Everything.ini Default Changes

[froggie]

Under Help==>troubleshooting I see 70 changes to my Everything-1.5a.ini. A few of these I made explicitly, some of the rest I recognize come from the GUI. Some I can not figure out (example: offline_alpha=128 when the default is offline_alpha=160)

Questions:
When changes are made to ini defaults during development, are existing ini values changed or left as is?
What is the best way to relate ini settings to the GUI?

[NotNull]

Some I can not figure out (example: offline_alpha=128 when the default is offline_alpha=160)

128 used to be the default value; apparently the default changed to 160 in newer version (set to 128 here too).
That also answers your first question.
But I can imagine that some "urgent" settings that cause serious trouble could be overwritten when needed.

What is the best way to relate ini settings to the GUI?

I think, the best way is to use common sense. The ini-settings are well-named and 'translating' them to GUI settings (if available) should be doable.


I guess you asked for the same reason I would: how can I get rid of old 'dead wood' settings and have a clean settings file?

(Personally, I have a "mini-ini" with all settings that are important to me and when I do no longer "trust" my settings, I overwrite everything.ini with "mini-ini" and start fresh)

[ChrisGreaves]

(Personally, I have a "mini-ini" with all settings that are important to me and when I do no longer "trust" my settings, I overwrite everything.ini with "mini-ini" and start fresh)

Thanks Not Null.
This was the thinking behind the topic Saving Everything's Environment settings

I admit to liking the poetic influence behind "Mini-Ini", and if anyone asks, I shall tell them that "NotNull is the mini-Ini, in'ee?"
Cheers, Chris

[raccoon]

Tip:

Help -> Troubleshooting Info will show all your settings that deviate from the defaults. This includes settings where the default values have changed from an update and you're still using the old default values.

If you want to reset a setting to its default value, type about:config in the search bar and then delete those settings (the entire line) from Notepad and then save and close Notepad. Do not make multiple saves and additional changes per about:config Notepad session, just one save and close.

Your INI settings are automatically reorganized (sorted) by Everything. If a setting appears twice, the second occurrence replaces and erases the first occurrence. In this way, you can simply add changes to the bottom of the INI and Everything will adopt those changes without having to hunt for duplicates.

[froggie]

(Personally, I have a "mini-ini" with all settings that are important to me and when I do no longer "trust" my settings, I overwrite everything.ini with "mini-ini" and start fresh)

Very good idea. I will workout the meaning of all changed settings and create a "mini-ini" with comments that I can keep updated and use to refresh Everything.ini.

[ChrisGreaves]

Help -> Troubleshooting Info will show all your settings that deviate from the defaults. This includes settings where the default values have changed from an update and you're still using the old default values.

Hi Raccoon. A follow-up question to the Tip above:
Why is my Help, Troubleshooting so full of data:-

Code: Select all

Everything:	1.5.0.1344a (x64)
OS:	Windows NT 10.0 22621 (x64)
Admin:	0
Service:	1 (connected / installed and running)
Command line:	-startup
Binary:	C:\Program Files\Everything 1.5a\Everything64.exe
Profile:	C:\Users\Chris077\AppData\Roaming\Everything\Everything-1.5a.ini
Database:	C:\Users\Chris077\AppData\Local\Everything\Everything-1.5a.db
Instance:	1.5a
Config:	zoom=109
Config:	language=1033
Config:	auto_include_fixed_fat_volumes=1
Config:	auto_include_removable_fat_volumes=1
Config:	auto_remove_offline_fat_volumes=1
Config:	operator_precedence=1
Config:	exclude_files=~*.*
Config:	include_file_content=1
Config:	content_include_only_folders=T:\
Config:	content_include_only_files=*.doc
Config:	content_max_size=1000
Config:	content_exclude_recall_on_data_access=0
Config:	show_copy_name=1
Config:	show_copy_path=1
Config:	show_explore=1
Config:	show_explore_path=1
Config:	context_menu_parent_folder=1
Config:	filter=EVERYTHING
Config:	fat_volumes=[{"path":"B:","volume_name":"\\\\.\\B:","root":"Blotter\\20230507"},{"path":"T:","volume_name":"\\\\?\\Volume{2fbb81a2-c283-11ed-83dd-141333b95f06}"}]
Config:	ntfs_volumes=[{"path":"C:","volume_name":"\\\\?\\Volume{dba064f0-1ec8-4e09-a933-1c3148a49947}"}]

My installation of 1344a is not yet an hour old, and I am simply documenting the installation (in MSWord), so I have not started making changes to any defaults yet.

