Version History

Release 5.4 (Build 240205)

• Added new features to support keys of dictionaries containing control characters oder multiple lines. This is particularly useful when working with modern macOS string tables for international language support in applications.
• Values with multiple lines, or values containing control characters, respectively, will now be presented more clearly. They can be edited in a separate panel. There are additional presentation options to display special characters live, either as ISO symbols or in C syntax.
• The presentation of non-modifiable entries has been enhanced.
• Modernized organization of language support files.

Release 5.3 (Build 230316)

• Added new feature to hide the column “Managed” in the property list editor.
• Added new feature to temporarily change the time/date mode of date fields when reviewing or editing property lists without the need to modify the corresponding preference setting. This option is available via the context menu of the property list editor.
• Legacy support for macOS 10.14 Mojave and macOS 10.15 Catalina has been removed. The new version requires macOS 11 or later.

Release 5.2 (Build 221021)

• Added full support for macOS 13 Ventura.
• The column “Managed” in the property list editor window is now limited in width. This results in a better usability in versions of macOS which don’t restore selected table layouts correctly.

Release 5.1 (Build 220623)

• Changed the standard scrolling behavior of macOS when deleting or searching entries in property lists. The application now tries to position the current edit location vertically centered in the window.
• The user interface for licensing and product activation was slightly revised.

Release 5.0 (Build 211005)

• Added new feature to show a table of private preference settings that are shared between sandbox-protected applications (app group preference suites). The respective function is available via the Window menu. Such application group settings can be fully edited in the known manner.
• Many internal changes to be prepared for upcoming versions of macOS.
• Removed support for the operating systems macOS 10.12 Sierra and macOS 10.13 High Sierra. Old versions of PrefEdit down to Mac OS X 10.2 remain still available at our web site.

Release 4.51 (Build 201221)

This version provides an additional protection against cases where users try to paste invalid data into a property list.

Release 4.5 (Build 201021)

• Added full support for macOS 11.0 Big Sur.
• The application now accepts that the user provides a custom icon.
• The feature for automatic notification of updates no longer relies on Notification Center.
• Parts of the user interface for product activation and registration management have been redesigned.

Release 4.4 (Build 200401)

• When saving property list files in XML format, this version enforces more rigorous syntax rules regarding values that contain invalid control characters. This policy is stricter than the policy currently implemented by Apple in macOS, but ensures that files remain compliant with the XML standards. When reading files, PrefEdit uses the same guidelines as macOS. XML files with slight errors will be silently accepted if macOS also tolerates them.
• Property list files can now still be modified and saved in cases where macOS has lost their type information, e.g. after restoring a file without file extension via the Versions feature.

Release 4.31 (Build 191113)

Added a fix necessary for an unexpected change in macOS 10.15.1 which can cause the warning about missing approval for full disk access not to be shown. This only affects users who launch the application for the first time on macOS 10.15.1.

Release 4.3 (Build 191018)

• Added full support for macOS 10.15 Catalina.
• Legacy technology has been removed from the App. The new minimum operating system is macOS 10.12 Sierra.
• The user interface to copy a preference setting from the effective search path to an application-specific scope has been redesigned, offering more guidance to unexperienced users.

Release 4.2 (Build 190626)

Added support for future versions of macOS.

Release 4.1 (Build 181219)

• Added new feature to delete multiple entries of an array or a dictionary in a property list at the same time.
• Added new notification feature that makes the user aware when a running application changes preference settings the user is currently viewing in a non-edited document window. The user can then refresh the window to retrieve the up-to-date status.
• Added new feature to show the Powerbox preference settings of sandboxed applications if available.
• Added new feature to export binary data items of property lists into files.
• The application will show more targeted error messages if licensing fails due to a misconfigured network firewall.
• The distribution package now uses the latest Gatekeeper security features.

Release 4.0 (Build 180917)

• This version adds full support for macOS 10.14 Mojave.
• Legacy technology has been removed from the App. The minimum required OS version is now 10.10.
• All features related to preference manifest files have been removed. Apple has lost interest in this technology and is no longer actively supporting it.

Release 3.93 (Build 180412)

Added new user interface to the product activation feature in order to be compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union (EU Regulation 2016/679).

Release 3.92 (Build 170907)

• Added an assistance mode for product registration.
• Corrected a problem where the application did not automatically activate a license when double-clicking a registration ticket file in the Finder.

Release 3.91 (Build 170629)

This is a maintenance update fixing a memory management problem which could cause PrefEdit to crash when closing a property list window after find operations have been used.

