[[TranslatedPages]]

Our preference data is composed of a set of name->value pairs. The setting names are often "namespaced" with dot ('.') separated words. Many JOSM plugins will store preferences grouped in a namespace.

You can get a similar raw view by viewing this file, but this [Help/Preferences/Advanced 'Advanced' preferences panel] is intended to provide a easier alternative.

= Menus =

Most of the settings can be reached via menus
* [[Help/Action/Preferences]] (see also [[Help/Keys by menu]])

= Other preferences =

* [[Help/JOSM interface customization]]
* [[Help/Preferences/Advanced]]

= JOSM preference/data/cache directories =

JOSM stores 3 kinds of files in different directories:
 Preferences:: Configuration data and settings, such as authentication for the OSM server, list of last opened files, selection of expandable dialogs on the right, etc.
 User data:: User specific data files, for example autosave data, plugins and ignored validator errors
 Cache:: Files downloaded from the internet and stored for a limited time to avoid repeated downloads and allow faster access. For example imagery tiles and startup news.

The default location of the directories depends on your operating system.

== Windows ==

'''Preferences''' and '''user data''' is stored in
{{{
%APPDATA%\JOSM
}}}
To locate this folder, try opening Explorer window and paste following text in location, then hit enter: `%APPDATA%\JOSM`, On Windows Vista and later, it should be something like `C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\Roaming\JOSM`. Note, that the directory `C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData` can be hidden by default.

The '''cache''' is located in
{{{
%LOCALAPPDATA%\JOSM\cache
}}}
for Windows Vista and later.

This is typically `C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\Local\JOSM\cache`.

On Windows XP and earlier, the cache is in `%APPDATA%\JOSM\cache`.

== Mac OS X ==

On Mac OS X, the default locations are as follows:
 Preferences:: `$HOME/Library/Preferences/JOSM`
 User data:: `$HOME/Library/JOSM`
 Cache:: `$HOME/Library/Caches/JOSM`

== Linux ==

Since r11162, JOSM uses the [https://specifications.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/basedir-spec-latest.html XDG Base Directory Specification] for fresh installations, i.e.
 Preferences:: `$HOME/.config/JOSM`
 User data:: `$HOME/.local/share/JOSM`
 Cache:: `$HOME/.cache/JOSM`

JOSM respects the `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME`, `$XDG_DATA_HOME` and `$XDG_CACHE_HOME` environment variables to chance these locations.

Prior to r11162, the locations were
 Preferences:: `$HOME/.josm`
 User data:: `$HOME/.josm`
 Cache:: `$HOME/.josm/cache`

JOSM will continue to use the old locations, if the directory `$HOME/.josm` exists. If you have a fresh installation, but prefer the old scheme, you can create the `$HOME/.josm` directory by hand.

Note on hidden files: File names beginning with a dot are hidden on Linux. To show the contents of the hidden folder, use the file manager and enter "~/.josm" in the address line (if no address line is visible just try to enter a letter and hopefully a popup to enter the address will open). Alternatively it is possible to "show hidden" files and folders in the file manager, using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+H.

== Customization (all operating systems) ==

=== Setting all 3 locations ===
The locations can be set using system properties specified from the [[Help/CommandLineOptions|commandline]]:
 Preferences:: `-Djosm.pref=...`
 User data:: `-Djosm.userdata=...`
 Cache:: `-Djosm.cache=...`

For example to store the cache in `D:\cache\JOSM`, you would need to run a command like this:
{{{
java -Djosm.cache=D:\cache\JOSM -jar josm.jar
}}}

=== Setting a common directory ===

Alternatively, all 3 locations can be moved to a common location using the system property `-Djosm.home=...`.
For example with
{{{
java -Djosm.home=D:\myJOSM -jar josm.jar
}}}
the locations change to
 Preferences:: `D:\myJOSM`
 User data:: `D:\myJOSM`
 Cache:: `D:\myJOSM\cache`

=== Changing the directory base name ===

Instead of specifying the full path for the JOSM directories, you can use the system property `-Djosm.dir.name=` to modify just the name of the last directory component, which is `JOSM` by default. This is especially useful in order to keep multiple ''profiles'' on one computer, which should not interfere. For example to have one profile for productive work with the stable tested version and one for the experimental development version, you would start the development version like this:
{{{
java -Djosm.dir.name=JOSM-dev -jar josm-latest.jar
}}}
On Linux, the directories would then change to
 Preferences:: `$HOME/.config/JOSM-dev`
 User data:: `$HOME/.local/share/JOSM-dev`
 Cache:: `$HOME/.cache/JOSM-dev`

(For locations in the style prior to r11162, the lower-case version with prepended dot will be used, e.g. `$HOME/.josm-dev`.)

== preferences.xml Schema ==
http://josm.openstreetmap.de/preferences-1.0

Some descriptions can be found in [[Help/Preferences/ImportExport]] (stub)


== Auto save subfolder ==

Utilized by [wiki:/Help/Action/AutoSave autosave function].

== See also ==
* [[Help/ResetPreferences]] - there many ways to reset preferences
* [[Help/Action/AutoSave]] feature
* [[Help/CommandLineOptions]] - how to change/load custom settings via command line