What is the structure of QAP settings (ini) file?

The following information is for advanced users who need to change the QAP settings by editing the QuickAccessPopup.ini file saved in the QAP working directory. See also How can I edit the file QuickAccessPopup.ini?

The ini file format described in this page also applies to shared menus, exported settings file and to import settings files. See also What are the values in the QAP settings (ini) file? for detailed reference info.

Regular users should not be required to edit these files except in rare situations described in the FAQ or in the Support page.

[Global] Section

This section contains settings managed in the Options dialog box or managed internally by QAP.

[Global]
LanguageCode=EN
NavigateOrLaunchHotkeyMouse=MButton
NavigateOrLaunchHotkeyKeyboard=#w
PowerHotkeyMouseDefault=+MButton
PowerHotkeyKeyboardDefault=+#A
Check4Update=1
DisplayIcons=1
DisplayMenuShortcuts=0
IconSize=32
...

See the description of these QuickAccessPopup.ini variables.

See also the special [Global] values for Shared menus below.

[Favorites] Section

This section contains the favorites found in your QAP menu. It starts with the first item in your main menu (“Favorite1=…”) and ends with a line with a favorite of type “Z” (“Favorite7=Z” in the following example). When a submenu is added to your menu, it starts with a line of type “Menu” and ends with a line of type “Z” (“Favorite5=Z” below) and it continues with the content of the previous menu. Submenus can be nested at will. FavoriteN numbers must be consecutive. Menu loading stops at first missing N.

For example:

[Favorites]
Favorite1=Folder|Name of folder in main menu|...
Favorite2=Document|Name of document in main menu|...
Favorite3=Menu|Submenu name|...
Favorite4=Folder|Name of folder in submenu|...
Favorite5=Z
Favorite6=Folder|Name of next folder in main menu|...
Favorite7=Z

Format of each line:

[Favorites]
FavoriteN=FavoriteType|FavoriteName|FavoriteLocation|FavoriteIconResource|FavoriteArguments|FavoriteAppWorkingDir|FavoriteWindowPosition|FavoriteLaunchWith|FavoriteLoginName|FavoritePassword|FavoriteGroupSettings

FavoriteN= where N is a number starting at 1. One favorite line contains infos delimited by | (pipe), real pipes in values being replaced with the sequence “Сþ€” in ini file for all values except fields 1, 7 and 8.

Favorite fields order and names:
1 FavoriteType
2 FavoriteName
3 FavoriteLocation
4 FavoriteIconResource
5 FavoriteArguments
6 FavoriteAppWorkingDir*
7 FavoriteWindowPosition (Boolean,MinMax,Left,Top,Width,Height,Delay,RestoreSide/Monitor (comma delimited)
8 FavoriteLaunchWith
9 FavoriteLoginName
10 FavoritePassword
11 FavoriteGroupSettings
…

 

* 6 FavoriteAppWorkingDir: for “TC Hotlist”, target path

Example

[Favorites]
Favorite1=Folder|Windows|C:Windows|C:WindowsSystem32shell32.dll,298|||||||
Favorite2=Document|My Notes|C:Docsnotes.txt||||||||

[Favorites-backup] section

Each time the favorites are saved using QAP, a [Favorites-backup] section is created with the current content of the [Favorites] section. Be careful to edit the current [Favorites] section and not its backup.

Themes settings

[Gui-Grey] and other sections starting with “Gui-” are theme descriptions. More info on themes in this page: Quick Access Popup Color Themes.

[AlternativeMenuHotkeys] section

This section contains the hotkey (shortcuts) settings managed in the Alternative Menu Hotkeys tab of the Options dialog box.

[AlternativeMenuModifiers] section

This section contains the modifiers that can be used in the QAP menu to call Alterative menu features, set in the Alternative Menu Hotkeys tab of the Options dialog box.

[LocationHotkeys] section (deprecated after v8.7.1.1)

Up to version v8.7.1.1, this section contained the favorites hotkey (shortcuts) settings managed in Change hotkey dialog box. You can open this dialog box in the Shortcut section of the Menu Options tab in the Add/Edit Favorite dialog box or in the the Manage Hotkeys dialog box.

From v8.7.1.93, shortcuts are saved in the [Favorites] section as parameter #20 (see object model).

Import and Export ini files

The files created when your export settings comply to the format described in this page. Files imported must also comply with this format. However, they could include any or all of these settings sections: Favorites, Hotkeys, Alternative menu hotkeys, Alternative menu modifiers, Global settings and Themes. More info on import/export commands here: Can I backup, import or export my favorites and settings?

Shared menus

Shared menu are saved in ini files complying to the format described in this page. But they contain only a [Favorites] section as described earlier and a special [Global] section with shared menu specific variables. More information about shared menu settings file: What is the content of a shared menus settings file (for advanced users)?

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