Parameters

This page describes OpenBoard configuration parameters, including older entries retained for reference. Use the exact section and parameter names shown below.

Unless stated otherwise, the reference version is OpenBoard 1.7.7. “Default value” means the value in the configuration file shipped with that tag. A package or an existing installation may override it. Where no packaged value exists, the table identifies a historical or code-defined value.

OpenBoard reads user overrides from OpenBoardUser.config, then the application’s OpenBoard.config, then its code defaults. A code fallback is the value used when neither file supplies the setting; it can differ from the shipped value. See Configuration for file locations and syntax, and UBSettings.cpp for the loading rules and fallback values. Quit OpenBoard before editing a configuration file and restart it afterwards.

Status distinguishes settings used in 1.7.7 from legacy entries with no current consumer. An empty value is shown as Empty. Notes about 1.8 describe the development version, not the 1.7.7 release.

App Section

Global application and interface settings. The section starts with [App].

Parameter	Description	Default value	Status
AngleTolerance	Former angular tolerance, in degrees, for snapping rotated objects near predefined angles. Use RotationAngleStep for the current snapping increment.	4 (historical)	Legacy; not used in 1.7.7.
HideCheckForSoftwareUpdate	Hide the manual software-update check in the OpenBoard menu when true.	false	Active.
HideSwapDisplayScreens	Former switch for hiding the control/display-screen swap option in the preferences.	true	Removed from user settings at startup; obsolete since 1.7.0.
EnableAutomaticSoftwareUpdates	Check for a new OpenBoard version at startup when true. This controls the check, not an unattended installation.	true	Active; code fallback is false.
EnableSoftwareUpdates	Former global switch for software-update support; it no longer controls update checks.	true	Legacy; not used in 1.7.7.
EnableStartupHints	Display the hints and tips palette when OpenBoard starts. The palette also lets users change this preference.	true	Active; code fallback is false.
FavoriteToolURIs	Tool identifiers for the former favourite-tools palette. This is separate from document favourites in the current library.	openboardtool://openboard/mask, openboardtool://ruler, openboardtool://compass, openboardtool://protractor, openboardtool://triangle, openboardtool://magnifier, openboardtool://cache	Legacy palette; not used by the current library.
IsInSoftwareUpdateProcess	Internal flag retained from the former software-update workflow.	false	Legacy; not used in 1.7.7.
LastSessionDocumentUUID	Former saved identifier of the document open in the previous session.	Empty	Legacy; not used in 1.7.7.
LastSessionPageIndex	Former saved page index within the previous session’s document.	0	Legacy; not used in 1.7.7.
LookForOpenSankoreInstall	Former startup check for an Open-Sankoré installation and documents to import.	true (historical)	Legacy; not used in 1.7.7.
PageCacheSize	Target number of page entries retained in the scene cache. Larger values can reduce page-loading work at the cost of memory; active pages may remain cached.	20	Active in 1.7.7.
PreferredLanguage	Former explicit interface-language override, expressed as a locale such as fr_CH. The current startup code does not read this override.	fr_CH	Legacy; not used in 1.7.7.
ProductWebAddress	Product website address. Also supplies the fallback value for Web/Homepage if that setting is absent.	http://www.openboard.ch	Active.
RotationAngleStep	Angular increment, in degrees, used when rotation snapping is enabled.	5.	Active.
RunInWindow	Start the main window with normal window decorations when true, instead of the default frameless window.	false	Available since 1.7.0.
SoftwareUpdateURL	Address of the JSON document used by the software-update checker.	http://www.openboard.ch/update.json	Active.
StartMode	Initial application mode: 0 or an empty value selects Board, 1 selects Desktop, and 2 selects Documents.	Empty	Active.
SwapControlAndDisplayScreens	Swap the first two screens when initialising control and display roles. An explicit screen configuration can subsequently determine their roles.	false	Used during screen-role initialisation in 1.7.7.
ToolBarDisplayText	Display text labels alongside the main toolbar icons when true.	true	Active.
ToolBarOrientationVertical	Orient the floating stylus palette vertically when true, horizontally when false.	false	Active.
ToolBarPositionedAtTop	Place the main toolbar at the top when true, at the bottom when false.	true	Active.
TutorialUrl	Web address opened by the tutorial action.	http://www.openboard.ch	Active.
UseMultiscreenMode	Enable the separate presentation display when suitable additional screens are available.	true	Active.
UseSystemOnScreenKeyboard	Use the operating system’s on-screen keyboard when supported. Otherwise OpenBoard falls back to its own keyboard.	true	Forced to false if unsupported.

