PlistEdit It's your computer.

One of the great things about OS X is the level of control the user has over the system. System and application settings are not stored in an unfathomable quagmire like Microsoft's 'registry' but in easy to read XML files in eminently accessible text format.

Up until OS X 10.4 Tiger that is.

The OS X XML parser has always been able to read and write XML in a variety of formats but the textual format has always been the default. Until Tiger. Now it's a binary format instead, making it that much more difficult for users to see and control the goings-on in their systems.

The only work-around users have had is to drop to a command line, use plutil to temporarily rewrite the files in text format, and edit the files with a text editor - which can get lugubrious if things don't initially work out as desired.

And editing XML files with a text editor is always wrought with the danger of syntax errors: although XML syntax is eminently simple, a single misplaced character can render the file unusable.

Enter PlistEdit. PlistEdit opens your XML property list files in the same old easy to read text format, lets you edit them as plain text, and then saves them back to disk in their original format. And there's no risk of syntax errors either: PlistEdit won't allow them.

Use PlistEdit and regain control - after all, it's your computer.

See Also
Binary XML
Binary Property Lists