Like many applications, Password Safe allows you to configure its behaviour and appearance to best suite your taste and needs. Many applications store such preferences in the Windows "registry", as a matter of convention and convenience. Previous versions of Password Safe used the registry as well, but this has proven to be problematic for the following reasons:
Password Safe has a number of preferences, each with a reasonable default value. When a user changes the configuration to a non-default value, the new value is store by Password Safe.
Password Safe defines preferences as security-related or non-security related. The former are kept in the database, encrypted with the same key as the user's data.
Non-security-related preferences are kept in a configuration file, pwsafe.cfg. This file is in XML format, with sections per host machine and per user, so that the file may be shared between different users, and across different machines.
By default, pwsafe.cfg is kept in the "local app data" directory, that is, C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\PasswordSafe.
This may be overridden by setting the PWS_PREFSDIR environment
variable is set.
The -g command line option (as described in Command Line Arguments may also be used to either specify a file name (which will be looked for in the above directories), or an absolute file path. and
Historically (before version 3.22 of PasswordSafe), the configuration file was stored in the same directory as the pwsafe.exe file.
Therefore, PasswordSafe will also search that directory for the configuration file, if not found in the "local app data" directory.
The following tables describes the configuration items. Most of them are
configurable via the "Manage → Options"
dialog box. As we use XML to save these values, field names are case sensitive.
Preferences stored in the "pwsafe.cfg" file apply to all open databases. Those
stored in the database apply only to that particular database. In Windows Vista
and later, the pwsafe.cfg file can be found in:
"C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\PasswordSafe"
but, in Windows XP, it can be found in:
"C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\PasswordSafe".
Note both directories may be hidden and Folder View properties may need to be
modified in order to be able to view it.
Warning: Do NOT modify any of the preferences in the pwsafe.cfg file manually, as this may cause unexpected or unpredictable results. Whilst we have made every effort to verify any preference we read in, we cannot guarantee that manually edited values will not cause a problem.
Note database preferences are only saved within the database if their value differs from their default value.
| Preference | Default | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| CopyPasswordWhenBrowseToURL | false | Copy the entry's password to the clipboard when invoking the entry's "Browse to URL" |
| LockDBOnIdleTimeout | true | Lock database if the user has not used the PC for a number of minutes. See "IdleTimeout" integer preference for the threshold value in minutes |
| MaintainDateTimeStamps | false | Entry last access times are recorded, if the database is in Read/Write mode |
| PWMakePronounceable | false | Password generation policy - convert generated passwords to be more pronounceable |
| PWUseDigits | true | Password generation policy - use numbers |
| PWUseEasyVision | false | Password generation policy - use Easy-Vision characters so that one character isn't mistaken for another e.g. number 0 (zero) and letter O (capital O) etc. |
| PWUseHexDigits | false | Password generation policy - generate a password with only hexadecimal characters (always an even number) |
| PWUseLowercase | true | Password generation policy - use lower case characters |
| PWUseSymbols | true | Password generation policy - use symbols |
| PWUseUppercase | true | Password generation policy - use upper case characters |
| SaveImmediately | true | Save database after every database change |
| SavePasswordHistory | false | Save entry's old passwords when a new password is assigned |
| ShowDragbar | true | Show Dragbar |
| ShowNotesDefault | false | Show Notes in Add and Edit |
| ShowPasswordInTree | false | Password is displayed in Tree View (requires Username to be displayed) |
| ShowPWDefault | false | Password is displayed by default in Add/Edit |
| ShowUsernameInTree | true | Username is displayed in Tree View |
| UseDefaultUser | false | Use the default user text preference when adding a new entry |
| ExcludeFromClipboardHistory | true | Keeps data sent to clipboard from going to the clipobard history (Windows 10 and later). |
| ExcludeFromScreenCapture | true | Hide Password Safe from Windows' screen capture function |
| Preference | Default | Min | Max | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IdleTimeout | 5 | 1 | 600 | Threshold in minutes to determine whether to lock Password Safe due to inactivity |
| NumPWHistoryDefault | 3 | 0 | 255 | How many passwords to keep in an entry's password history field |
| PWDefaultLength | 12 | 4 | 1024 | Default password length |
| PWDigitMinLength | 0 | 0 | 1024 | Default minimum number of digits in a generated password |
| PWLowercaseMinLength | 0 | 0 | 1024 | Default minimum number of lower case characters in a generated password |
| PWSymbolMinLength | 0 | 0 | 1024 | Default minimum number of symbols in a generated password |
| PWUppercaseMinLength | 0 | 0 | 1024 | Default minimum number of upper case characters in a generated password |
| TreeDisplayStatusAtOpen | AllCollapsed | n/a | n/a | Values are: AllCollapsed, AllExpanded or AsPerLastSave |
| Preference | Default | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| DefaultAutotypeString | \u\t\p\t\n | The database's default AutoType string. Note that each entry may override this value |
| DefaultSymbols | <none> | The default list of symbols to be used when generating a password with symbols. Note: each entry may override this value. |
| DefaultUsername | <none> | Default value for the Username field when creating new entries |
| TreeListSampleText | "AaBbYyZz 0O1IlL" | Sample text to use when deciding what font to be used in the Tree View |
Note preferences are only saved if their value is different from their default value. These preferences apply to all databases on a given machine by a given user.
