{"id":479903,"date":"2022-07-31T20:00:14","date_gmt":"2022-07-31T17:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/what-is-a-plist-file\/"},"modified":"2022-07-31T20:00:14","modified_gmt":"2022-07-31T17:00:14","slug":"what-is-a-plist-file","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-a-plist-file\/","title":{"rendered":"#What Is a PLIST File?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3e55a58ce2b\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3e55a58ce2b\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-a-plist-file\/#%E2%80%9CWhat_Is_a_PLIST_File%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;What Is a PLIST File?&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-a-plist-file\/#Its_a_Property_List_File\" >It\u2019s a Property List File<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-a-plist-file\/#The_PLIST_Format\" >The PLIST Format<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-a-plist-file\/#How_to_Edit_PLIST_Files\" >How to Edit PLIST Files<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CWhat_Is_a_PLIST_File%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;What Is a PLIST File?&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage alignnone size-full wp-image-815944\" data-pagespeed-no-defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/mac_textedit_hero_2.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve used a Mac or developed <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>s for iPhones or iPads, you\u2019ve probably run across a PLIST file at some point. But what is it, and what does \u201cPLIST\u201d mean, anyway? We\u2019ll explain.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Its_a_Property_List_File\"><\/span>It\u2019s a Property List File<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A PLIST file is a special text file that contains data in the Property List format. The file is used by macOS, iOS, and iPadOS applications to store settings and other data in a key-value format with an XML structure. For example, every iPhone app includes at least one PLIST file called <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/developer.apple.com\/library\/archive\/documentation\/General\/Reference\/InfoPlistKeyReference\/Articles\/AboutInformationPropertyListFiles.html#\/\/apple_ref\/doc\/uid\/TP40009254-SW1\">Info.plist<\/a> that contains basic configuration information for the app.<\/p>\n<p>Ordinary users who download an iPhone app never see or have to directly interact with this file, but developers must create one to make their app work. PLIST files can be created and edited with a text editor, such as TextEdit. They are typically stored in the <code>~\/Library\/Preferences\/<\/code> folder on a Mac, but also can be stored anywhere on the filesystem.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_PLIST_Format\"><\/span>The PLIST Format<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Property List format contains a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> of key-value pairs encoded in XML. The keys are always strings, and the values can be strings, numbers, arrays, dictionaries, or dates. When you open a PLIST file in a text editor, it looks like a jumble of data. However, the data is actually organized into a format that is easy for computers to read.<\/p>\n<p>Here is a simple example of a PLIST file:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&lt;?xml version=\u201d1.0\u2033 encoding=\u201dUTF-8\u2033?&gt;<br \/>&lt;!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC \u201c-\/\/Apple\/\/DTD PLIST 1.0\/\/EN\u201d \u201chttp:\/\/www.apple.com\/DTDs\/PropertyList-1.0.dtd\u201d&gt;<br \/>&lt;plist version=\u201d1.0\u2033&gt;<br \/>&lt;dict&gt;<br \/>&lt;key&gt;Name&lt;\/key&gt;<br \/>&lt;string&gt;Newt Masterson&lt;\/string&gt;<br \/>&lt;key&gt;Age&lt;\/key&gt;<br \/>&lt;integer&gt;43&lt;\/integer&gt;<br \/>&lt;key&gt;Children&lt;\/key&gt;<br \/>&lt;array&gt;<br \/>&lt;string&gt;Ellen&lt;\/string&gt;<br \/>&lt;string&gt;Luna&lt;\/string&gt;<br \/>&lt;string&gt;Norma&lt;\/string&gt;<br \/>&lt;\/array&gt;<br \/>&lt;\/dict&gt;<br \/>&lt;\/plist&gt;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In this example, the file contains three key-value pairs. The first pair has a key of \u201cName\u201d and a value of \u201cNewt Masterson\u201d. The second pair has a key of \u201cAge\u201d and a value of 43 (an integer). The third pair has a key of \u201cChildren\u201d and a value of an array of strings. Arrays and dictionaries can contain other key-value pairs and arrays. This allows you to store data in a hierarchical format.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Edit_PLIST_Files\"><\/span>How to Edit PLIST Files<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>On a Mac, PLIST files are often used to store application preferences in the <code>~\/Library\/Preferences\/<\/code> folder or within an application\u2019s package, but sometimes in other locations as well. For example, the <code>com.apple.TextEdit.plist<\/code> file contains the preferences for the TextEdit application (located in <code>~\/Library\/Containers\/com.apple.TextEdit\/Data\/Library\/Preferences\/<\/code> ).<\/p>\n<p>When you open the TextEdit application, it reads the com.apple.TextEdit.plist file and loads the preferences. If you make any changes to the preferences within the app\u2014such as changing the font size\u2014those changes are <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnet.com\/tech\/computing\/tutorial-preferences-files-the-complete-story\/\">saved back<\/a> to the PLIST file.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-726162 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/programmer.jpg?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"A programmer programming a bug.\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/program-development-concept-young-man-working-605291450\" data-credittext=\"Africa Studio \/ Shutterstock\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/program-development-concept-young-man-working-605291450\">Africa Studio \/ Shutterstock<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<blockquote class=\"admonishment_warning\"><p><strong>Warning:<\/strong> It\u2019s dangerous to manually edit PLIST files unless you know exactly what you\u2019re doing. If you make a mistake, it could cause the app to crash and no longer work properly. Before you make any changes, make a backup copy of the original PLIST file that you can revert to in case something goes wrong.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>You can also edit an application\u2019s PLIST file manually, but it can be <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apple.stackexchange.com\/questions\/268611\/is-it-possible-to-change-the-default-window-size-of-a-txt-file-in-textedit\">very tricky<\/a> depending on how a particular application writes data to a PLIST file. A knowledge of XML structure helps. For example, if you want to change the font size for the TextEdit application, you would open the <code>com.apple.TextEdit.plist<\/code> file in a text editor or Xcode and find the key related to font size, change the value, save the PLIST file, then exit the editing application.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes the keys aren\u2019t listed, and in those cases it is likely best to just leave the PLIST file alone unless you have deep technical knowledge about how the application works. Instead, change the preferences within the app itself. Good luck!<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>What Is An XML File (And How Do I Open One)?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/815297\/what-is-a-plist-file\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;What Is a PLIST File?&#8221; If you\u2019ve used a Mac or developed apps for iPhones or iPads, you\u2019ve probably run across a PLIST file at some point. But what is it, and what does \u201cPLIST\u201d mean, anyway? We\u2019ll explain. It\u2019s a Property List File A PLIST file is a special text file that contains data&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":479904,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/mac_textedit_hero_2.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-479903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=479903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/479904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=479903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=479903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=479903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}