Files and settings
Everything PerchBar writes is inside your own user profile.
%APPDATA%\PerchBar\Groups.ini | every group, its members and its
settings, and PerchBar's own settings in a
[PerchBar] section at the top. Plain text. |
|---|---|
%APPDATA%\PerchBar\Shortcuts\ | the shortcut for each group — the file you pin. |
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\PerchBar\ |
a copy of each group's shortcut, which is how the shell resolves a pinned button to a name and an icon. |
Next to PerchBar.exe | PerchBar.log, in the Debug and
Release builds only. |
The only thing written outside those is the Start with Windows entry,
which is a Task Scheduler task named PerchBar in your own account. It starts
PerchBar at logon, as you and unelevated; turning the option off deletes it. Where a task cannot
be registered, PerchBar falls back to one value under
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run instead.
A task rather than the Run value it used to be, because a
Run value can be skipped at logon without reporting it anywhere — and the one
logon that matters is the one where the windows Windows restores need a PerchBar already running
to claim them. A task starts without that delay, and records why if it ever refuses.
Backing up or moving to another machine
Copy Groups.ini. On the new machine, drop it in place and start PerchBar, which
rebuilds the shortcuts; then pin the groups you want, since pinning is always by hand.
Member paths are absolute, so a group copied to a machine where a program lives elsewhere needs that member re-added — or Any folder ticked, which makes it match by name and survive the move.
Removing PerchBar
- Unpin the group buttons from the taskbar.
- Tray icon → Ungroup all windows, so open windows go back to their own buttons.
- Turn off Start with Windows, then Exit.
- Delete
%APPDATA%\PerchBar, the Start menu folder above, and the executable.