I am curious rather than stymied, because I continue to define Installation settings as a complete set of "installation files" that (in theory) could be used in place of a System Restore Point, and Help -> Troubleshooting Info seems to be part of this set.
Thanks, Chris

[raccoon]

Because those are the changes you made to the default settings since you installed Everything.

[horst.epp]

In 1344a we have the new very helpfull
Options / Advanced
This allows to see all modified entries from default, change single items
and also reset shown filtered list to its defaults.

[ChrisGreaves]

Because those are the changes you made to the default settings since you installed Everything.

Hi Raccoon. I beg to disagree.
(1) I swear that during installation I merely tapped the <Enter> key (A Golden Rule of Windows is "If in doubt, press <Enter>"), and so far haven't used Everything 1344a for anything than the simplest *.doc search.
(2)

Config: language=1033

I certainly made no changes to the language, and until just now I didn't know that

Config: content_max_size=1000

existed, let alone, how make a change to it.
(3) My Help, Troubleshooting file has 29 unique paragraphs within it. I doubt that I have made 29 changes to Everything since I began looking under the hood last September.

Install_21.png (36.1 KiB) Viewed 6740 times

(4) Horst says that "... In 1344a we have the new very helpful Options / Advanced This allows to see all modified entries from default, ..." and while I believe Horst, I don't believe the contents of the pane that pops up.

Honest to the god of your understanding: I did the installation first thing this morning while my mind was fresh, then the forecast being 12c I spent the next six hours outside raking areas, barrowing compost, and generally feeling good working outside in the garden!
Cheers, Chris

[ChrisGreaves]

In 1344a we have the new very helpful Options / Advanced...

Thank you Horst; I made use of this in my reply to raccoon, above.
Cheers, Chris

[froggie]

In 1344a we have the new very helpfull
Options / Advanced
This allows to see all modified entries from default, change single items
and also reset shown filtered list to its defaults.

Yes, very useful. Note that it does not show some (all?) entries that are set with the GUI.

[NotNull]

Option > Advanced contains all settings that were previously missing to configure in the Options GUI.

So Options GUI + Advanced settings = ALL possible Everything settings.


@ChrisGreaves
I don't know how rigorously your deep-clean uninstall of Everything was, but there might be a leftover Everything-1.5a.ini in the %APPDATA%\Everything folder, which got re-used when re-installing.
(Not sure, so far I never paid attention when uninstalling).

An indicator for that: Do you see your own "old" bookmarks and filters after fresh install?

[ChrisGreaves]

I don't know how rigorously your deep-clean uninstall of Everything was, but there might be a leftover Everything-1.5a.ini in the %APPDATA%\Everything folder, which got re-used when re-installing.

Hello NotNull, and thank you for this response.
There were a couple of dozen registry keys & files that Void recommend I NOT delete (using RevoUninstaller) as these carried forwards useful user preferences.
I deleted them because I was aiming for a system free of ANY trace of Everything's earlier presence(s) - except of course my collection of Setup.EXE files. I have about three prongs of progress stalled right now because, I suspect, that somewhere, somehow, some settings are somewhat corrupted.

A perfectly wiped-clean installation (of Everything) is a valuable asset.

I gather that at this time there is no method described for wiping everything related to Everything from the user's disk; but this merely fires up extra problems for Void's and your debugging: No-one really knows what dust-bunnies are lurking under the bed, ready to be nudged into the open by the nozzle of the vacuum-cleaner!

An indicator for that: Do you see your own "old" bookmarks and filters after fresh install?

