Overview
What is Soft2base ?
Soft2Base is a free portable Applications Manager for Windows.
Based on its auto-updated catalog of free softwares, it will highlights outdated or missing applications and propose to download and install them in a single step.
Use it to add efficient tools to your new Windows setups but also to upgrade already installed applications.
Soft2base says NO to unneeded tool bars and other junks.
The GUI is in English, French and Italian, but you can install applications in any language.
The Silent Install mode supports English, Bulgarian, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish and Turkish.
Soft2base can be used offline to deploy applications from a USB drive.
Requirements
Soft2base.exe is ready to run, even on fresh Windows install.
Nothing to install, no requirement, no additional runtime needed.
All you need is Windows XP, Vista, Seven, 8 or 10 in either 32 or 64bits.
Quick Start
Download soft2base.exe and run it.
Main Features
Easy
All downloads and installations are processed automatically.
Soft2base detects existing versions: applications upgrade becomes sooooo easy 🙂
Localized
The applications can be silently installed in
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Other languages are still available throught the non-silent install.
The GUI is available in English, French and Italian.
If you want to help translating, contact us: contact@soft2base.com
Free and Legal
No registration required, install free applications, no piracy.
Wants to help up ? Please use the Donate button and send any amount.
Efficient
Always up-to-date thanks to the online applications catalog.
Can run offline from an USB drive
Parallel download of application. First ready it is installed while other downloads are completed.
Applications are installed with default parameters, without junk, without toolbar. But you can still use the standard install (non-silent) to customize your particular setup.
AutoUpdate
The application catalog is automatically updated when starting soft2base.
When a newer version of the soft2base executable is available, you will be ask to confirm to download it to replace the current executable. It is then restarted.
User Manual
Standard usage
- Run soft2base.exe
- Adapt filters to your needs
- Select applications in the list view or load a system or custom profile
- Optionaly, save your list in a profile
- Press [Next>]
- At this point,you can press [< Back ] to select more applications
- Adapt download&install options to your needs, select application language
- In the listview, the last column is indicating in which language the application will be installed (default is English-US (en))
- Press [Install>] (or [Download>] depending on the options)
- Missing dependencies are added if needed (.NET, DirectX or Java RE …)
- Downloads are started (in parallel) when the setup files is not found in local cache
- First ready, first installed (one at a time)
- Have a break 😉
Parameters
Parameters can be provided via the command line (ex /DOWNLOADONLY=1) or via an ini file (default soft2base.ini), in the [soft2base] section.
The special command line parameter /SETTINGS=<filename> allows to specify a configuration file other than the default soft2base.ini.
Parameters are not case sensitive.
| Parameters | Comment | Default value |
| /REPOSITORY=<dir> | Defines where are stored the downloaded setup files. Useful for the offline mode. |
%APPDATA%\soft2base\software |
| /32 | Forces the installation of the 32bits version of the applications | Any value activates this parameter |
| /64 | Forces the installation of the 64bits version of the applications. Useful to download (only) x64 setup files while on a 32 bits system. |
Any value activates this parameter |
| /INI=<file>|<url> | Location of the source catalog. Can be a local file or a URL. |
Downloaded from soft2base.com site. |
| /NOPROXY | Do not use any proxy to connect to internet. | Use Internet Explorer proxy settings. |
| /HTTPS_PROXY=<url> | Use a specif address as proxy to connect to internet. | Empty i.e. uses Internet Explorer proxy settings. |
| /APP=appCode1[,appCode2…] | Specify selected applications | Default: empty |
| /SILENTINSTALL=[1|0] | Activate the Silent Install (automatic) option | 1 – True |
| /NEWERONLY=[1|0] | Desactivate the Install without comparing version option | 1 – True |
| /DOWNLOADONLY=[1|0] | Activate the Download only (no install) option | 0 – False |
| /SELECTUPGRADABLEONLY=[1|0]
(v3.1+) |
Filter the list of applications defined by APP to keep only upgradable applications (i.e. already installed) | 0 – False |
| /AUTOUPDATE=[1|0] | Activate the self-update function | 1 – True |
| /S or /VERYSILENT=[1|0] | Activate the very silent installation of applications (no GUI displayed). To be used with at least APP |
0 – False |
| /SILENT=[1|0] | Activate the silent installation of applications (GUI is displayed). To be used with at least APP |
0 – False |
| /HIDESPLASH=[1|0]
(v3.1) |
Hide the intial Splash screen | 0 – False |
| /LOG=<filename>
(v3.1+) |
Logs filename | %temp%\soft2base\soft2base.log |
| /APPLANG=<LCID> | Language ID of the applications to install. Available lcid are:
|
System LCID if available else 1033 |
| /L or /LANG=<LCID> | Soft2base GUI language. Available lcid are:
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System LCID if available else 1033 |
Example of soft2base.ini:
; 1, true = checked ; 0, false = unchecked [soft2base] app=speccy,chrome ; pre-select these 2 applications ;options silentinstall=1 ; install application silently neweronly=1 ; upgrade only if existing version is older downloadonly=0 ; when true, download only and do not install applang=1048 ; Application setup language l=1040 ; Soft2base GUI language (1033 en, 1036 fr, 1040 it) ;offline mode sample repository=..\cache ; files are in the "..\cache" directory ini=..\cache\apps_c.ini ; use the local catalog (static in this case for read only offline)
App Filters
In the GUI …
How to use custom lists of applications
There are several ways to select applications in the list view.
