Using INI Files
If
you’ve been using a Windows PC for
any length of time, you’ve probably come across files with the
.ini
filename extension. Initialization files
(or Configuration Settings, as they’re
known in any recent release of Windows) were used in the old days to
store settings for applications, as well as Windows itself, before
the Registry was implemented. INI files are simply text files
(editable with any plain-text editor, such as Notepad) that are
specially formatted to store such settings. Because INI files are
limited in their maximum file size (64 KB) and are not as efficient
as the Registry, application developers have been encouraged to
abandon INI files and instead store settings in the Registry. Since
some applications still use INI files to store certain settings, it
may become necessary to look for and change settings in INI files as
well.
An example of an application that may still use an INI file today is an application installer. An INI file would allow a program to read and store settings without having to rely on the Registry; that way, the settings would be accessible regardless of the computer on which the program was run. INI files are also handy (for the same reason) for programs that run over a network. Windows also includes a few INI files, although they’re generally used only to maintain compatibility with older applications.
To edit an INI file, just double-click it, and it will open in Notepad. To configure another text editor to be used with ...
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