about:config - way to see all NON-DEFAULT settings?

[Tanstaafl]

Hello,

Is there an easy way to see all of the non-default setting that are set
in about:config?

Thx

[Onno Ekker]

Just click on the Status column header to order by status. All user set
preferences group together...

Onno

[Rav]

It's true that that groups the non-default settings together.
Unfortunately, while "user set" includes things I did indeed explicitly
set (either in about:config or as a result of setting prefs), it also
mostly includes things that Thunderbird decided to set (some as a
side-effect of things I have done while using Thunderbird, such as
reading mail or using printers, but some that are truly just
housekeeping things that do not correspond to specific actions I have
taken). It would have been nice if there was an additional category
that identified things that *I* truly set, as opposed to set by
Thunderbird. But, too late, and that's life.

[VanguardLH]

All user-defined settings are shown bolded. If you changed a setting in
TB's config dialogs then those count as changes made by you. Just what
settings has TB set all by itself without any interaction by you?

[Rav]

Well, just for one of many examples, the

print.printer_HP_Deskjet_3520_series.print_...

settings. While of course I did print to an HP Deskjet 3520 printer
from Thunderbird, I did not change that setting directly (let alone
create it), Thunderbird did. Of course it did it as a side-effect of
something I did (print), but it's not something I changed in
about:config nor in Tools, Options.

An example of another, even less directly set setting is:

storage.vacuum.last.places.sqlite

which appears to be a timestamp that Thunderbird performed some sort of
action to the places.sqlite database file. Whatever "vacuum"ing is, I
didn't request it, nor did I initiate it. And I imagine it was done at
a time of its own choosing, i.e. not necessarily when I was doing
anything at all in Thunderbird (other than the fact that Thunderbird was
open).

I was only saying that it would be nice to be able to differentiate
between things I explicitly changed and things that were changed as a
side-effect of other actions, or even no action on my part at all.

[WaltS48]

I counted 35 user set in a new profile using Thunderbird 24.4.0, and I
wasn't all the way to the end of the list. Stopped counting in the
network section.

That was just starting Thunderbird and selecting setting up a mail
account later. No other user interaction.

[WaltS48]

Not in Thunderbird, but the prefs.js file in the profile looks like it
is what you are looking for.

I did not notice any of the 35 default user set prefs that I saw in a
test profile using about:config in Thunderbird.

[VanguardLH]

Is that the default printer specified in your Printer settings in
Windows?

> An example of another, even less directly set setting is:
>
> storage.vacuum.last.places.sqlite

As well as updating the timestamps on files that TB updates.

From what I find, that appears to track when TB last compacted the
places.sqlite database; see:

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Places.sqlite

It is a cache that gets compacted an apparently this helps tracks
whether that database is compacting or not. While most folks know it's
used for Firefox, it looks like TB uses it for a browsing history, too.

Compacting occurs at the settings under Tools -> Options -> Advanced ->
Network & Disk Space -> "Compact folders when it will save over X MB".
So using the default settings will result in compacting the database and
Mozilla believe they need to track the last time the database got
compacted.

> I was only saying that it would be nice to be able to differentiate
> between things I explicitly changed and things that were changed as a
> side-effect of other actions, or even no action on my part at all.

Yes, I can see that "user set" would be handy if it only referenced
config settings that the user altered within the advanced config editor
or through the config UI or maybe through menu entries. As it is now,
"user set" only identifies settings that have changed since the
installation of the program that somehow got changed from the initial or
default values. There should be "user set" where the user made the
change and "app set" where TB made the change. Right now, "user set"
means the user changed a setting or a setting changed or left as-is by
the user resulted in an updated setting.

Alas, since TB development is dead except for security patches and some
stability fixes, I doubt adding another bugzilla report for an RFE
(Request For Enhancement) would ever get addressed. We're still waiting
for bug reports dated back to 2002 and 2005 to get addressed. Many
extensions should've been functionally embedded in TB.

[Chris Ilias]

On 2014-04-23, 2:50 PM, Rav wrote:
> On 4/23/2014 2:37 PM, Onno Ekker wrote:
>> On 4/23/2014 8:19 PM, Tanstaafl wrote:
>>
>>> Is there an easy way to see all of the non-default setting that are set
>>> in about:config?
>>

>> Just click on the Status column header to order by status. All user set
>> preferences group together...
>

> It's true that that groups the non-default settings together.
> Unfortunately, while "user set" includes things I did indeed explicitly
> set (either in about:config or as a result of setting prefs), it also
> mostly includes things that Thunderbird decided to set (some as a
> side-effect of things I have done while using Thunderbird, such as
> reading mail or using printers, but some that are truly just
> housekeeping things that do not correspond to specific actions I have
> taken).

If Onno's solution isn't adequate for Tanstaafl's question, I'm sure
Tanstaafl will say so.

--
Chris Ilias <http://ilias.ca>
Mailing list/Newsgroup moderator

[VanguardLH]

Yet Rav's response DID address just what is defined by "user set". It
is NOT just what the user specifically changed in the config UI, config
editor, or menus. "user set" is also used for status on *application*
changed settings. The term "user set" is misleading as such. Settings
changed by the *user* should have a status of "user set". Settings
changed by the *application* should have a status of "app set".

Sorting by status and seeing the "user set" settings grouped together
does NOT show only the settings the user changed. So Rav provided
clarification on the vagueness of the "user set" status.