So I will do another RevoUninstaller:

(a) Create a user bookmark and show that it exists
(b) Save all files “Everything*.INI” off line
(c) RevoUninstaller with full/deep scan but:-
(d) Take screen snapshots of the files that RevoUninstaller finds before deleting them
(e) Reboot
(f) Install 1346a (how did that sneak in under my radar?!!???)
(g) Note any user bookmarks
(h) Compare the set of online INI files with my offline records

My objective here is to arrive at a definitive method to wipe a system clean of Everything. The alternative is to roll back to a restore point prior to the first installation of Everything, and we know that users in general (i.e. me) are not rigorous about restore points.

In the meantime if anyone reading this wants to jump in and nominate a file(s) that ought to be wiped and do not fall into my set, please let me know.

Cheers, Chris

[horst.epp]

My objective here is to arrive at a definitive method to wipe a system clean of Everything. The alternative is to roll back to a restore point prior to the first installation of Everything, and we know that users in general (i.e. me) are not rigorous about restore points.
Cheers, Chris

To avoid all that stress I use the portable version which has all files in one dir.
I make backups of this tree into a ZPAQ archive (using a Total Commander plugin).
The ZPAQ format supports encrypted, deduplicated, and compressed single or multi-part archives with rollback capability.
This way i can have hundrets of versions of the Everything tree in one archive, which is still very small.
I can get back any file versions or the latest full version.
Of course I can compare file versions from this archive..

[ChrisGreaves]

My objective here is to arrive at a definitive method to wipe a system clean of Everything. The alternative is to roll back to a restore point prior to the first installation of Everything, and we know that users in general (i.e. me) are not rigorous about restore points.
Cheers, Chris

To avoid all that stress I use the portable version which has all files in one dir.
I make backups of this tree into a ZPAQ archive (using a Total Commander plugin).
The ZPAQ format supports encrypted, deduplicated, and compressed single or multi-part archives with rollback capability.
This way I can have hundreds of versions of the Everything tree in one archive, which is still very small.
I can get back any file versions or the latest full version.
Of course I can compare file versions from this archive..

To avoid all that stress I use the portable version which has all files in one dir.

Thanks Horst, but “My objective here is to arrive at a definitive method to wipe a system clean of Everything”. That includes both the portable and the non-portable versions.
Your method works fine for you, but will it work for anyone else, who may or may not be Portable, who may of may not use Total Commander etc. or who, for whatever reason has installed or needs to make use of the Installer version.

In the first stage we need to identify every Folder, every Isolated file, every Registry key – anywhere that any version of Everything may leave potentially harmful data around.

In my first pass I make the assumption that the average new user will make use of the Installer as being the easiest one to use with all its default settings (“If in doubt, Press <Enter>”).

I have already found settings that Everything’s built-in Uninstaller does not remove, but that a 3rd-party uninstaller (RevoUninstaller) does find and remove. I am almost at the end of this trail, and am likely then to check the Portable version. I shall be surprised if I find that every Folder, every Isolated file, every Registry key that is created by the portable system is in one folder.

What proof or surety do you have that allows the claim that all of Everything’s data will be found under that one folder?

In my case, using the Installer version, I can use RevoUninstaller to show that there are data objects outside the standard uninstalling procedure that are left lying around, and will tarnish the next installation.

Thanks, Chris

[horst.epp]

What proof or surety do you have that allows the claim that all of Everything’s data will be found under that one folder?

In my case, using the Installer version, I can use RevoUninstaller to show that there are data objects outside the standard uninstalling procedure that are left lying around, and will tarnish the next installation.

Thanks, Chris

I tested several times various versions by just starting them from different dirs.
If one enables context menu entries this goes of course in the registry
but even this is overwritten by doing the same from another portable Everything dir.
I worked for several large US companies supporting many users and servers
but we never needed such tools as the RevoUninstaller.
This tools find Registry or file system entries which have no influence on the behaviour
after installing or updating software to a new version in portable software.
I have hundreds of portable apps installed and a lot of it are still on my home PC.

[NotNull]

As Everytghing is highly configurable, there will be cases that are very hard to cover by any cleanup routine.

