Where have my "com.apple.spotlist.plist" preferences gone???

Hi,
I was going to trash "/Users/yourname/Library/Preferences/com.apple.spotlight.plist" in an attempt to solve a privacy list issue, but they are not there. I am looking in the correct folder(ie my home library etc) and have restarted a few times but they still don't appear... can anyone offer any help? Thank You.
Power Mac Dual Core 2.3ghz Mac OS X (10.4.3)
Power Mac Dual Core 2.3ghz Mac OS X (10.4.3)

You're looking in the right place. Many prefs are created lazily, in other words:If you never modified them they wouldn't exist in your account but would jut load the defaults. Hope that's all it is

Similar Messages

After upgrading to Mountain Lion, I repurchased Garageband and I can't get passed the complete installation. I don't seem to have the "com.apple.garageband.plist" file that has been a common solution. Any suggestions?

After upgrading to Mountain Lion, I repurchased Garageband and I can't get passed the complete installation. I've read through several posts that all reference the "com.apple.garageband.plist" solution. I don't seem to have the referenced .plist. Any solutions or suggestions?

Did you upgrade from SnowLeopard?
I can't get passed the complete installation
What exactly is happening? Is GarageBand trying to download over and over again?
all reference the "com.apple.garageband.plist" solution. I don't seem to have the referenced .plist.
The property list stores your preferences, but also the settings from the last run of the application. If that file is corrupted in some way, you might see third behaviour.
You must have this file, for it will be recreated automatically, if it is missing, or you have a permissions problem with your user library.
Perhaps you did look in he wrong place.
in MacOS 10.7. or later the User Library is hidden. To find the Preferences Files use the Finder's "Go" menu:
Quit GarageBand, if it is running.
Click onto you Desktop to bring the Finder forward.
In the Finder Menu press "Go" and hold down the "option/alt" key, until your user library appears in the drop-down menu
Select "Library" and in the Finder window that opens navigate to the "Prederences" folder; move com.apple.garageband.plist to the Desktop.
Log off and on again (don't skip that step!). Retry GarageBand and see if it GarageBand is now downloading the missing content properly.
If that does not fix the problem, post back and explain in more detail what the download problem is.
Why did you "repurchase" GarageBand? If you already owned GarageBand '11, it should be unnecessary.
Regards
Léonie

I don't have a com.apple.dockfixup.plist file!

Where is it already search sin preferances in hardrive and my account.

If you searched using Spotlight you won't find it because Spotlight doesn't search system folders. It should be here:
"/Library/Preferences/com.apple.dockfixup.plist"
That's the Library folder that belongs to the system, not the one that belongs to you. Double click the startup drive and you'll see it.
Francine
Francine
Schwieder

Can not find com.apple.bluetooth.plist

my bluetooth works for a minute and then stops. Can not find it in Preferences and the icon on the top right of my screen is greyed out. I have read some on the site and seems I should have the com.apple.bluetooth.plist file, but I dont.
Please help

Adam White wrote:
Mine is in my User account>Library>Preferences>com.apple.bluetooth.plist
Hey Adam, are you running 10.5.8? Reason I ask, on my SL machines I don't have a com.apple.bluetooth.plist in my ~/Library/Preferences it's in /Library/Preferences
Just figured I'd clarify as the OP has 10.6.2 in their sig line. Why the location of the file changed, beyond me.

My mac 10.8 does no have the file, com.apple.desktop. plist I wentto lIbrary, preference and look for it and it is not where in my mac. I also launch time machine and file is no where on my Mac. How do I get this file back?

My mac 10.8 does no have the file, com.apple.desktop. plist I wentto lIbrary, preference and look for it and it is not where in my mac. I also launch time machine and file is no where on my Mac. How do I get this file back?
thanks

System files are hidden by default in Finder now, search for what you want then click the little + button on the top right of the bar that appears when you do a search. A new bar comes up and click the first box (that says "Kind"), change it to "System Files". Then change the box that says "aren't included" to "are included" and your file should show up.
http://osxdaily.com/2009/02/25/show-hidden-files-in-os-x/

TS1846 I have some troubles recently with Final Cut Pro 7 and would like to remove my preferences. I can't find any "com.apple.finalcutpro.plist" file from the Preferences folder but I do have some preferences. So, where could be the file ?

I have some troubles recently with Final Cut Pro 7 and would like to remove my preferences. I can't find any "com.apple.finalcutpro.plist" file from the Preferences folder but I do have some preferences. So, where could be the file ?

