Illustrator prefs v. com.adobe.illustrator.plist?

Question

In the past, when AI started acting up I would just trash the prefs to solve the problem, meaning that I would throw out TWO prefs files: Adobe Illustrator Prefs, in the "settings" folder in the preferences folder, plus com.adobe.illustrator.plist, further down the list. Now, with CS6, if I do that, I throw out my workspace settings with the bathwater (and probably a lot more settings I'm not aware of ), which I don't want to do. This is something new. Why? What is in each of thsoe preference files, and why are there two of them, and why have  the contents been changed to include the workspace settings? In terms of priority, this is an annoyance rather than an emergency, but one that will take me some time to repair.

Answer 1

The ilustrator prefs holds the settings you configure in your preferences accesed by CMD K.
The .plist file stores other settings often related to plug ins and tracks some info on files opened in the past. You can open either file in a text editor for more info. 
Some rumors claim that information on each and every file you ever opened is stored in the .plist, which I find untrue (see below), thought there are some old references whcih probably need not be there. The .plist file on a few occasions gets out of control , especially "com.adobe.mediabrowser.plist". So if you see these files into the mb, is a good signal to look into that. My Illustrator .plist file is below for your comparison
!"#$%&'()*+,-./01236789:6<=>?@A>BCDEFGHIJZ[5klmnopqrst_ ;NSTableView Sort Ordering ExtensisPossibleReplacementsTable_ *DefaultFolderX:DVAMacSavePanel:size.height_  NSNavLastRootDirectory:GetFile:0_  NSWindow Frame NSNavGotoPanel_ (DefaultFolderX:NSNavOpenPanel:size.width_ &NSNavBrowserPreferedColumnContentWidth_ +NSNavPanelExpandedSizeForSaveMode:PutFile:0_ 7NSTableView Sort Ordering NSNavOutlineColumnSettings.v1_ "NSNavPanelExpandedStateForSaveMode_ !NSNavPanelExpandedSizeForSaveMode_  NSNavLastRootDirectory_ +NSNavPanelExpandedSizeForSaveMode:GetFile:0_ 'DefaultFolderX:DVAMacOpenPanel:origin.y_  PMPrintingExpandedStateForPrint2_ *DefaultFolderX:DVAMacOpenPanel:size.height_  NSColorPanelMode.modal_  NSColorPanelToolbarIsShown.modal_ 'DefaultFolderX:DVAMacSavePanel:origin.y_ )DefaultFolderX:DVAMacOpenPanel:size.width_ 'DefaultFolderX:DVAMacOpenPanel:origin.x_ #NSColorPanelVisibleSwatchRows.modal_ <NSTableView Hidden Columns ExtensisPossibleReplacementsTable_ +NSNavPanelExpandedSizeForOpenMode:GetFile:0_ )DefaultFolderX:NSNavSavePanel:size.height_  NSNavLastRootDirectory:PutFile:0_ (DefaultFolderX:NSNavSavePanel:size.width_ )DefaultFolderX:DVAMacSavePanel:size.width_ 'DefaultFolderX:DVAMacSavePanel:origin.x_ #NSNavLastCurrentDirectory:PutFile:0_ 1NSTableView Columns NSNavOutlineColumnSettings.v1_ &DefaultFolderX:NSNavOpenPanel:origin.y_ 5NSTableView Columns ExtensisPossibleReplacementsTable_ (NSNavLastUserSetHideExtensionButtonState_ &DefaultFolderX:NSNavSavePanel:origin.y_ &DefaultFolderX:NSNavOpenPanel:origin.x_ !NSNavPanelExpandedSizeForOpenMode_ &DefaultFolderX:NSNavSavePanel:origin.x_ )DefaultFolderX:NSNavOpenPanel:size.height_  NSColorPanelMode_ !NSWindow Frame NSColorPanel.modal_  NSWindow Frame NSColorPanel_ #NSNavLastCurrentDirectory:GetFile:0_ 8NSTableView Hidden Columns NSNavOutlineColumnSettings.v1†"Dã¿_ +/Volumes/Design/DESIGN_UVWXYZ/WRIGLEY/EXTRA_  744 890 432 134 0 0 1920 1178 "E #@g@Z{952, 897}¢45O 9  streamtypedÅË Ñ @ÑÑÑ NSString ÑÑ NSObjectÖÑ + modDateÜ
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