Release 3.9 (Build 170518)

• Added new feature to open substitute copies of files in property list style that use invalid value types not compliant with the property list standards. Values of proprietary types are replaced by description strings. This can help to understand the contents of unknown plist-like files.
• Added new feature to implement all standard find functions in the sheet that visualizes the preference search path of applications.
• Added new feature to transfer an effective preference setting in the search path to the currently selected preference scope. This can help to override a default setting by specifying a different value at a position later in the search path.
• Added new feature to indicate the source of each effective preference setting in the search path.
• Added new feature to open a file-based source of an effective preference setting shown in the search path.
• The application got a modernized icon.
• When running with a German user interface, the application now automatically matches the politeness language style of the running operating system.

Release 3.8 (Build 170427)

• Added full support for computers with Touch Bar.
• Many small optimizations and changes.

Release 3.7 (Build 160531)

The required minimum version of the operating system is now OS X 10.9 Mavericks. Users of Lion and Mountain Lion can continue with the previous release 3.6.

• Added new registration features for licensing with immediate gratification and volume licensing.
• Added preference setting to enable automatic notification for software updates of the application.
• Corrected a problem where the preferences of sandbox-protected applications could not be opened indirectly via an interface element of PrefEdit if the preferences were migrated settings, redirected with a symbolic link.

Release 3.6 (Build 150519)

Added new feature to keep track of customized file name extensions for property list files that don’t use the default extension. This prevents OS X from auto-correcting file names when changes are saved.

Release 3.5 (Build 141218)

Due to changes in European legislation on value added tax, the application had to be re-released with modified pricing information. Current customers don’t need to update.

Release 3.5 (Build 140715)

This version allows former users of “PrefEdit App” to upgrade to the full version of PrefEdit at no cost. The presence of a licensed version of PrefEdit App is interpreted as registration for PrefEdit and unlocks the application. (This means former users of PrefEdit App must keep both applications on their systems. The App version must not be removed.) For further information, please see the corresponding chapter in the reference manual.

• A new preference setting was added to suppress the question to re-open a protected file with administrator privileges.
• The application now launches faster.
• When saving preference files manually or clicking the launch button of the document window, the application now uses more aggressive techniques to force particular versions of OS X to let the changes take effect immediately.

Release 3.4 (Build 140630)

• Multi-line string values used in property lists or preference domains are now shown in bold type.
• When saving edited preference values, the domain window will now monitor when OS X has registered this change in its preferences subsystem.
• The button to launch applications associated with a preferences domain was moved to the right edge of the window.
• Optimized behavior on specific operating system versions where the system could overwrite changes to the preferences database after the user had saved a property list containing preference settings.
• Corrected a compatibility problem with sandbox-protected applications that use symbolic links for their main preference files.
• Corrected a problem with the display of registered legacy preferences for locale support under OS X 10.9 or later.
• Ensures compatibility with upcoming operating system versions.

Release 3.3 (Build 131010)

• Added support for the preferences subsystem of OS X 10.9 Mavericks.
• Resolved a problem where the domain overview window might not have included all preference domains of sandbox-protected applications directly after launch.

Release 3.2 (Build 130731)

• The user guidance when working with protected files or files on a read-only disk has been enhanced.
• The reference manual has been revised and uses a new design.

Release 3.1 (Build 130426)

This is a maintenance update which fixes a problem where PrefEdit could not decode binary data in XML-based property list files correctly.

Note: This version could not be released for the software variant PrefEdit App, because Apple did not allow distribution of the update through the Mac App Store.

Release 3.0 (Build 130419)

• The application and its user interface have been revised completely. Mac OS X Lion 10.7.3 or later is now needed for operation.
• Due to changes in the architecture of the preferences subsystem of OS X, the differentiation between access to user defaults (preferences) and access to property list files had to be given up.
• Accessing preference settings of applications protected by the OS X application sandbox is now fully supported.
• Support for work without Save and the feature “Versions” has been added.
• The application can now process external modifications to preference domains or property lists live.
• Property list files can now be edited either in sorted form or by keeping the internal order of their XML representation.
• It is now possible to sort preferences or data items of type dictionary by alphabetical order of their keys.
• Copy/Paste is now supported in unlimited fashion for all components of property lists or preference settings.
• Drag and Drop is now supported in unlimited fashion within files or between different files.
• The application now explicitly differentiates between values of type integer number and real number.
• Search operations for keys and values in the entire preferences database have been accelerated significantly.
• The view on the preferences search path and on the different scope of user defaults has been changed. The correlations to the files’ storage locations are now emphasized more strongly. Overridden, ineffective settings in the search path are no longer visualized for easier understanding.
• The license agreement for the App edition of PrefEdit has changed: For private, non-commercial users, the site license (use by an unlimited number of persons at a site) has been replaced by a single-user-multi-machine license (use by a single person on all her own computers). There are no changes for non-private users, or users of the version not labeled “App”.
• Saving of data protected by permissions is now possible for authorized system administrators (not for the App version of PrefEdit).

