Deleting iCab's settings

Every now and then, you will run into a problem with iCab that recurs every time you run iCab and for which you cannot find a cause. Before reporting the problem to the iCab Company, consider that the problem may be a problem with iCab's settings. iCab is known to occasionally damage its settings and it is wise to check to see that the problem is not with iCab itself but the settings. Even if you are experiencing a bug in iCab, it helps to know whether the bug is universally present in iCab, or only present under certain configurations.

To try iCab with its default settings, open your Preferences folder. For Mac OS 9 and earlier, this is the Preferences folder within the System Folder. For Mac OS X, open a new Finder window, select Home from the Go menu, then open Library and then Preferences in that window. Within this folder will be a folder called iCab Preferences.

This folder contains the iCab cache and the various settings files. The main iCab preferences live in a file called "iCab Preferences3" for iCab 3 users, and "iCab Preferences" for users of iCab 2 and earlier. iCab 3 users will also likely see an iCab 2 preferences file kept as a back-up for if you need to use iCab 2 again.

Testing iCab with default settings

To test iCab with its default settings

• Close iCab
• Drag the iCab Preferences folder, as mentioned above, to another location, such as the Desktop
• Restart iCab

If the problem is gone, then you either have a damaged settings file, or the way you had iCab configured was causing the problem. Consider reviewing your settings and asking on the iCab Yahoo group before reporting a bug to Alexander. This may help find an answer and narrow down the problem before taking up Alexander Clauss's time with trying to solve the problem. If no-one can find an answer, you will have to reconfigure iCab from scratch.

If the problem persists, there may well be a problem with iCab. It is still a good idea to ask on the iCab Yahoo group first as it takes some of the load off Alexander Clauss; if it's a known problem with a known solution, or someone on the list knows about how it is being dealt with, you can find out without troubling Alexander.

Separate settings files

If the problem does appear to be with iCab's settings, you will want to minimise the amount of settings that you will have to recreate. iCab's settings are nicely divided into separate files, allowing you to throw away some settings and keep others. For example, you can throw away the main settings without losing all your Filter Manager settings, bookmarks or history. This is a great benefit and should save a lot of grief should something go badly wrong (such as being stuck in Kiosk Mode and unable to remember your password!)

-- DanielBeardsmore - 20 Oct 2006