| Preference | Default | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| AlwaysOnTop | false | Main window always on top |
| BackupBeforeEverySave | true | Rename current database following the Backup settings before saving any changes to it | ClearClipboardOnExit | true | Clear the clipboard of Password Safe information when Password Safe ends |
| ClearClipboardOnMinimize | true | Clear the clipboard of Password Safe information on minimize |
| DatabaseClear | false | Lock database on minimize, which implies clear database from memory |
| DefaultOpenRO | false | By default, set the Read-Only checkbox during the open of databases |
| deletequestion | false | Don't ask for confirmation when deleting a single entry |
| dontaskquestion | false | Don't ask for confirmation when copying password to clipboard |
| EscExits | true | The ESC key will close the database and exit Password Safe (if the System Tray is not being used) |
| ExplorerTypeTree | false | Show groups first in tree view |
| HideSystemTray | false | Hide the Password Safe System tray icon. Only able to be set if the user has already set a Hot Key |
| HighlightChanges | true | Highlight changed unsaved entries in blue |
| HotKeyEnabled | false | True if the user has defined a Hot Key to get quick access to Password Safe |
| ListSortAscending | true | The last sort direction in List View (ascending [true] or descending [false]) |
| ListViewGridLines | false | Show grid lines in list view |
| LockOnWindowLock | true | Lock Password Safe database when the user locks their Windows session |
| MinimizeOnAutotype | true | Minimize Password Safe during AutoType. Database may also be locked depending on the setting to lock it on minimize |
| MRUOnFileMenu | true | Most recently used databases are shown in the File menu or in in their own sub-menu from the File menu |
| MultipleInstances | true | Allow multiple instances of password Safe to be started. Changing this value will require Password Safe to be restarted to take effect. |
| NotesWordWrap | true | Note will be wrapped in its display area during Add/Edit |
| PreExpiryWarn | false | Warn user on database open if there are any entries with expired or soon to expire passwords |
| QuerySetDef | true | Ask user each time they add an entry whether to use the Username for all new entries |
| ShowDragbar | true | Show Dragbar |
| ShowFindToolBarOnOpen | true | Show the Find toolbar when Password Safe starts. This is determined by the state of this toolbar when Password Safe was last ended |
| ShowNotesAsToolTipsInViews | false | Show an entry's Notes as a tool tip in both Tree and List views (only the first 250 characters will be displayed) |
| ShowToolbar | true | Show Toolbar |
| UseNewToolbar | true | Use New or Classic toolbar |
| UsePrimarySelectionForClipboard | false | Determine which clipboard to use (Linux only) |
| UseSystemTray | true | Put Password Safe icon in Windows System Tray |
| Preference | Default | Min | Max | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AddEditFontPtSz | n/a | 0 | n/a | Add/Edit font size in tenths of a point |
| BackupMaxIncremented | 1 | 1 | 999 | Only valid if an incremental number is used for the BackupSuffix |
| BackupSuffix | 0 | n/a | n/a | Values are: None, datetime or an incremental number |
| column1width | n/a | n/a | n/a | The width of the first column in the List View when Password Safe was last exited |
| column2width | n/a | n/a | n/a | The width of the second column in the List View when Password Safe was last exited |
| column3width | n/a | n/a | n/a | The width of the third column in the List View when Password Safe was last exited |
| column4width | n/a | n/a | n/a | The width of the fourth column in the List View when Password Safe was last exited |
| DlgOrientation | 0 | 0 | 2 | How to choose wide or tall dialog screens: 0 - automatically (default), 1 - force tall, 2 - force wide. |
| DoubleClickAction | Copy Password | n/a | n/a | See Help entry DCA Values export |
| HotKey | none | n/a | n/a | The Hot Key value. Up to and including Password Safe version 3.42.1, this is stored as a decimal integer created from the virtual keycode for the character in the lower word plus the Microsoft Foundation Class CHotKeyCtrl modifier flags in the higher word. After version 3.42.1, the preference element is augmented with XML attributes that are used to set the virtual key code and modifier flags (e.g., Ctrl="1" Key="30") to the internal Password Safe format that can be used across other platforms. |