Release 2.41 (Build 120706)

• Added support for Apple’s Gatekeeper security feature.
• Added support for one-click registration of the software.

Release 2.4 (Build 120209)

• Adds support for the Resume feature of Mac OS X Lion.
• Corrected a compatibility issue with Lion where the domain overview window was additionally opened when the user opened one or more documents.
• Corrected a compatibility issue when saving certain types of property list documents that contained an ampersand (&) character.

Release 2.3 (Build 110712)

• Added basic compatibility with Mac OS X 10.7 Lion.
• Support for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard has been removed. Mac OS X 10.6 is now the minimum requirement to use the application.
• Added a new menu item to quickly reach the search field of the domain overview window.

Release 2.2 (Build 100315)

• Added full support for cut/copy/paste when handling complete subtrees of preference settings or property list entries.
• When editing arrays, elements can now be reordered using drag-and-drop.
• The generation of default names for newly added elements has been enhanced.
• Handling of the disclosure triangle when converting an entry to an array or dictionary data type has been made more user-friendly.
• Fixed a problem where the application could terminate unexpectantly after several warnings have been received that a monitored preferences domain has been modified by an external application. This only affects 64 bit operation on Intel processors.

Release 2.1 (Build 091119)

• Added support for 64 bit operation when using Mac OS X Snow Leopard.
• Added support for Apple’s modified policy to store computer-specific preference settings in Mac OS X Snow Leopard and recent versions of Mac OS X Leopard.
• When reading and writing property list files in XML format, the application now maintains the implicit order of dictionary entries as they appear in the XML text.
• For easier handling, the application now suppresses display of the domain overview window when launching it to open documents.
• Added a user preference setting to control if date entries should be displayed and entered with time specifications included.
• Slight modifications in the user interface.

Release 2.0 (Build 080814)

The application has been redesigned completely. There are too many detail changes to list here. Only the most important changes are mentioned.

• Version 2 has become a shareware application. Version 1.2 is still available as a freeware product.
• Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard is the minimum operating system version. Previous releases of Mac OS X are no longer supported.
• By user request, the application now also includes a property list editor. All file formats for plist files are fully supported.
• By user request, changes to the Mac OS X preferences database now require an explicit confirmation in form of a simulated “save” operation.
• A viewer for Mac OS X Preference Manifest Files has been integrated. It supports the complete feature set. When editing preference settings, the application is automatically aware of manifests available in the system installation.
• The application displays automatic warnings when other applications make changes to the preference database which could be in conflict with the settings the user is currently editing.
• PrefEdit is no longer limited to user-specific, non-host-specific preference settings. It can also work with host-specific and system-wide settings.
• On demand, PrefEdit can compute the complete preference set effective for a particular application, visualizing Mac OS X ’s full preference search path.
• The user can now sort and filter the list of preference domains and keys. PrefEdit can automatically determine the correct domain for a specified application.

Release 1.2 (Build 060227)

• The application is released as a Universal Binary.
• Mac OS X Public Beta, Mac OS X 10.0 and Mac OS X 10.1 are no longer officially supported.
• The reference manual has been revised.
• The menu item to re-read all preference domains has been removed, because this feature is not supported by current versions of Mac OS X .

Release 1.1 (Build 011230)

Corrected compatibility problem with Mac OS X 10.1 where editing a value and then selecting another entry could unintentionally copy the edited value to the newly selected entry.

Release 1.0 (Build 010319)

• First official version. PrefEdit has become freeware.
• Prepared application for Mac OS X 10.0 Release.
• Updated user interface to comply with Aqua Interface Guidelines.
• Dictionary keys are now sorted alphabetically.

Release 1.0 Beta 3 (Build 010129)

Developed workaround for bug in Foundation Framework: Under certain conditions, the type of logical preference entries could change to numeric values. This error should be fixed now.

Release 1.0 Beta 2 (Build 010119)

• Extended free license to March 24, 2001
• Removed some tool tips to comply with Apple Help Tag Guidelines
• Changed keyboard short cut for search backwards from Openstep to Macintosh interface guidelines
• The preference browser now uses case-insensitive sorting of the keys
• The browser window cannot be closed any more.

Release 1.0 Beta (Build 001127)

First public version.