- Manually 😉
- Using the APP parameter (from the command line or soft2base.ini)
- Using a system profile in the Profiles menu: minimum, medium, maximum
- Using a custom profile in the Profiles menu
- You need first to create a custom profile
- custom profiles are saved in soft2base.ini
Download and Install options
Silent usage
Soft2base.exe can run silently itself (!) thanks to the /Silent and /Verysilent parameters
Obviously, you need to specify some applications in the APP parameter.
USB mode (updatabled or not)
You can copy the Soft2base executable, the catalog and all application setup files in a USB drive for offline installations.
Preparation
- Copy soft2base.exe and soft2base.ini in a USB drive
- Create a cache directory
- Edit soft2base.ini and link the repository parameter to this cache directory
repository=cache ; files are in the “cache” directory
- Run soft2base.exe, select your application and use the download only flag. Press the Download button
- Your cache directory now contains a copy of the catalog and all setup files
Example of directory structure:
D:\soft2base soft2base.exe soft2base.ini cache apps_c.ini setup_firefox.exe setup_firefox.txt setup_ccleaner.exe setup_ccleaner.txt .../...
If you plan to run soft2base on mix x32/x64 architecture, you can force the download of x32 and x64 versions of the applications by using the 32=1 or 64=1 flags in softbase.ini (or /32 /64 on the command line)
Execution on the target machine
- Simply run soft2base.exe
- if Internet is available, the catalog will be updated (as well as setup files when an updated version is available).
Download once, install everywhere, always up to date
- if Internet is not available, the local catalog will be used
Download once, install everywhere, same version of applications
Offline usage (static)
You can use soft2base from a CD or a read-only network drive.
The preparation is the same as for the updatabled mode but you need to force the usage of the local catalog by specifying the ini parameter in soft2base.ini
repository=cache ; files are in the “cache” directory
ini=cache\apps_c.ini ; use a local copy of the catalog (static in this case for read-only offline)
autoupdate=false ; do not verify if soft2base.exe is up-to-date
Structure of the applications catalog
The application catalog is stored in a small ini file.
By default, it is downloaded from the soft2base.com site.
When using a custom cache directory, it will be copied in this directory, with software setup files (for the Offline mode)
Custom sections
The first section is soft2base and contains versionning information about the catalog and the current executable.
The next sections are ending with an _ and describe nodes used in the treeview.
Ex: multimedia_, browsers_ …
[multimedia_] parent=all_ ; all_ is the root node isnode=true ; mandatory for all nodes name_1033=Multimedia ; name[_<lcid>]=a short description displayed in the treeview name_1036=Multimédia name_1040=Multimedia
App sections
An application is described in its section. The soft2base executable does not host any custom code for a specific application.
Most sensitive information is crypted but you can update the version yourself.
Soft2base v3.1 will offer a way to add a custom.ini file to the main list to specify our own applications. At that time, the full grammar of the ini will be provided.
You can obviouly already see it in action and update the version field or the description field if you wants a more appropriate information.
Ex:
[videolan] name=VideoLAN parent=multimedia_ top=true version=1.1.9 check_reg_version==E6B265D83BE06 ; ... type==9BB6 desc_1033=Free media player desc_1036=Lecteur vidéo pre_exec==E1B266DD3A976FB2F007CD ; ... url==E1C265D83BE66EC7F176CD216FD4 ; ... silent==9AC767DF param==9AC760A93F9414C3F673CA556ADF8901; ...
Some versions have a + sign at the end.
It means that the url of this application is always pointing to the latest version available (i.e. the link does not mention the version).