============
Introduction
============

What is Toucan?
===============

Simply put Toucan is a file syncronisation, backup and encryption tool, 
aimed at advanced users. It has been written from the ground up to be a 
`portable application 
<http://portableapps.com/about/what_is_a_portable_app>`_. It also 
features a powerful inbuilt scripting system and a user interface that 
has been translated into nearly 20 languages. 

What is this Document?
======================

You are reading the main Toucan manual. It aims to be a complete 
reference for Toucan, the user interface, the command line options and 
scripting system. Also included are sections on translating and 
compiling Toucan, as well as a set of example scripts. It is not a guide 
to Lua, the language that Toucan uses for its scripts, for an 
introduction see the `Lua website <http://www.lua.org>`_ and 
`documentation <http://www.lua.org/manual/5.1/>`_. If you spot any 
mistakes or have any suggestions please post them in the Toucan support forum. 

A Brief History
===============

What would eventually become Toucan, although it shares no code with it, 
first existed on the MozillaZine forums in the same thread as the 
original versions of Portable Firefox. Although it's name has apparently 
been lost to history it was a very basic app, coded in NSIS that simply 
copied folders backwards and forwards, it was created originally for 
copying Firefox profiles. After Portable Firefox moved to 
PortableApps.com it migrated to the Liberta Project along with it's new 
sibling, a backup tool written in NSIS that used 7-Zip as a back end. 
Together these are the distant ancestors of Toucan. After some time 
these two utilities were re-written into a single new tool in C++ using 
the wxWidgets GUI library. It was called the Portable Utility and 
Security Suite, which also added an encryption component. The code-base 
evolved for some time, before eventually moving to PortableApps.com and 
being renamed Toucan, a name chosen in a competition and thought of by 
Danny Mensingh. The initial 1.1 release was a success, receiving roughly 
40,000 downloads in it's first month. A number of bug fix releases 
followed, most notably replacing the default encryption mode, before 
version 2 was released with an updated user interface. The next major 
release was 2.1 which moved to a new Sync engine and Progress Window. 
After that release a there was another series of of bug fixes and 
feature updates after which Version 3 was released. Version 3 is the 
latest in a long line of improvements, moving to a new scripting system 
based on Lua, support for Linux and many other general fixes and 
additions, such as a much improved Sync system. 

Installing Toucan
=================

Once you have downloaded a copy of Toucan from the 
`website <http://portableapps.com/toucan>`_ installation is simple. 

With the PortableApps.com Platform
----------------------------------

Simply open the menu and click Options->Add a new App and follow the on 
screen instructions. Once installation has been completed Toucan will 
immediately be ready to run by clicking the link on the menu. 

Without the PortableApps.com Platform
-------------------------------------

If you do not use the platform and menu then simply run the installer 
and follow the instructions, selecting a path for Toucan to be installed 
in. Please note as of Windows Vista it is not recommended to install 
into the Program Files directory due to permissions issues. Also you 
will need to remember the path you have chosen to install to, because 
Toucan is designed mainly as a portable application start menu shortcuts 
are not created during installation. To run Toucan navigate to the 
directory you have installed to and run Toucan.exe. 

Uninstalling Toucan
===================

If Toucan is not for you then because of its portable nature 
uninstallation is very straightforward. Please consider leaving some 
feedback in the Toucan support forum to help us improve it in future 
revisions. 

With the PortableApps.com Platform
----------------------------------

Simply open the menu and click Options->Uninstall and follow the on 
screen instructions. 

Without the PortableApps.com Platform
-------------------------------------

Navigate to the folder you installed Toucan into and delete it, because 
it is a portable application nothing is left elsewhere on your computer. 
If you manually created your own start menu shortcuts you will need to 
delete these separately. 
