XnView Software

I have been using XnViewMP for many years, it's a must have software for me. I use IPTC function to add the fields to my photos.
However I have always used the Portableapps.com version of the portable software, since it's always with me on an external drive and it can be automatically updated using Portableapps.com updater.
I have noticed that there were issues with retaining the settings at times in the past and also IPTC. So I used to keep a copy of these in a separate folder.
I am currently on 1.7.2 version and when I updated to 1.8.0, my settings and IPTC fields saved data are gone from the software. I copied the iptc.ini file to XnViewMP64 folder as in the past but this does not work. The file is deleted when I open the software. My old settings are also gone after updating.
For the time being, I have reverted back to old version from my backup. However I want to know how to correctly update while keeping all settings and IPTC history (which makes it easy to input in new photos) and any other files which i must save while updating.
Kindly advice.

forget about Portableapps, XnViewMP already can work in portable mode

1. download XnViewMP-win-x64.zip, extract it and run xnviewmp.exe
2. in Setup Wizard* select "Program (XnView)" for:
- Use .ini file in folder
- Folder for Catalog
- Folder for other files
*it runs if app cannot find its settings (xnview.ini in app/user dir or data in registry)