Preferee is a settings editor targeted at advanced users, and its operation is mostly obvious from looking at its windows and menus. So instead of a full-blown help file that you'll never need or want to read, we've put together this collection of tips that may not be quite so obvious.
Tips and Tricks
- If the window seems a little empty at first, don't worry. You can either add individual domains you'd like to work with, or you can have Preferee show all known domains (View → Show All Domains) and then, if necessary, make some of those domains favorites that are pinned to the top of the list.
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What does Format → Show Shorthand Syntax do, exactly? That depends on whether you're viewing XML or JSON, which is also set via the Format menu.
- If you're using XML mode, Preferee strips everything outside of and including the main <dict> tag.
- In JSON mode, Preferee also strips the outer { … } dictionary, but more importantly, it also strips commas at the ends of lines, which makes reordering array items easier, for example.
- As in Xcode, you can save all your edits in one action by using the ⌥⌘S shortcut, or by holding down the Option key and selecting the File → Save All menu item. With the Option key down, the File menu also has a matching Revert All to Saved entry to undo everything you did.
- The Swap command, in the File menu, lets you switch out an app's settings for something you import, or a set of manual edits. Once you've swapped, Preferee will hold on to your original settings for that app until you swap back (via the File → Swap Back menu item, or the button in the top right corner of the window). You can safely quit Preferee and resume work later, and your original settings will still be there for your back-swapping needs.
- Preferee checks your syntax. If it finds any syntax errors, the "Syntax Error" message in the top right corner of the window is clickable. If you click it, you'll get an alert with a detailed error message.
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Preferee updates the user defaults as soon as you save, but it cannot guarantee that edits will have an effect in targeted apps right away, because those apps may cache their settings in some fashion. To work around this, Preferee can optionally relaunch the app associated with the settings you're saving, if said app is running:
- The x-preferee:[domain or query] URI scheme is pretty neat! For example, try open x-preferee:com.manytricks.Moom or even just open x-preferee:moom.
Get More Help
If this help isn't enough, and you need additional assistance with Preferee, you can reach out to us via our other channels. Use our support page to open a trouble ticket or email us directly, and you can often find us on our Discord channel.