Digital Rebellion has you covered: http://www.digitalrebellion.com/prefman/

After installing Mavericks I had problems copying to the server. Was advised to remove the com.apple.finder.plist from Preferences. This worked - but now I have lost the menu bar from my second screen! How do I get that back?

I have tried re-inserting the com.apple.finder.plist into my Preferences folder and re-booting - this didn't work.

First, that cannot be an iBook G4 as that machine cannot run Snow Leopard let alone Mountain Lion. To run Snow Leopard it has to be an Intel processor, not a G4. What does it show as the Model Identifier in About This Mac, More Info, System Report, Hardware, Model Identifier?
Second, if you have erased the hard drive there should not be remnants of any prior content. Even though Disk Warrior is saying nothing is wrong with the hard drive, it sounds as though there are problems. You may want to consider simply replacing the hard drive so there are no questions about faults. A good source is OWC, http://www.macsales.com where they also have on-line videos showing how to do the replacement.
Third, you could also try again to restart using the Snow Leopard DVD/CD and use Disk Utility on that install disk to erase again, and do it a couple times, then try to install. If it continues to refuse, then it sounds as though there is a fault with the hard drive.

Cant find com.apple.logic10.plist in library preferences

I cant find in my Library preferences "com.apple.logic10.plist"

That is in fact where the com.apple.logic10.plist resides.
There is a second method.
In the Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder from the menu.
Type ~/Library/Preferences in the "Go to the folder" field.
Press the Go button.
Remove the com.apple.logic10.plist file from the Preferences folder. Note that if you have programmed any custom key commands, this will reset them to the defaults. You may wish to export your custom key command as a preset before performing this step. See the Logic Pro User Manual for details on how to do this.
If you are having trouble with a control surface in Logic Pro.
then delete the com.apple.logic.pro.cs file from the preferences folder.

Com.apple.quicktime.plugin.preferences.plist

My Dad's Safari 5.1 keeps on wanting to open PDFs using the QuickTime plugin. If we remove com.apple.quicktime.plugin.preferences.plist, and start Safari, it recreates the file with the PDF mime type set to true. If we manually change it to false, and start Safari, it no longer uses QuickTime to display the PDF, but some time later, the plist has changed back to true. So far we have not got to the bottom of why the plist keeps changing.
On my Macs, after removing the plist, when it gets recreated, it is false. I did a clean install on my Macs, whereas my Dad upgraded from Snow Leopard. I don't really want to tell him to clean install !

Dez,
Schubert|it PDF Browser Plugin solved all of my problems with PDF viewing in Safari.
It is a free plugin for non-commercial use.

Mail wont launch at all. Deleted this: ~/library/preferences/com.apple.mail.plist

Mail wouldnt let me send outgoing mail claiming there to be an error whilst there was an outgoing connection. So I thought to completely reset the entire app and found a forum that told me to delete something >_> And so I deleted this ~/library/preferences/com.apple.mail.plist and now nothing will launch. And well. Nothing is backed up. Im an idiot. ;___; I just want to go back to my chalk and slate. TECHNOLOGY HATES ME. Please help me.

Hi Bill,
You could also try com.apple.helpviewer.plist (in ~/Library/Preferences). Have you noted whether this is system-wide or restricted to your user account? I'd create a test account (if you don't have another on your system) and try the help menus. If they're messed up over there, then fixing things in your user folder won't help. The only system resource I could find that seems remotely relevant is /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.helpdata.plist, but I'd be verrrry careful about messing around with stuff in your System folder.
Hope that helps!
—Hazy

Mail(1739) deny file-read-data /Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist

