Tell me more ×
Ask Different is a question and answer site for power users of Apple hardware and software. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 4 down vote favorite
1

Does anyone know of a resource that lists the Preferences files/plists (pertinent to OS X and Apple applications, not third-party apps) found in ~/Library/Preferences (and the other locations too, but that would be a start) and what they're used for?

I've been looking around and can't find anything. The closest I found was this chart compiled by appleexaminer.com — but that only covers a few items, and the obvious ones at that.

share|improve this question
make a backup and try to change stuff in there, you will find out soon enough... – vrwim May 4 '12 at 7:12
No, that doesn't help me at all. I would like a resource that lists every file in ~/Preferences & what it does. Your suggestion doesn't provide that. – Scott Granneman May 4 '12 at 17:44
1  
I really doubt you'll find a complete list. Generally each application you run will record its settings in a file in ~/Preferences -- and since there are a huge number of apps (AppShopper currently lists 10,764 in the Mac App Store), nobody's going to bother trying to compile a complete list. – Gordon Davisson May 23 '12 at 2:22
Ah—I should have been clearer. I'm just interested in Apple's Preferences. Thanks for forcing me to clarify! – Scott Granneman Jun 3 '12 at 18:33

1 Answer

up vote 1 down vote

Pref Setter appears to do exactly that.

share|improve this answer
OK, how is that? On the website, it's described thusly: "Pref Setter is an application used to edit plist (Property LIST) files, geared towards viewing / editing Mac OS X's preference files. Very useful for setting those “hidden” preference settings that aren't available directly in an application." So how does that tell me what each Preference/plist file DOES? I can't see that Pref Setter does that at all. – Scott Granneman May 13 '12 at 2:26
First, open it. Then click on the little blue window with the I in it, Get Info. Haven't seen anything else that will do that, and it's very cool. – Zo219 May 23 '12 at 0:24

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.