The profile settings file

DataMind Oda keeps one settings file for each of its profiles on this computer, applied on top of the built-in defaults. You rarely need to open it: edit it only when DataMind support asks you to.

What the file is

• One file per profile. Each profile has its own folder under the Oda home folder, and its own file inside that folder. Oda profiles and launchers explains profiles, and Where Oda keeps its data shows how the home folder is chosen.
• It carries only changes. Oda's built-in setup supplies everything else; the file records what is different on this computer.
• One of the layers Oda composes. Command line and flags can print the configuration Oda will run, with each layer named.
• Its header names it. A current file starts like this:

# DataMind Oda settings for this computer, applied on top of the built-in defaults.
# DataMind Oda keeps this file up to date; edit it only when DataMind support asks you to.
[]

The file is written in YAML: the two # lines are its header comments, and the body below them is a list of changes. A new file starts with an empty list.

What Oda records in the file

• Rows you switch on or off. Toggling a plugin row on the Plugins page records the change here. Plugins and bundles covers that page.
• Values you save in settings forms. Changes that apply live are written into this file. Live plugin settings explains them.
• Names Oda writes for itself. Oda's own plugins appear as @datamind/<name>. Keep that spelling as it is.
• Only checked changes. A change saved from the app is checked before it is written. Oda can add a row, change one or remove one; it never adds a second row with a name the file already uses, and a change that cannot be applied leaves the file as it was.

How Oda keeps it up to date

Oda normalises the file when it updates it, following a few rules:

• Old headers and names are refreshed. A file written by an older version of Oda gets the current header, and old spellings of Oda's own plugin names are rewritten to the @datamind/<name> form.
• Preset rows become additive. A row for one of your own presets is adjusted so that what you wrote adds to Oda's base behaviour instead of replacing it.
• Your own text is kept. Comments and expressions outside the values Oda replaces are preserved.
• One backup is kept. The first rewrite leaves a copy of the file from before the update beside it, with .before-update.bak added to its name. Later rewrites never overwrite that copy.
• The rewrite is all or nothing. Oda replaces the file in one step. If a rewrite cannot be done safely, the file is left as it is and Oda reports Profile settings file <path> was left unchanged: <error>.

Edit the file when support asks

1. Open the file DataMind support points you to. Keep the two header lines and the list in place.
2. Make exactly the change support described, with the names they gave you.
3. Save the file. Oda watches it and applies a valid change once the app is ready; Hot reload covers when a change applies live and when it waits for a restart.
4. If Oda reports that the change could not be applied, it keeps the previous configuration. Fix the file, or restore the .before-update.bak copy beside it.

A line that names an entry the profile does not have is skipped with a warning: patch: entry "<name>" not found.

Turn the file's changes off

Keep the header lines and replace the list below them with an empty one: []. The file stays valid and Oda starts normally.

Do not empty the file or leave only comments in it: a file with no list fails to start.

Questions, answered

Where is my settings file?

Each profile has its own file, in that profile's folder under the Oda home folder. When DataMind support asks you to edit one, they name the profile it belongs to. See Where Oda keeps its data.

Why did the file change on its own?

Oda keeps it up to date. Changes you make in the app are recorded in the file, and Oda rewrites old headers and name forms when it updates it. That is expected.

What is the .before-update.bak file?

It is the copy Oda made before the first time it rewrote the file. It holds the file's earlier content if you ever need it, and Oda never overwrites it. Leave it in place.

How do I turn off what the file adds?

Keep the header lines and replace the list with an empty one: []. Do not empty the file or leave only comments; a file with no list fails to start.

What happens if I make a mistake in the file?

Oda does not ignore a broken file. A file it cannot read stops the next start, and Oda reports the problem; while Oda runs, a change it cannot apply is reported and the previous configuration stays. Fix the file, or restore the copy beside it.

What do @datamind names in the file mean?

They are names of DataMind's own plugins, in the form Oda writes for itself in this file. Leave them as they are unless support tells you otherwise.

Can I edit the file myself?

Only when DataMind support asks you to. The app keeps the file in step; an edit that cannot be applied is reported, and the previous configuration stays. For your own setup, use the app's pages.

Does a diagnostics replay use my edited file?

No. For diagnostics, a recorded replay reads a snapshot copy of Oda's configuration rather than the live one.