Hi
Since moving from HDD to SSD and Lion to ML I am getting loads of these errors in my System Log
Mail(1739) deny file-read-data /Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist
I am not experiencing any end issues as a result but notice I am getting 6 every second which must be causing an issue
The details are:
Mail(1739) deny file-read-data /Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist
Process:         Mail [1739]
Path:            /Applications/Mail.app/Contents/MacOS/Mail
Load Address:    0x10f773000
Identifier:      com.apple.mail
Version:         1485 (6.0)
Build Info:      3-Mail~1485000000000000
Code Type:       x86_64 (Native)
Parent Process: launchd [237]
Date/Time:       2012-08-05 11:54:01.392 +0100
OS Version:      Mac OS X 10.8 (12A269)
Report Version: 8
Thread 0:
0   libsystem_kernel.dylib            0x00007fff8c9d5fee __open + 10
1   CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8c12a588 __33-[CFPrefsPlistSource synchronize]_block_invoke_0 + 296
2   CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8c125f07 withDaemonConnection + 87
3   CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8c12a36c -[CFPrefsPlistSource synchronize] + 316
4   CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8c1291a1 -[CFPrefsPlistSource synchronizeIfStale] + 113
5   CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8c12927a -[CFPrefsPlistSource copyValueForKey:] + 42
6   CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8c128213 -[CFPrefsSearchListSource copyValueForKey:] + 131
7   CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8c124080 __CFPreferencesCopyAppValue_block_invoke_0 + 32
8   CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8c1277e8 +[CFPrefsSearchListSource withSearchListForIdentifier:perform:] + 824
9   CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8bffd67a CFPreferencesCopyAppValue + 186
10 Foundation                        0x00007fff8ccb7db0 -[NSUserDefaults(NSUserDefaults) objectForKey:] + 22
11 Foundation                        0x00007fff8ccb7c97 -[NSUserDefaults(NSUserDefaults) boolForKey:] + 23
12 AddressBook                       0x00007fff92932d8b ABDLog + 290
13 AddressBook                       0x00007fff92935eda -[ABSafeNotificationEntry reflectNotification:] + 63
14 AddressBook                       0x00007fff92935cf1 -[ABSafeNotificationReflector reflectNotification:toEntryIfElligible:] + 72
15 AddressBook                       0x00007fff92935c72 __50-[ABSafeNotificationReflector notificationFunnel:]_block_invoke_0 + 37
16 CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8c0597d9 __NSSetEnumerate + 985
17 AddressBook                       0x00007fff92935c26 -[NSSet(ABSetAdditions) _abEach:] + 91
18 AddressBook                       0x00007fff92935ad3 -[ABCopyOnWriteSet useReadOnlySet:] + 44
19 AddressBook                       0x00007fff92935a9e -[ABCopyOnWriteSet each:] + 91
20 AddressBook                       0x00007fff92935a1e -[ABSafeNotificationReflector notificationFunnel:] + 181
21 CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8bff5b8a _CFXNotificationPost + 2554
22 Foundation                        0x00007fff8ccb7a76 -[NSNotificationCenter postNotificationName:object:userInfo:] + 64
23 Mail                              0x000000010f7757d5
24 CoreData                          0x00007fff88968e64 -[NSManagedObjectContext(_NSInternalAdditions) _didSaveChanges] + 2132
25 CoreData                          0x00007fff88958589 -[NSManagedObjectContext save:] + 1241
26 Message                           0x00007fff88d3e755 -[SeenMessagesManager saveChanges] + 46
27 Message                           0x00007fff88d372f6 -[POPStore fetchSynchronously] + 2175
28 Message                           0x00007fff88d2edd2 -[POPAccount fetchSynchronously] + 140
29 CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8c036cac __invoking___ + 140
30 CoreFoundation                    0x00007fff8c036b47 -[NSInvocation invoke] + 263
31 CoreMessage                       0x00007fff8b271d5d -[MonitoredInvocation invoke] + 225
32 CoreMessage                       0x00007fff8b28a2b2 -[ThrowingInvocationOperation main] + 33
33 CoreMessage                       0x00007fff8b236602 -[_MFInvocationOperation main] + 431
34 Foundation                        0x00007fff8ccfdbb6 -[__NSOperationInternal start] + 684
35 Foundation                        0x00007fff8cd053d1 __block_global_6 + 129
36 libdispatch.dylib                 0x00007fff8cc5ef3d _dispatch_call_block_and_release + 15
37 libdispatch.dylib                 0x00007fff8cc5b0fa _dispatch_client_callout + 8
38 libdispatch.dylib                 0x00007fff8cc5c23e _dispatch_worker_thread2 + 304
39 libsystem_c.dylib                 0x00007fff8c361ceb _pthread_wqthread + 404
40 libsystem_c.dylib                 0x00007fff8c34c1b1 start_wqthread + 13
Binary Images:
       0x10f773000 -        0x10fb0fff7 com.apple.mail (6.0 - 1485) <6C62E4AC-EBA9-3E31-B677-B26356423DE1> /Applications/Mail.app/Contents/MacOS/Mail
    0x7fff88914000 -     0x7fff88b32fff com.apple.CoreData (106 - 407.5) <45EF39FE-7FD6-366E-BB5C-3E86E0B7DA3C> /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreData.framework/Versions/A/CoreData
    0x7fff88bc2000 -     0x7fff88e08ff7 com.apple.MessageFramework (6.0 - 1485) <79FA27A2-D01A-3D35-AE3A-7F8F41034728> /System/Library/Frameworks/Message.framework/Versions/B/Message
    0x7fff8b20c000 -     0x7fff8b2c4ff7 com.apple.CoreMessage (1.0 - 1485) <1210621B-BABB-3153-A8DF-DAC0FA671D05> /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreMessage.framework/Versions/A/CoreMessage
    0x7fff8bfb0000 -     0x7fff8c199fff com.apple.CoreFoundation (6.8 - 744) <47AEA7C7-EF9B-3FC6-AEBF-CE02FC650301> /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreFoundation.framework/Versions/A/CoreFoundation
    0x7fff8c34b000 -     0x7fff8c417fef libsystem_c.dylib (825.24) <16B6B86C-53EE-36E8-AC2B-4AADC1008098> /usr/lib/system/libsystem_c.dylib
    0x7fff8c9c4000 -     0x7fff8c9dfff7 libsystem_kernel.dylib (2050.7.9) <E0447BF5-E104-35B0-B28B-4156887D58F1> /usr/lib/system/libsystem_kernel.dylib
    0x7fff8cc59000 -     0x7fff8cc6eff7 libdispatch.dylib (228.18) <0B6B6E7F-4D8A-3F3B-A4BF-6CF34638DBBB> /usr/lib/system/libdispatch.dylib
    0x7fff8cc6f000 -     0x7fff8cfcbff7 com.apple.Foundation (6.8 - 945) <0C972F73-0C07-3384-98F2-B176E0289494> /System/Library/Frameworks/Foundation.framework/Versions/C/Foundation
    0x7fff92926000 -     0x7fff92be1fff com.apple.AddressBook.framework (7.0 - 1143) <EC55CF4B-4194-3163-B6E1-8C8D2712FBCF> /System/Library/Frameworks/AddressBook.framework/Versions/A/AddressBook
Any wise wisdom?
Thanks, Chris.

