API support, UPX compression will be ignored.

Distribute the final .EXE file using an installer: You can use Paquet Builder to compress your .EXE file into an installer optimized for online distribution.

See Distributing Applications.

Do Not Cache CEF Files Locally¶

Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) runtime files are large (approximately 50 MB), which typically results in several seconds of decompression at application startup. To eliminate this decompression step and speed up loading, the application will decompress and store CEF runtime files in a shared cache folder the first time it runs. If the runtime files already exist, they are used directly without decompression.

If you prefer not to store CEF runtime files (e.g., to save disk space) on the end user's computer, you can enable "Do not cache CEF files locally". However, this will cause the application to take longer to load each time it runs.

The cache folder is shared across all applications created with ExeOutput for PHP. By default, the cache folder path is: C:\ProgramData\GDG Software\ExeOutput for PHP App Cache\CEFXXXX where XXXX represents the version number of the Chromium Embedded Framework used in ExeOutput for PHP.

A different name will be used if you have configured a custom name for the storage folder (see below).

Leave CEF Runtime Files Outside the EXE File (Must Be Distributed with Your .EXE File)¶

ExeOutput for PHP does not compile the essential Chromium Embedded Framework runtime files into your application’s .EXE file, saving approximately 40 MB in size. However, the application will not function on a computer if these files are missing, and you will encounter the following error message: missing CEF3 files!

You can use this option only if you are certain to install these files yourself. For example, these files can be installed automatically using the exocefruntimeXXXX.exe installer available in the Redist subfolder of ExeOutput for PHP. Alternatively, you can find them in the CEFRuntime subfolder of ExeOutput for PHP. The files must be placed in the shared cache folder (see the section above).

Portable Version¶

ExeOutput for PHP can create portable versions of your applications. With a portable application:

• No installation is required; your application is stored on a removable device such as a USB flash drive/stick, allowing it to be used on multiple computers.
• User preferences and application settings are stored with the software (i.e., they are written to the USB drive). Thus, users retain their preferences even when running the application on different PCs. The Windows registry is not used.
• No permanent modifications are made to any PC after the application is used.

Portable applications create one data file in addition to their .EXE file:

• The state file (user preferences, global variables, etc.) is named: [name of the EXE].userpref

The state file is saved in the same folder as the .EXE file. Consequently, the storage device must not be read-only. If the application is unable to write the file in the same folder as its .EXE file, it will use the default location on the hard disk. The default location is a subfolder in the User Data directory as explained here, which you can customize.

If you do not create a portable version, you can specify a custom name for the storage folder where the application will store its settings. By default, it will be a subfolder in the User Data directory. You can obtain the full path at runtime from the global variable HEPubStorageLocation.