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Registry keys and values

David Simunič edited this page Nov 2, 2019 · 3 revisions

Version 1.x of Manager uses Windows registry to store its settings and the virtual machines. The main 86Box Manager key is HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\86Box, meaning that you have a per-user configuration. Manager settings are stored as values under this key. These are:

  • CFGdir (REG_SZ): the path to your virtual machines folder
  • CloseToTray (REG_DWORD): does the Manager window close to the tray icon
  • EnableGridLines (REG_DWORD): display grid lines in virtual machines list
  • EnableLogging (REG_DWORD): enables 86Box logging to the specified file
  • EXEdir (REG_SZ): the path to 86Box.exe
  • LaunchTimeout (REG_DWORD): the number of miliseconds Manager will wait for 86Box process to initialize
  • LogPath (REG_SZ): the path to the 86Box log file
  • MinimizeOnVMStart (REG_DWORD): does the Manager window minimize when a VM is started
  • MinimizeToTray (REG_DWORD): does the Manager window minimize to the tray icon
  • ShowConsole (REG_DWORD): is a console window displayed when a VM starts
  • SortColumn (REG_DWORD): is the column by which the VM list is sorted
  • SortOrder (REG_DWORD): is the order (either ascending or descending) in which the VM list is sorted

Virtual machines are stored in the Virtual Machines subkey. Every virtual machine is stored as a REG_BINARY value with the value name matching the VM's name. Same goes for the value's data. The VM object is serialized into binary form and stored in the registry value.

Please note: I don't recommend editing these values manually with the Registry Editor to avoid any potential problems that may appear as a result. This is especially true for the virtual machine values.