Admin Manage Preferences

This guide describes how to set up application preferences through configuration files without even booting it up.

Locating preference files

Preference files have the extension .prefs and can be found in the workspace directory under the following path: .metadata/.plugins/org.eclipse.core.runtime/.settings

You might not find a preference file you are interested in, if it has not been created yet. In this case, you will need to create one yourself. See the examples below to figure out which preference file you need.

Reading and modifying preference files

Preference files consist of key-value pairs glued together with = and separated with a line break:

# file org.jkiss.dbeaver.test.prefs
some.key=value1
some.other.key=value2

You can place the following preferences in the org.jkiss.dbeaver.core.prefs file:

Default navigator view for new connections

Name	Type	Default Value	Allowed Values	Description
navigator.settings.default.preset	string	`simple`	`simple`, `advanced`	Sets the default view mode for new connections Do not specify this preference if you want to configure a custom preset.
navigator.settings.default.showSystemObjects	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Controls whether system objects must be shown. Used if preset is not specified.
navigator.settings.default.showUtilityObjects	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Controls whether utility objects must be shown. Used if preset is not specified.
navigator.settings.default.showOnlyEntities	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Controls whether only schemas and tables must be shown. Used if preset is not specified.
navigator.settings.default.mergeEntities	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Controls whether all tables must be shown in a single list. Used if preset is not specified.

For more information, please see Simple and Advanced View.

Miscellaneous

Name	Type	Default Value	Allowed Values	Description
navigator.settings.default.connectionPattern	string	`host_or_database`	expression with variables	Pattern for new connections title
navigator.show.folder.placeholders	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Shows placeholders for special folders (e.g. Scripts)
navigator.sort.case.insensitive	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Sorts items in case-insensitive mode
navigator.sort.forlers.first	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Shows folders first

Default

Name	Type	Default Value	Allowed Values	Description
transaction.smart.commit	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Enables smart commit mode
transaction.smart.commit.recover	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Returns to auto-commit mode after transaction end
transaction.auto.close.enabled	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Automatically ends (rollback.md) transaction after idle period
transaction.auto.close.ttl	integer	`900`	integer value	Timeout before transaction close
transaction.show.notifications	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Shows folders first

Metadata settings

Name	Type	Default Value	Allowed Values	Description
database.meta.separate.connection	string	`DEFAULT`	`ALWAYS`, `NEVER`	Controls whether to open a separate connection for metadata read. Do not specify this preference if you want to use default settings.
database.meta.casesensitive	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Specifies the usage of case-sensitive names in DDL statements.
database.props.expensive	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Enables display of row count for tables.
database.meta.server.side.filters	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Enables display of server-side object filters.

Query manager settings

Name	Type	Default Value	Allowed Values	Description
qm.queryTypes	string	`USER`, `USER_FILTERED`, `USER_SCRIPT`	`USER`, `USER_FILTERED`, `USER_SCRIPT`, `UTIL`, `META`, `META_DDL`	View for different query types.
qm.objectTypes	string	`session`,`txn`,`query`	`session`,`txn`,`query`	View for different object types.
qm.maxEntries	integer	`200`	integer value	Number of entries displayed per page.
qm.storeLogs	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Enables the saving of logs.
qm.logDirectory	string	workspace directory	string value	Folder location for saving logs.
qm.historyDays	integer	`90`	integer value	Number of days for storing logs.

Database Navigator settings

Name	Type	Default Value	Allowed Values	Description
navigator.show.connection.host	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Displays the connection host name.
navigator.show.objects.description	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Displays the objects description.
navigator.show.statistics.info	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Displays the statistic info.
navigator.show.node.actions	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Displays the actions icons.
navigator.show.folder.placeholders	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Displays placeholders for special folders.
navigator.sort.forlers.first	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Displays folders first.
navigator.sort.case.insensitive	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Orders elements alphabetically.
navigator.color.nodes.all	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Sets connection color for all elements.
navigator.show.objects.tips	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Displays object modifiers in tree.
navigator.show.tooltips	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Display tooltips.
navigator.show.tooltips.file.contents	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Displays file contents in tooltips.
navigator.object.doubleClick	string	`EDIT`	`EXPAND`	The behavior on double-clicking a node.
navigator.connection.doubleClick	string	`EXPAND`	`EDIT`, `CONNECT`, `SQL_EDITOR`, `SQL_EDITOR_NEW`	The behavior on double-clicking on connection.
navigator.object.defaultEditorPage	string	`""`	`default.object.editor`, `org.jkiss.dbeaver.ui.editors.data.DatabaseDataEditor`, `org.jkiss.dbeaver.erd.ui.editor.ERDEditorEmbedded`	The behavior of default editor page.
navigator.expand.on.connect	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Expands navigator tree on connect.
navigator.restore.filters	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Database navigator filter.
navigator.long.list.fetch.size	integer	`5000`	integer values	Elements fetch size.
navigator.restore.state.depth	integer	`0`	integer values	Restores the navigator state up to a certain depth.

