Where is the Replace/With list stored?

Question

This list, the one accessed by System Preferences/Keyboard/Text, vanished when I updated to 10.9.2 (it survived the initial update to Mavericks). I do a lot of writing for the sciences, and I've spent years building that list. (recent MacBook Pro, 10.9.2).

Some sites say I should get the /Users/username/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences.plist file from a backup, but I've searched the HD of my other computer (same specs but running 10.9.1, Replace/With list intact), and I can find no such file.

Other sites say it's in the "NSUserDictionaryReplacementItems array" in 10.9, but unfortunately I don't know what that means. (I'm a user, not a programmer.)

I've heard that it may be linked to Mavericks' new ability to sync this list to iOS devices, but that still doesn't explain why I can't find it on my 10.9.1 machine, which has been syncing to my phone (iPhone 4, iOS 5.x) for years.

Answer 1

In 10.9 the text replacements are also stored in ~/Library/Dictionaries/CoreDataUbiquitySupport/$USER~*/UserDictionary/local/store/UserDictionary.db. UserDictionary.db is used even if iCloud is disabled and it has precedence over .GlobalPreferences.plist.

If you for example run defaults write -g NSUserDictionaryReplacementItems '({on=1;replace=aa;with=bb;})' and quit and reopen TextEdit, aa is replaced with bb in TextEdit, but the changes are reverted if you open the Text tab of the Keyboard preference pane.

You can change both UserDictionary.db and .GlobalPreferences.plist by using a script like this:

date=$(date +%s)
while read -r replace with; do
  plist+="{on=1;replace=\"$replace\";with=\"$with\";},"
  sql+="INSERT INTO 'ZUSERDICTIONARYENTRY' VALUES($((++i)),1,1,0,0,0,0,$date,NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL,\"$with\",\"$replace\",NULL);"
done < <(sed 's/\\/\\\\/g;s/"/\\"/g' ~/replacements.txt)
sqlite3 ~/Library/Dictionaries/CoreDataUbiquitySupport/$USER~*/UserDictionary/local/store/UserDictionary.db "delete from ZUSERDICTIONARYENTRY;$sql"
defaults write -g NSUserDictionaryReplacementItems "(${plist%?})"

In 10.8 and earlier versions of OS X the text replacements are stored in the NSUserReplacementItems array (not NSUserDictionaryReplacementItems) in ~/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences.plist.

Answer 2

I found an easier way to do it.

Use these steps to export your existing text substitutions:

• Open System Preferences > Keyboard > Text.

• Select the shortcuts you want to export. If you want to export all of your text substitutions, select one of them, then choose Select All from the Edit menu.

• Drag the selected shortcuts to the desktop. This creates a file name Text Substitutions.plist that contains the substitutions you selected.

• Close the System Preferences window.

Use these steps to import the plist file you created in another user account:

• Copy the plist file you previously created to the /Users/Shared/ folder, or to an external drive.

• Log in as the user account where you want to use these text substitutions.

• Open System Preferences > Keyboard > Text.

• Drag the Text Substitutions.plist file to the area of the System Preferences window where the text substitutions are shown (under Replace or With).

• Close the System Preferences window.

source: https://support.apple.com/en-in/guide/mac-help/mchl2a7bd795/mac

Answer 3

The preferences are stored in NSUserDictionaryReplacementItems in ~/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences.plist.

You can read the contents by opening the file and looking through it, or by running:

defaults read -g NSUserDictionaryReplacementItems

To copy your preferences to another machine, take the output of the previous command and run the following command to write your settings:

defaults write -g NSUserDictionaryReplacementItems -array-add '{on=1;replace=foo;with=bar;}'

^{Replace the contents of the array at the end of the command with the replacements that you want.
-array-add appends to the end of the array. Use -array to replace the entire array.}

Answer 4

I've written a script for backing up and restoring the database. There is no need to extract anything from .GlobalPreferences.plist, just copy the db and open the systeme preferences to reload the settings.

############
#!/bin/bash

ME=$USER

DB_BACKUP_DIR=$HOME/Desktop
DB_BACKUP_FILE=$DB_BACKUP_DIR/UserDictionary.db

# Find the path where the replacement DB is:
PLIST=$HOME/Library/Preferences/com.apple.configurationprofiles.user.plist
UUID=$(defaults read "$PLIST" APNSTokens_Production|grep -E '^\s*"[0-9A-F-]*"'|cut -d\" -f2)

DB_RESTORE_DIR=$HOME/Library/Dictionaries/CoreDataUbiquitySupport/$ME~$UUID/UserDictionary/local/store
DB_RESTORE_FILE=$DB_RESTORE_DIR/UserDictionary.db

function Backup(){
    echo "Backup"
    [ \! -d "$DB_BACKUP_DIR" ] && echo "Backup directory does not exist" && echo "$DB_BACKUP_DIR" && exit 1
    echo "Copying database file"
    cp -fv "$DB_RESTORE_FILE" "$DB_BACKUP_FILE"
}

function Restore(){
    echo  "Restore"
    [ \! -r  "$DB_BACKUP_FILE" ] && echo "Cannot read the backup file" && echo "$DB_BACKUP_FILE" && exit 1
    [ \! -d "$DB_RESTORE_DIR" ] && echo "Creating Restore Directory" && echo "$DB_RESTORE_DIR"
    echo "Copying database file"
    cp -fv "$DB_BACKUP_FILE" "$DB_RESTORE_FILE"

    # The database has been copied, but OS X ignores it
    # until the tab System Preferences \ Keyboard \ Text is opened at least once
    # Use osascript to open and close System Preferences \ Keyboard \ Text
    osascript - <<EOC
 tell application "System Preferences"
    activate
    set the current pane to pane id "com.apple.preference.keyboard"
    reveal anchor "Text" of pane id "com.apple.preference.keyboard"
    quit
end tell
EOC

}

# Main
case "$1" in
-b)  Backup
     ;;
-r)  Restore
    ;;
 *) echo "Usage: $0 -b|-r"
    echo "\t\t-b: backup"
    echo "\t\t-r: restore"
    exit 0
    ;;
esac