| maxmruitems | 4 | 0 | 20 | Number of most recently used databases saved in the File menu |
| MaxREItems | 25 | 0 | 25 | Maximum number of "Recent used entries" to be saved in the database and displayed from the System Tray icon to allow quick access |
| NotesFontPtSz | n/a | 0 | n/a | Notes font size in tenths of a point |
| OptShortcutColumnWidth | 92 | 10 | 512 | Size of the columns in the Manage → Options → Shortcuts tab |
| PasswordFontPtSz | n/a | 0 | n/a | Password font size in tenths of a point |
| PreExpiryWarnDays | 1 | 1 | 30 | When to warn on about-to-expire passwords |
| sortedcolumn | 0 | 0 | 15 | Previous column used to sort the List View |
| ShiftDoubleClickAction | Copy Password | n/a | n/a | See Help entry DCA Values export |
| TreeFontPtSz | n/a | 0 | n/a | Tree & List View font size in tenths of a point |
| VKFontPtSz | n/a | 0 | n/a | Virtual keyboard font size in tenths of a point |
| Preference | Default | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| AddEditFont | <none>, which corresponds to Segoe UI Symbol 10pt on Windows | Information about the font used to display fields in the Add/Edit property pages |
| AddEditSampleText | "AaBbYyZz 0O1IlL" | Sample text to use when deciding what font to be used to display when adding or editing entries |
| AltBrowser | <none> | Full path to an alternate browser |
| AltBrowserCmdLineParms | <none> | Special command line parameters for the alternate browser, if specified. Do NOT enclose this value in single or double quotes unless your chosen browser requires them. |
| AltNotesEditor | <none> | Full path to a text editor to be used to edit an entry's Notes field rather than the Windows default application. |
| AltNotesEditorCmdLineParms | <none> | Special command line parameters for the alternate text editor, if specified. Do NOT enclose this value in single or double quotes unless your chosen external editor requires them. |
| BackupDir | <none> | Usually the database backup is stored in the same directory as the database. This can be overridden using this preference |
| BackupPrefixValue | <none> | Usually the current database name is used to prefix any backup file names. This can be overridden using this preference |
| ColumnWidths | <none> | Non-default column widths in List View |
| currentbackup | <none> | Path and name of last backup file |
| currentfile | <none> | Currently (i.e., last) opened file |
| LanguageFile | <none> | The code of last language file used by the user. It is in the form "LL" or "LL_CC", where LL = ISO 639-1 two-character Language code e.g. EN, FR, DE, HE... see http://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/ and CC = ISO 3166-1 two-character Country code e.g. US, GB, FR, CA... see http://www.iso.org/iso/en/prods-services/iso3166ma/index.html |
| lastview | tree | Last view selected: Tree or List view ("tree" or "list") |
| LastUsedKeyboard | <none> | Save the code of the last Virtual Keyboard used |
| ListColumns | <none> | Non-default column order in List View. Note the list of comma separated column numbers reflect internal numbering of the fields and should not be edited manually |
| MainToolBarButtons | <none> | A list of the Toolbar buttons and their order as customised by the user. A separator is shown as a ~ |
| NotesFont | <none>, which corresponds to Segoe UI Symbol 10pt on Windows | Information about the font used to display the Notes field in the basic Add/Edit property page |
| NotesSampleText | "AaBbYyZz 0O1IlL" | Sample text to use when deciding what font to be used to display the Notes field in the basic Add/Edit property page |
| PasswordFont | <none>, which corresponds to Consolas 12pt on Windows | Information about the font used to display the password |
| PswdSampleText | "AaBbYyZz 0O1IlL" | Sample text to use when deciding what font to be used to display passwords |
| treefont | <none>, which corresponds to Segoe UI Symbol 10pt on Windows | Information about the font used in the Tree & List Views |
| TreeListSampleText | "AaBbYyZz 0O1IlL" | Sample text to use when deciding what font to be used in the Tree & List View |
| VKeyboardFontName | <none> | Name of the Unicode font to be used to display all characters used in the Virtual Keyboard. This includes both Latin and non-Latin characters |
| VKSampleText | "AaBbYyZz 0O1IlL" | Sample text to use when deciding what font to be used in the Virtual Keyboard |