For example, Everything can be started as follows: Everything.exe -config " C:\somewhere\nonsense.ini -db "X:\elsewhere\garbage database.txt"


By the way: if you want to find all settings that are changed relative to the out of the box defaults:

- Create a new folder
- Start PowerShell in that folder
- Run the following 2 commands:

Code: Select all

Start-process "c:\Program Files\Everything 1.5a\Everything64.exe" -argumentlist '-instance OOB -choose-volumes -nodb -exit -config out_of_the_box.ini'
Compare-object $(get-content  "$env:APPDATA\Everything\Everything-1.5a.ini")   $(get-content  .\out_of_the_box.ini )  -PassThru | Where {$_.SideIndicator -eq "<="}

This assumed Everything is installed in "c:\Program Files\Everything 1.5a\Everything64.exe" and the INI is located in "$env:APPDATA\Everything\Everything-1.5a.ini" (c:\users\you\appdata\roaming\Everything\Everything-1.5a.ini).

Change "c:\Program Files\Everything 1.5a\Everything64.exe" and/or "$env:APPDATA\Everything\Everything-1.5a.ini" where needed.

[ChrisGreaves]

As Everything is highly configurable, there will be cases that are very hard to cover by any cleanup routine.

Hi NotNull.
This I grant you, and I have probably messed up or corrupted more versions of Everything than ... but I have not yet reached the stage of using "off site" folders. In particular, since the new laptop arrived Mid-March, I have been focused on a simple novice user installation and have been exploring the menu system.
I used RevoUninstaller because it has a good reputation for ferreting out registry keys and extraneous files. It may not be perfect, but it is supposed to be thorough. Soon we shall discover how good it is at uncovering " "X:\elsewhere\garbage database.txt""!

Given that I am still a novice user I am puzzled that today I was not able to shed my previous installation.
I have attached a Word document, draft notes, but if you jump to "Tuesday, May 09, 2023" you will see that this morning in 1344a, I created a filter and a bookmark and they were carried over from my Uninstall of 1344a to my fresh installation of 1346a. My Tools, Options, General, Home, Custom search string was presented the instant that the freshly-installed 1346a fired up automatically at the end of the installation script.

By the way: if you want to find all settings that are changed relative to the out of the box defaults:

This created a 234-line file of changes, but I will take another look tomorrow.
Given that the time is now 1817 and Everything 1346a was installed at 1716, just sixty minutes ago, 234 changes seem like a lot.
The cause maybe because I did not set up the paths as you suggested.

Thanks for the new rabbit holes!
Cheers, Chris

[ChrisGreaves]

This assumed Everything is installed in "c:\Program Files\Everything 1.5a\Everything64.exe" and the INI is located in "$env:APPDATA\Everything\Everything-1.5a.ini" (c:\users\you\appdata\roaming\Everything\Everything-1.5a.ini).

Hi NotNull.
I checked the locations and paths of the INI and EXE as you suggested; they agree. This is still the out-of-box because I've not used Everything for any weird work after yesterday's re-install of 1346a.

I have attached a ZIP file of the redirected output from the second command.

I note that the leading five settings corroborate my behaviour - I work in maximized windows.

"language=1033"

is not something I would change. Well, if I ever decide to document language packages with Everything that might change the "language" setting, but a month ago I decided not to document that in the User Tutorial.

Ah-hah!

I see

"search=T:\Greaves\Training\Everything\Tutorial\Section 02\ ext:doc"

, so I do believe that Everything has retrieved that from somewhere. Were I setting up that Custom string afresh, I would omit the space between "Section" and "02" for reasons outlined in this post.

options_last_folder_path=W:\
options_last_folder_custom_path="Add Custom Folder" for beginners ...


These four {c}'d strings make me believe that the Everything Uninstall is NOT clean, and, as usual, I welcome comments.

Cheers, Chris

[ChrisGreaves]

These four {c}'d strings make me believe that the Everything Uninstall is NOT clean, and, as usual, I welcome comments.

I started a dedicated topic Removing all Traces of Everything with Uninstall
Cheers, Chris