The .plist files are almost always preferences. I believe "plist" is short for "property list". It contains a list of keys (configuration options) and settings for each key, similar in some respects to the way the Windows Registry works, except that there is a separate file for each set of settings, instead of a single registry file as in Windows. In this case it's a shared settings file for Mail, but I couldn't tell you anything more about the contents.
You were smart to back it up. Usually .plist files can be deleted without signicant loss, because they will be recreated automatically with default settings. But sometimes they contain important settings that may be hard to set up again, especially if you had help setting up your computer in the first place, or have lost important details that you'd need for setting up an app, such as Mail. But sometimes the settings are trivial, for example the position and size of windows, etc., and do not contain settings you'd care about, which may be in another .plist file or in some other kind of file/database.

Library/Preferences/com.apple.alf.plist---Should be 80, group is 0

I am new to the Mac world, so please bear with me. I have freeze up issues with beachballs delux on my mid 2011 21.5 iMac with 2.5 GHz Intel Core I5 processor. When I run repairing permissions, it resolves the problem for a few days, but then returns back to the same problem. It says "Library/Preferences?Com.apple.alf.plist. Should be 80, group is 0
Can anyone tell me how to resolve this freeze up problems? I origiginally had Lion operating system and when I upgraded to Mountain Lion the issue was better, but did not totally cure this.

The next time you have the problem, note the exact times when it starts and ends: hour, minute, second.
If you have more than one user account, these instructions must be carried out as an administrator.
Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the page that opens.
Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left.
Scroll back in the log to the time you noted above. Post any messages timestamped during that interval – the text, please, not a screenshot.
Important: Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Edit it out by search-and-replace in a text editor before posting.

Group differs on "Library/Preferences/com.apple.alf.plist";

As the title suggests I got this issue which is annoying because it is causing high inactive memory & this obstacles all the rest . Means I must do 2-3 times a day repair permissions with Disk Utility .
Group differs on “Library/Preferences/com.apple.alf.plist”;
It gets repaired & then all over again . So far I could not find a solution . I have already sent feedback to Apple .
That's all folks , if anyone knows how to handle this it would be nice , at least until there is an official response .
Thank you , have a nice day .

bump
I actually have this all the time. com.apple.alf.plist is always repaired whenever Disk Utility repairs permissions.
I also came across somewhere that it was included in the solution for a problem about iTunes requesting permission to access internet everytime it is launched. And I had that issue as well. (iTunes asks for my permission for internet access everytime I launch it.) And the solution proposed for this included the deletion of this "com.apple.alf.plist" regarding a firewall issue. Although I deleted the file, Disk Utility still repairs this file (though iTunes haven't yet asked for internet permissions.) everytime I run the permission repair.
I suppose there has got to be a solution to keep the file stable, like without causing the repair.
Not a big issue, as mentioned in the thread title; but still, this may be the cause or result of something going on in the computer; so any suggestions are welcome.
Cheers!