Error Logs settings

Name	Type	Default Value	Allowed Values	Description
logs.debug.enabled	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Enables debug logs.
logs.debug.location	string	`${workspace}/.metadata/dbeaver-debug.log`	string values	Location of the log save file.
logs.files.output.maxSize	integer	`10485760`	integer values	Maximum log file size (KB.md).
logs.files.output.maxCount	integer	`3`	integer values	Maximum backup log files count.

User Interface settings

Name	Type	Default Value	Allowed Values	Description
ui.auto.update.check	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Enables automatic updates check.
platform.language	string	`en`	`en`, `zh_CN`, `ru`, `fr`, `de`, `it`, `ja`, `es`, `pt`, `ko`, `zh_TW`,	Platform language setting.
java.client.timezone	string	operating system time zone	time zones	Time zone setting.
notifications.enabled	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Popup notification setting.
notifications.closeDelay	integer	`3000`	integer values	Popup window automatic hides delay setting (ms.md).

SQL Editor settings

Name	Type	Default Value	Allowed Values	Description
database.editor.separate.connection	string	`DEFAULT`	`ALWAYS`, `NEVER`	Opening a separate connection for each editor.
database.editor.connect.on.activate	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Connects on editors activation.
database.editor.connect.on.execute	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Connects on query execution.
SQLEditor.autoSaveOnChange	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Auto-saves after any modifications.
SQLEditor.autoSaveOnClose	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Auto-saves editor on close.
SQLEditor.autoSaveOnExecute	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Saves editor on query execution.
SQLEditor.autoSaveActiveSchema	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Saves/restore active schema.
SQLEditor.resultSet.closeOnError	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Closes results tab on error.
SQLEditor.resultSet.replaceCurrentTab	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Replaces active result tab on single query execution.
SQLEditor.resultSet.orientation	string	`HORIZONTAL`	`VERTICAL`	Result orientation view.
SQLEditor.outputPanel.autoShow	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Opens output viewer on new messages.
SQLEditor.outputPanel.autoShow	integer	`20`	integer values	Sets maximum of result tabs for single query.
SQLEditor.ContentAssistant.auto.activation.enable	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Enables auto-activation in SQL assistant.
SQLEditor.ContentAssistant.activate.hippie	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Activates Hippie Engine for autocompletition in SQL assistant.
SQLEditor.ContentAssistant.auto.activation.delay	integer	`0`	integer values	Auto activates delay (ms.md).
SQLEditor.ContentAssistant.auto.keystrokes.activation	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Activates SQL assistant on typing.
SQLEditor.ContentAssistant.insert.single.proposal	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Auto inserts proposal in SQL assistant.
SQLEditor.ContentAssistant.autocompletion.tab	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Use Tab for autocompletion in SQL assistant.
SQLEditor.ContentAssistant.insert.case	integer	`0`	`1`, `2`	Inserts case in SQL assistant (1- Upper case, 2 - Lower case).
SQLEditor.ContentAssistant.replace.word	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Replaces current word in SQL assistant.
SQLEditor.ContentAssistant.hide.duplicates	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Hides duplicate names from non-active schemas in SQL assistant.
SQLEditor.ContentAssistant.proposals.short.name	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Uses short object names in SQL assistant.
SQLEditor.ContentAssistant.show.helpTopics	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Shows server help topics in SQL assistant.
SQLEditor.ContentAssistant.show.values	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Shows values in SQL assistant.
sql.proposals.insert.table.alias	string	`PLAIN`	`NONE`, `EXTENDED`	Inserts table aliases (in FROM clauses).
SQLEditor.format.activeQuery	boolean	`true`	`true`, `false`	Enables format active query only.
script.auto.folders	boolean	`false`	`true`, `false`	Creates script folder for each connection.