Creating & Editing Definitions (GUI)

The App Definition Editor is a graphical tool for creating and editing application definitions. It supports a structured editing mode with a DataGrid for entries, a registry browser for selecting keys and values, import from Windows .reg files, and pasting paths from the clipboard.

Opening the Editor

The definition editor can be opened from the Export window in two ways:

Action	Result
Click Create New	Opens the editor in structured mode with an empty definition. You are prompted for a name first.
Click the edit link next to an existing definition	Opens the editor in structured mode with the existing entries loaded.

If a definition fails schema validation, the editor opens in raw XML mode instead. See Fixing Invalid Definitions.

Editor Layout (Structured Mode)

The structured editor consists of a DataGrid with four columns and a toolbar below it:

Column	Description
Checkbox	Select entries for bulk operations (remove, select all, deselect all)
Type	Dropdown to choose the entry type: RegKey, RegValue, Folder, or File
Path	Text field for the registry path or file system path. Entries with issues are highlighted in red with a tooltip.
Browse	Opens the registry browser (for RegKey/RegValue) or a file/folder dialog (for File/Folder)

When you change the entry type between registry and file system categories (e.g. from RegKey to Folder), the path is automatically cleared to prevent invalid entries.

Toolbar Buttons

Button	Action
Add Entry	Adds a new empty row to the DataGrid
Remove	Removes all selected (checked) entries from the list
Select All	Checks all entry checkboxes
Deselect All	Unchecks all entry checkboxes
Paste Paths	Reads paths from the clipboard (one per line) and adds them as new entries. Each path is classified as Folder or File based on its format.
Import .reg	Opens a file dialog to select a Windows .reg export file. Registry key paths and value paths are extracted and added as entries.

Registry Browser

Click the Browse button on a RegKey or RegValue row to open the Registry Browser window. The browser shows the local machine's registry as a tree view with checkboxes.

Features:

• Navigate the registry tree (HKCU, HKLM, HKCR, HKU, HKCC)
• Select a key path (for RegKey entries) or a specific value (for RegValue entries)
• Check multiple items — they are added as separate entries when you confirm
• Preview values of the selected key in a detail panel

For a single selection, the path is applied to the existing row. For multiple selections, the first item replaces the current row and additional items are appended as new entries.

Importing from .reg Files

Windows registry editor exports registry data as .reg files. AppProfileSafe can parse these files and extract registry paths automatically:

• Click Import .reg in the toolbar
• Select a .reg file in the file dialog
• The parser extracts all registry key paths (as RegKey entries) and value paths (as RegValue entries)
• Extracted paths are appended to the existing entry list

Pasting Paths from Clipboard

Click Paste Paths to add file system paths from the clipboard. Paths should be separated by line breaks (one path per line). Each path is automatically classified:

• Paths ending with \ or /, or paths without a file extension, are added as Folder
• Paths with a file extension are added as File

Validation and Warnings

The editor validates entries as you work:

• Red rows indicate validation errors (empty path, duplicate entry). Errors must be fixed before saving.
• Warnings (shown as tooltips) indicate potential issues such as paths that may not exist on the current system. Warnings do not block saving.
• Path validation is triggered when a text field loses focus

Saving

The footer area provides the following actions:

Button	Action
Save	Saves the definition to its XML file and validates against the XSD schema. If validation fails, the save is rejected.
Save As…	Saves a copy under a new name. You are prompted for the new name. The original definition is not modified. Only available in structured mode.
Close	Closes the editor. If there are unsaved changes, a confirmation dialog is shown.

An "Unsaved changes" indicator appears in the footer whenever the definition has been modified since the last save.