Configuration Files on Mac OS X
Mathematica stores preference settings and initialization data in two directories,
$BaseDirectory and
$UserBaseDirectory. Within each of these directories are several possible subdirectories with titles such as FrontEnd, Kernel, and Licensing.
- Global settings that affect all users are stored in subdirectories of the directory $BaseDirectory. The default value of $BaseDirectory on Mac OS X is /Library/Mathematica. To redefine the location of global preference settings and initialization data, set the environment variable MATHEMATICA_BASE.
- Settings that only affect a particular user are stored in subdirectories of the directory $UserBaseDirectory, which is typically a subdirectory of the user's home directory. The default value of $UserBaseDirectory on Mac OS X is ~/Library/Mathematica. To redefine the location of user preferences and initialization data, set the environment variable MATHEMATICA_USERBASE.
Settings in the directory
$UserBaseDirectory override global settings defined in the directory
$BaseDirectory.
In the pathnames that follow, replace the variables
$BaseDirectory and
$UserBaseDirectory with the appropriate directories for your system. To find their locations on your system, evaluate the command
$BaseDirectory (or
$UserBaseDirectory) in a
Mathematica notebook.
Kernel
The initialization files used by the kernel contain
Mathematica commands that are evaluated at startup, such as function definitions, packages to load, or kernel option settings. These commands are also available to the
Mathematica front end.
$BaseDirectory/Kernel/init.m
This file is used to initialize the kernel and therefore should store any kernel commands that are appropriate for all users running the kernel.
$UserBaseDirectory/Kernel/init.m
This file stores user-specific commands used to initialize the kernel.
Kernel initialization files are not created automatically.
Front End
Front end initialization files store preference settings such as the values of global options in the Option Inspector. These files are automatically updated by
Mathematica when you change a setting in the front end. To make changes to this file, make your changes from within
Mathematica rather than editing the file directly.
$BaseDirectory/FrontEnd/init.m
This file stores systemwide defaults used by all
Mathematica front ends. The settings in this file affect all users.
"Systemwide Defaults on Mac OS X" explains how to implement changes to this global file.
$UserBaseDirectory/FrontEnd/init.m
This file defines settings within the front end that are specific to each user.
$UserBaseDirectory/FrontEnd/6.0 Caches/
This directory within the user's home directory stores information on system settings that are read by the front end.
Front end initialization files are created automatically.
Passwords
Passwords are stored in the mathpass file, described in further detail in
"Registration and Passwords". In the following pathname, replace the variable
$InstallationDirectory with the directory where you installed
Mathematica. To find the value of
$InstallationDirectory on your system, evaluate the command
$InstallationDirectory in a
Mathematica notebook.
$BaseDirectory/Licensing/mathpass
This is the default location for the global password file.
$InstallationDirectory/Configuration/Licensing/mathpass
This is an alternative location for the global password file.
$UserBaseDirectory/Licensing/mathpass
While this is not normally the location for the password file, a user-specific mathpass file can be stored here.
