FAQ item: why doesn't portable software integrate with my computer?

This is unfortunately one of the trade-offs of using portable software; while PortableFreeware has easy backup/sync, transport, and generally cleaner behavior on a home system, it often doesn't smoothly integrate with the home system.

Workarounds:

• The fastest and simplest way: right-click on a file, select "Open With..." and choose a portable program, but you'll have to do this on every computer and every file association.
• Some programs have a built-in associations manager that you can enable, but must be done on every computer.  XNViewMP for example has a program called "Associate files with XnViewMP.exe" while XMind has "Associate_XMind_File.bat"
• Programs like CAFE/Coffee (and others) have appeared to try and address this integration question but generally require some energy to enable.

Related threads: 

• When I double click on a .TXT file, I want it to open in my favorite text editor
• Assigning File Types to Portable Application
• How to Make Portable Applications the Default File Handler in Windows 8 (speaks specifically to PortableApps and eXpresso users)