defaults - read or modify GNUstep user defaults
The 'defaults' command lets you to read and modify a user's defaults.
This program replaces the old NeXTstep style dread, dwrite, and
dremove programs.
If you have access to another user's defaults database, you may
include '-u username' before any other options to use that user's database
rather than your own.
defaults read [ domain [ key] ]
- read the named default from the specified domain. If no 'key' is given -
read all defaults from the domain. If no 'domain' is given - read all
defaults from all domains. A domain is either an application name, or
"NSGlobalDomain", for system level defauts. (Running programs
can access two other domains, "NSArgumentDomain", for command
line arguments, "NSRegistrationDomain", a second-chance domain
in which "defaults for defaults" can be registered, and possibly
domains for specific locales.)
defaults readkey key
- read the named default from all domains.
defaults write domain key value
- write 'value' as default 'key' in the specified domain. 'value' must be a
property list in single quotes.
defaults write domain dictionary
- write 'dictionary' as a replacement for the specified domain. 'dictionary'
must be a property list in single quotes.
defaults write
- reads standard input for defaults in the format produced by 'defaults
read' and writes them to the database.
defaults delete [ domain [ key] ]
- remove the specified default(s) from the domain. If no 'key' is given -
delete the entire domain.
defaults delete
- read standard input for a series of lines containing pairs of domains and
keys for defaults to be deleted.
defaults domains
- lists the domains in the database (one per line)
defaults find word
- searches domain names, default names, and default value strings for those
equal to the specified word and lists them on standard output.
defaults plist
- output some information about property lists
defaults help
- list options for the defaults command.
- ~/GNUstep/Defaults/.GNUstepDefaults
- holds defaults for a user
Hopefully self-explanatory.
The 'defaults' command appeared in OpenStep and combined the capabilities of the
earlier NeXTstep commands 'dread', 'dwrite', and 'dremove'.
The GNUstep version was written in 1998.
This manual page first appeared in gnustep-base 1.9.2 (March
2004).
defaults was written by Richard Frith-Macdonald <rfm@gnu.org>