Java Preferences API using a custom file?

Question

Is it possible to use Preferences API to store my application's settings in a custom file? From what I have read, in Windows preferences are stored in registry which is not a good idea imho and I want my app to save prefs to let's say D:\app.preferences. Is it possible?

score 6 · Accepted Answer · edited Oct 30 '11 at 20:56

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the point of the Preferences API is to make it so that the application programmer doesn't have to know anything about how the OS chooses to save user preferences. if you want to save preferences in a specific file, you can certainly do that. just use a Properties instance to read/write to the file you desire.

edited Oct 30 '11 at 20:56

trashgod

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answered Oct 30 '11 at 20:42

jtahlborn

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score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 30 '11 at 21:04

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You can implement your own Preferences, just look at the Linux implementation which internally uses a file. You just wont be able to use the static methods in Preferences to get at the roots but you have to store them somewhere yourself.

answered Oct 30 '11 at 21:04

Ingo Kegel

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score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 19 '17 at 05:35

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By exporting and importing the preferences you can have what you want. It will still also be stored in wherever/whatever OS-specific storage mechanism JAVA chooses

answered Jun 19 '17 at 05:35

inor

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Java Preferences API using a custom file?

3 Answers3