C# Settings.Default.Save() not saving?

Question

this bug is pretty unusual. Basically my code will change the Settings.Default.Example then save and restart the program. Then when it loads, it shows a message box. However oddly, it shows a empty value when the form loads.

Here is my code:

Main.cs
    private void Button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        Settings.Default.Example = "Somevalue"; //Sets a value to the settings
        Settings.Default.Save(); // Save it
        MessageBox.Show(Settings.Default.Example); //Confirming it has been saved
        Application.Restart();
    }

    private void Main_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        MessageBox.Show(Settings.Default.Example); // Here is the weird part, it shows empty.
    }

The MessageBox will show "Somevalue" when the button was clicked then the applcation restarts and the MessageBox that showed was empty. However repeating the process by clicking the button once more and restarting it does show the "Somevalue" MessageBox. Please help! Many Thanks!

try moving you messagebox to a shown event, your settings may not have been loaded yet — Sayse, Jun 02 '13 at 09:30

score 51 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 04 '14 at 12:32

51

Maybe you ran the same mistake as I did: setting the setting's scope to Application. Those kind of settings are not saved.

Set it to User to solve the problem.

answered Feb 04 '14 at 12:32

David Rettenbacher

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2

Any idea why the Application scope doesn't save the settings? It feels like they should... – TinyRacoon Jul 30 '19 at 07:54
3

@TinyRacoon Application scope settings are intended to be like "things that are vital to the application" such as connection strings. As such, providing for the administrator editing them by changing the applicationname.exe.config in a text editor is sufficient to achieve changes that regular users do not need to be concerned with (not should they, for security reasons). User scoped settings can be used for things that change the experience on a per-user basis, and the relevant xml file is stored in an area of the file system that is writable without elevated privileges – Caius Jard Feb 10 '20 at 07:45

score 6 · Answer 2 · edited May 22 '17 at 09:11

6

rene is correct - you need to call Default.Reload after calling the Save method:

Settings.Default.Save();
Settings.Default.Reload();

Possibly a bug - ?

Posting as a reply to increase visibility -

edited May 22 '17 at 09:11

Hakan Fıstık

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answered Sep 26 '14 at 00:47

MaurGi

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score 6 · Answer 3 · edited Dec 21 '16 at 13:28

6

If your AssemblyInfo.cs file has a * in Assembly Version then it's refreshing the file every build so you won't see persistence or reliability until you change that to a hard number and rebuild all, then retest everything.

edited Dec 21 '16 at 13:28

kenorb

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answered Dec 21 '16 at 13:22

Global.access.software

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or add something like string appVersion = System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetName().Version.ToString(); if (Settings.Default.ApplicationVersion != appVersion) { Settings.Default.Upgrade(); Settings.Default.ApplicationVersion = appVersion; Settings.Default.Save(); } – Alexander Aug 03 '17 at 15:41
I use an Automatic Version extension and disabling it for this project fixed the problem of not being able to reload settings after the next launch. I wonder, is there a way to keep setting persistent through different versions? – bwoogie Dec 01 '20 at 17:15

score 5 · Answer 4 · edited Aug 22 '17 at 13:49

5

After a full day of researching and studying the subject, I was able to solve this by putting the Configuration to the user:

Using System.Configuration; 

Properties.Settings.Default.strinconn = txt_stringconn.Text;
Properties.Settings.Default.Save ();
Properties.Settings.Default.Upgrade ();
MessageBox.Show ("Saved Settings");
Application.Restart ();

edited Aug 22 '17 at 13:49

Stephen Rauch

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answered Aug 22 '17 at 13:31

Bruno Felipe Kouuds

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score 4 · Answer 5 · answered Oct 22 '14 at 23:12

Using Visual Studio 2013 - there is nothing I could do to make it work reliably, I would call Save and it did not save. Save and then immediately Reload and it still would not retain the values on subsequent runs (probably related to when I stopped debugging could not identify the root cause) - very frustrating, likely there is an underlying bug but I cannot prove it.

