# Preference Initialization Dialog

The preference recorder detects all preferences that are changed while the Preferences dialog is open. Unfortunately, most preference pages initialize preferences the first time the page is displayed. All such initialized defaults are indistinguishable from the preferences that you actually change on those pages. To avoid recording initialized defaults, it is recommended to visit each preference page once before changing any preferences. This dialog automatically does that tedious job for you.

You may choose not to visit some or all of the pages by unselecting them in the tree view. This selection will be remembered, so you won't be alerted for these pages again. If at a later time you wish to initialize the pages you've deselected now, you can bring up this dialog again via the Initialize... button on the Window → Preferences… → Oomph → Setup Tasks → Preference Recorder preference page.

Visiting every page takes a significant amount of time. Each page must be created and to accomplish that, the plug-in that contributes the preference page must be activated. But you'll only need to do that just this one time for each page because the pages that have been initialized are remembered. You will only be alerted when there are new pages, that is, when you install new plug-ins that contribute additional preference pages.