EnableStartupHints and PageCacheSize are used in 1.7.7. Earlier documentation marking them unused does not describe this version. StartMode=2 is also supported for starting in Documents mode.

Implementation: application startup, scene cache.

Board Section

Drawing tools, page defaults and palette state. The section starts with [Board]. Colours use Qt colour notation; colour lists are comma-separated.

Parameter	Description	Default value	Status
AutoSaveIntervalInMinutes	Interval between automatic saves, in minutes. 0 disables the timer; other save operations, such as changing pages, still apply.	3	Active.
CrossColorDarkBackground	Colour of grid or ruled lines on dark backgrounds. Qt colour notation can include alpha, as in #AARRGGBB.	#C8C0C0C0	Active.
CrossColorLightBackground	Colour of grid or ruled lines on light backgrounds.	#A5E1FF	Active.
DarkBackground	Remember the background brightness used when creating pages: 0 for light, 1 for dark. Existing pages also retain their own background.	0	Active.
DefaultPageSize	Default nominal page dimensions in scene coordinates, written using the QSettings @Size(width height) format.	@Size(1280 960)	Active.
EraserCircleWidthIndex	Selected eraser size: 0 small, 1 medium, 2 large.	1	Active.
FeatureSliderPosition	Saved position of the library’s thumbnail-size slider.	40	Active.
GridDarkBackgroundColors	Comma-separated palette of colours offered for grid lines on dark backgrounds.	#FFFFFF, #FF3400, #66C0FF, #81FF5C, #FFFF00, #B68360, #FF497E, #8D69FF, #C8C0C0C0	Active.
GridLightBackgroundColors	Comma-separated palette of colours offered for grid lines on light backgrounds.	#000000, #FF0000, #004080, #008000, #FFDD00, #C87400, #800040, #008080, #5F2D0A, #A5E1FF	Active.
InterpolateMarkerStrokes	Interpolate the points of highlighter strokes to produce smoother curves while drawing.	true	Active.
InterpolatePenStrokes	Interpolate the points of pen strokes to produce smoother curves while drawing.	true	Active.
KeyboardPaletteKeyBtnSize	Key size for OpenBoard’s own virtual keyboard. Supported sizes in 1.7.7 are 29x29 and 41x41; other values are normalised to 29x29.	16x16	Shipped value is normalised to 29x29.
LeftLibPaletteBoardModeIsCollapsed	Remember whether the left page/document palette is collapsed in Board mode.	true	Active.
LeftLibPaletteBoardModeWidth	Remember the width of the left page/document palette in Board mode, in pixels.	270	Active.
LeftLibPaletteDesktopModeIsCollapsed	Remember whether the left palette is collapsed in Desktop mode.	true	Active.
LeftLibPaletteDesktopModeWidth	Remember the width of the left palette in Desktop mode, in pixels.	270	Active.
MagnifierDrawingMode	Magnifier shape: 0 circular, 1 rectangular.	0	Active.
MarkerAlpha	Highlighter opacity: 0 is fully transparent and 1 fully opaque.	0.5	Active.
MarkerColorIndex	Index of the selected highlighter colour, starting at 0, in the selected-colours palette for the current background.	0	Active.
MarkerDarkBackgroundColors	Available highlighter colours for dark backgrounds, as a comma-separated list.	#FFFF00, #FF4400, #66C0FF, #81FF5C, #B68360, #FF497E, #8D69FF, #FFFFFF	Active.
MarkerDarkBackgroundSelectedColors	Highlighter colours shown directly in the toolbar on dark backgrounds. In 1.7.7 the palette contains five colours.	#FFFF00, #FF4400, #66C0FF, #81FF5C, #B68360	Active.
MarkerFineWidth	Width of the fine highlighter stroke.	12	Active.
MarkerLightBackgroundColors	Available highlighter colours for light backgrounds, as a comma-separated list.	#E3FF00, #FF0000, #004080, #008000, #C87400, #800040, #008080, #000000	Active.
MarkerLightBackgroundSelectedColors	Highlighter colours shown directly in the toolbar on light backgrounds. In 1.7.7 the palette contains five colours.	#E3FF00, #FF0000, #004080, #008000, #C87400	Active.
MarkerMediumWidth	Width of the medium highlighter stroke.	24	Active.
MarkerPressureSensitive	Vary highlighter stroke width with stylus pressure when true and the input device supplies pressure information.	false	Active.
MarkerStrongWidth	Width of the thick highlighter stroke.	48	Active.