To avoid getting crazy with this I decided to use the registry - the most fundamental way to keep app settings for an app. Recommended for you all. Here is the code:

public static class RegistrySettings
{

private static RegistryKey baseRegistryKey = Registry.CurrentUser;
private static string _SubKey = string.Empty;

public static string SubRoot 
{
    set
    { _SubKey = value; }
}

public static string Read(string KeyName, string DefaultValue)
{
    // Opening the registry key 
    RegistryKey rk = baseRegistryKey;

    // Open a subKey as read-only 
    RegistryKey sk1 = rk.OpenSubKey(_SubKey);

    // If the RegistrySubKey doesn't exist return default value
    if (sk1 == null)
    {
        return DefaultValue;
    }
    else
    {
        try
        {
            // If the RegistryKey exists I get its value 
            // or null is returned. 
            return (string)sk1.GetValue(KeyName);
        }
        catch (Exception e)
        {
            ShowErrorMessage(e, String.Format("Reading registry {0}", KeyName.ToUpper()));
            return null;
        }
    }
}

public static bool Write(string KeyName, object Value)
{
    try
    {
        // Setting
        RegistryKey rk = baseRegistryKey;
        // I have to use CreateSubKey 
        // (create or open it if already exits), 
        // 'cause OpenSubKey open a subKey as read-only
        RegistryKey sk1 = rk.CreateSubKey(_SubKey);
        // Save the value
        sk1.SetValue(KeyName, Value);

        return true;
    }
    catch (Exception e)
    {
        ShowErrorMessage(e, String.Format("Writing registry {0}", KeyName.ToUpper()));
        return false;
    }
}

private static void ShowErrorMessage(Exception e, string Title)
{
    if (ShowError == true)
        MessageBox.Show(e.Message,
                Title
                , MessageBoxButtons.OK
                , MessageBoxIcon.Error);
}
}

Usage:

private void LoadDefaults()
{
    RegistrySettings.SubRoot = "Software\\Company\\App";

    textBoxInputFile.Text = RegistrySettings.Read("InputFileName");
}

private void SaveDefaults()
{
    RegistrySettings.SubRoot = "Software\\Company\\App";

    RegistrySettings.Write("InputFileName", textBoxInputFile.Text);
}

Instead of writing own class, maybe would be better to use native one: [Application.UserAppDataRegistry](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.windows.forms.application.userappdataregistry%28v=vs.100%29.aspx). Some example: [Using the Registry to Store Data](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms973902.aspx#persistappsettnet_topic3) — infografnet, Dec 01 '14 at 12:22

score 4 · Answer 6 · answered Dec 21 '16 at 16:10

Beware of calling

Settings.Default.Reload();

after each

Settings.Default.Save();

Save() function actually saves your changes to the file but it is not reflected to your running code. Thus, your code keeps the copy of the previous version of the file.

When you call Save() at another location in your code, it writes over your first change, effectively reverting your first change back to original value. Very hard to pin down even when debugging.

score 1 · Answer 7 · edited May 23 '17 at 11:47

1

Please have a look at this Question

Especially, try out the following code from an answer there:

using System.Configuration;  // Add a reference to System.Configuration.dll
...
var path = ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(ConfigurationUserLevel.PerUserRoamingAndLocal).FilePath;

Also, check out this overview, perhaps you ran into some limitation which is not easy to tell from your question.

This codeproject article might be of some help.

edited May 23 '17 at 11:47

Community

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1

answered Jun 02 '13 at 09:31

Mare Infinitus

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thank you for the suggestion. As i mentioned in the question, i tried repeating the process of clicking the button and on the second restart, the messagebox can show the value... meaning that it has been saved at first place. – Jun 02 '13 at 09:35

score 0 · Answer 8 · answered Jun 02 '13 at 09:45

0

did you try calling ConfigurationManager.RefreshSection before checking that it got saved ad you could try it again after the reload

answered Jun 02 '13 at 09:45

Scott Selby

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score 0 · Answer 9 · answered Jun 02 '13 at 10:06

If you need to test your application how actually working in this case better to run the exe file. When you run on visual studio on debug mode when those settings saving it will take some time. Go to debug folder and run the exe you will get the messages as expected.

score -2 · Answer 10 · answered Jun 01 '17 at 14:04

I had the same problem.

To sort out the problem.

Go to the custom class in Visual Studio. Open the class and Check whether the constructor method.

If you have a constructor method, it should be parameterless. If you have a constructor with parameters, don;t worry. Create another constructor class without an parameters.

Repeat this for all sub classes within the class.

Rebuild and run. Now your settings should save.

C# Settings.Default.Save() not saving?

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