# Application settings

To access the application settings dialog, choose Edit ‣ Application settings from the main menu. The settings dialog has several tabs:

- General
- Viewports
- Video encoding
- Modifier templates
- Viewport layer templates
- Particles
- Python

## Where does OVITO store its settings?

OVITO stores the user’s settings in a platform-dependent location to preserve them across program sessions. On Windows, the information is saved in the system registry. On Linux and macOS, it is stored in a text-based configuration file under the user’s home directory. The precise storage location on your computer is displayed at the bottom of the application settings dialog.

Operating system | Storage location
--- | ---
Windows | `\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Ovito\Ovito\`
Linux | `$HOME/.config/Ovito/Ovito.conf`
macOS | `$HOME/Library/Preferences/org.ovito.Ovito.plist`

To reset OVITO to its factory default settings, close the program first. Then delete the configuration file on Linux/macOS or remove the registry branch on Windows using the Windows Registry Editor program.

Attention

On macOS, preferences are cached by the operating system. After deleting the `org.ovito.Ovito.plist` file, you need to reboot your computer or run the command killall -u $USER cfprefsd in the terminal before restarting OVITO.