pageDpi	Legacy global page-resolution entry. In 1.7.7, page DPI is read from document/page metadata rather than from this setting.	0	Legacy; not read as a global setting in 1.7.7.
PenColorIndex	Index of the selected pen colour, starting at 0, in the selected-colours palette for the current background.	0	Active.
PenDarkBackgroundColors	Available pen colours for dark backgrounds, as a comma-separated list.	#FFFFFF, #FF3400, #66C0FF, #81FF5C, #FFFF00, #B68360, #FF497E, #8D69FF, #000000	Active.
PenDarkBackgroundSelectedColors	Pen colours shown directly in the toolbar on dark backgrounds. In 1.7.7 the palette contains five colours.	#FFFFFF, #FF3400, #66C0FF, #81FF5C, #FFFF00	Active.
PenFineWidth	Width of the fine pen stroke.	1.5	Active.
PenLightBackgroundColors	Available pen colours for light backgrounds, as a comma-separated list.	#000000, #FF0000, #004080, #008000, #FFDD00, #C87400, #800040, #008080, #5F2D0A, #FFFFFF	Active.
PenLightBackgroundSelectedColors	Pen colours shown directly in the toolbar on light backgrounds. In 1.7.7 the palette contains five colours.	#000000, #FF0000, #004080, #008000, #FFDD00	Active.
PenLineWidthIndex	Selected pen width: 0 fine, 1 medium, 2 thick.	0	Active.
PenMediumWidth	Width of the medium pen stroke.	3	Active.
PenPressureSensitive	Vary pen stroke width with stylus pressure when true and the input device supplies pressure information.	true	Active.
PenStrongWidth	Width of the thick pen stroke.	8	Active.
PointerDiameter	Diameter of the laser-pointer cursor, in pixels.	40	Active.
RightLibPaletteBoardModeIsCollapsed	Remember whether the right resource-library palette is collapsed in Board mode.	true	Active.
RightLibPaletteBoardModeWidth	Remember the width of the right resource-library palette in Board mode, in pixels.	270	Active.
RightLibPaletteDesktopModeIsCollapsed	Remember whether the right resource-library palette is collapsed in Desktop mode.	true	Active.
RightLibPaletteDesktopModeWidth	Remember the width of the right resource-library palette in Desktop mode, in pixels.	270	Active.
ShowEraserPreviewCircle	Display a circle indicating the eraser’s size.	true	Active.
ShowMarkerPreviewCircle	Display a circle indicating the highlighter’s size.	true	Active.
ShowPenPreviewCircle	Display the pen-size preview circle, subject to PenPreviewFromSize.	true	Active.
PenPreviewFromSize	Minimum pen width at which the pen-size preview circle is displayed when ShowPenPreviewCircle is enabled.	5	Active.
ShowToolsPalette	Former setting for remembering whether the tools palette is shown.	false	Retained in settings; not read in 1.7.7.
SimplifyMarkerStrokes	Simplify completed highlighter strokes by removing redundant points.	true	Active.
SimplifyPenStrokes	Simplify completed pen strokes by removing redundant points.	true	Active.
SimplifyPenStrokesThresholdAngle	Maximum angular difference, in degrees, below which adjacent segments are treated as aligned during stroke simplification. Also used when simplifying highlighter strokes.	3	Active; code fallback is 2.
SimplifyPenStrokesThresholdWidthDifference	Maximum ratio between adjacent stroke widths for simplification. 2 means the larger width must be less than twice the smaller width; this is a ratio, not a percentage.	2	Active.
StartupKeyboardLocale	Initial layout index for OpenBoard’s own virtual keyboard. 0 selects the first available layout; layout ordering depends on the platform.	0	Active.
UseHighResTabletEvent	Process native tablet events, including their precise coordinates and pressure. When false, the board declines these tablet events.	true	Active.
ZoomBase	Base used for Ctrl+mouse-wheel zoom: the factor is ZoomBase raised to the wheel delta. Values must be greater than 1 and at most 1.01; invalid values revert to 1.0005.	1.0005	Active.
ZoomFactor	Multiplicative step for discrete zoom operations. Values must be greater than 1; invalid values revert to 1.41.	1.4099999999999999	Active.
SeyesRuledBackground	Use Seyes ruling for the ruled page background when true.	false	Active in 1.7.7; background handling changes in 1.8.