Can't find com.apple.desktop.plist file in Preferences folder.

I have three desktop spaces, and I have them randomly changing backgroud from a selection of pictures in a folder. To quickly find out which picture was currently use for each desktop, I have a AppleScript that returns some infomation within the com.apple.desktop.plist file. This has been working perfectly fine in Mountain Lion.
However, after I installed the Mavericks (clean install from scratch), my script no longer works. The background images can be changed as before, but there's no com.apple.desktop.plist file exist anywhere in my hard drive.
Does anyone run into similar problems as me? It's driving me nuts! I can't think of any reason that there shouldn't be such a file... Thank you very much!

The returned file name from your terminal command "sqlite3 ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dock/desktoppicture.db '.dump' | grep jpg" is the file name of my current desktop picture "Earth and Moon.jpg".
The returned file names from your script:
set theResult to "Space 1 Wallpaper: ~/Pictures/Background/" & (do shell script"sqlite3 ~/Library/Application\\ Support/Dock/desktoppicture.db \"SELECT data.value FROM preferences INNER JOIN data on preferences.key=16 and preferences.picture_id=3 and preferences.data_id=data.ROWID\"") & "
Space 2 Wallpaper: ~/Pictures/Background/" & (do shell script "sqlite3 ~/Library/Application\\ Support/Dock/desktoppicture.db \"SELECT data.value FROM preferences INNER JOIN data on preferences.key=16 and preferences.picture_id=5 and preferences.data_id=data.ROWID\"") & "
Space 3 Wallpaper: ~/Pictures/Background/" & (do shell script "sqlite3 ~/Library/Application\\ Support/Dock/desktoppicture.db \"SELECT data.value FROM preferences INNER JOIN data on preferences.key=16 and preferences.picture_id=7 and preferences.data_id=data.ROWID\"")
display dialog theResult buttons {"Done"} default button 1
are
Space 1 Wallpaper: ~/Pictures/Background/3439B
Space 2 Wallpaper: ~/Pictures/Background/5244B
Space 3 Wallpaper: ~/Pictures/Background/5244B
The return from your terminal command "find ~/Pictures/iPhoto\ Library.photolibrary/Masters -name filename.jpg" is
find: /Users/Peter/Pictures/iPhoto Library.photolibrary/Masters: No such file or directory
The return from your terminal command "
readlink -f ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.preference.desktopscreeneffect.desktop/69730752/DSKiPhotoRootSource-allPhotosAlbum/9419B" is
readlink: illegal option -- f
usage: readlink [-n] [file ...]
I do have a little app (Script) which did exactly what I needed under OS X Mountain Lion but because under Mavericks Apple changed the location of the wallpaper information to a SQLite database this app is not working anymore. I could send you this app if you want but I do not know how to do this via this forum.
Thanks again for your help.

My MBP doesn't have com.apple.PhotoBooth.plist

My Photobooth is acting up. It's a bit blurry looking. If I open iChat and look ath the webcam from there, it looks great.

sherrrrilyn wrote: ... My MBP doesn't have com.apple.PhotoBooth.plist
If there is no PhotoBooth.plist currently in your User / Library / Preferences folder, quit Photo Booth (if it is open) and re-launch it. A new PhotoBooth.plist will be created automatically by the Photo Booth app unless your software is damaged or has been modified somehow.
If you do not already know, the Library Folder is hidden OS X Lion. Use the <option> Key and the Finder > Go menu command to access the hidden folder as instructed here: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4567
sherrrrilyn wrote:
My Photobooth is acting up. It's a bit blurry looking... iChat ... looks great.
(1) Be sure you are testing Photo Booth in bright light. Using brighter light for iChat
      might make its pictures look better than Photo Booth.
(2) If more light does not help, be sure you haven't applied a Photo Booth effect
     that is causing the blur.
Launch Photo Booth, click the "Effects" button, and then click the center ("Normal") choice before you take a new test picture.
(3) If your Photo Booth test picture is still blurry, you may need to
     repair your Photo Booth app.
Use your Mac's Disk Utility to repair permissions and then download and apply the latest Lion Combo Update: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1524
Repair permissions again immediately following the system restart that completes the Combo update.
Properly applying the Combo version of updates can sometimes correct software problems.
(4) If properly applying the latest available Combo Update doesn't fix Photo Booth,
     reinstall OS X.
Reinstalling Lion will reinstall all its component apps, including Photo Booth. If you need help reinstalling, see this article: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH3878
Message was edited by: EZ Jim
Mac OSX 10.7.4

Where have my "com.apple.spotlist.plist" preferences gone???

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