The packaged colour lists above are the starting palettes. OpenBoard may add missing built-in colours and repair incomplete selected-colour lists when loading preferences. The widths are drawing widths; their appearance on screen also depends on zoom.

Implementation: stroke processing, board input.

Community Section

Settings retained from the former community-service integration. The section starts with [Community].

Parameter	Description	Default value	Status
CredentialsPersistence	Retain the stored username and password for the former community service. When false, these legacy fields are cleared by the settings cleanup.	false	Legacy service settings; no active publisher consumes them in 1.7.7.
Password	Stored password for the former community-service integration.	Empty	Legacy service settings; no active publisher consumes them in 1.7.7.
Username	Stored username for the former community-service integration.	Empty	Legacy service settings; no active publisher consumes them in 1.7.7.

Document Section

Document organisation and the Documents-mode interface. The section starts with [Document].

Parameter	Description	Default value	Status
EmptyGroupNames	Legacy storage for empty document-group names from the earlier document-tree implementation.	@Invalid()	Legacy; not read in 1.7.7.
emptyTrashForOlderDocuments	At startup, permanently delete documents in the trash whose last-update date is older than emptyTrashDaysValue days.	false	Active.
emptyTrashDaysValue	Age threshold, in days, for automatic trash cleanup. The comparison uses the document’s last-update date, not a separate date of moving it to the trash.	30	Active.
ThumbnailWidth	Saved page-thumbnail width in Documents mode, in pixels.	150	Active.
SortKind	Document sort criterion: 0 creation date, 1 last-update date, 2 alphabetical name.	0	Active.
SortOrder	Document sort direction: 0 ascending, 1 descending.	0	Active.
SplitterLeftSize	Saved width of the document-tree side of the Documents-mode splitter, in pixels.	200	Active.
SplitterRightSize	Saved width of the page-thumbnail side of the Documents-mode splitter, in pixels.	800	Active.
ShowDateColumnOnAlphabeticalSort	Keep the date columns visible when sorting documents alphabetically.	false	Active.

Implementation: document controller.

IntranetPodcast Section

Settings for the intranet podcast publisher. The section starts with [IntranetPodcast].

Parameter	Description	Default value	Status
Author	Author name prefilled in the intranet publication dialog and included in the publication metadata.	Empty	Active.
PublishToIntranet	Remember whether the podcast publication option for an intranet is selected. Publication is attempted after recording finishes.	false	Active.
PublishingUrl	Endpoint used to send the intranet publication request. An empty value leaves the publishing destination unconfigured.	Empty	Active.

Implementation: intranet publisher.

Library Section

Bundled resource locations and library preferences. The section starts with [Library]. Paths beginning with ./ are resolved relative to OpenBoard’s application resources directory, not to the current working directory.

Parameter	Description	Default value	Status
AnimationsDirectory	Location of the bundled Flash-animation library.	./library/animations	Present in 1.7.7; removed in the 1.8 development snapshot.
ApplicationsDirectory	Location of the bundled application/widget library.	./library/applications	Active.
AudiosDirectory	Location of the bundled audio library.	./library/audios	Active.
ImageDirectory	Location of the bundled image library.	./library/pictures	Active.
ImageThumbnailWidth	Thumbnail-width setting retained from the former image-library view, in pixels.	150	Retained in settings; no active consumer in 1.7.7.
InteractivitiesDirectory	Location of the bundled interactivities library.	./library/interactivities	Active.
LibIconSize	Icon-size setting retained from the former library interface, in pixels. The current library uses its thumbnail-size slider.	80	Retained in settings; no active consumer in 1.7.7.
ShapeDirectory	Location of the bundled shapes library.	./library/shape	Active.
ShapeThumbnailWidth	Thumbnail-width setting retained from the former shapes-library view, in pixels.	50	Retained in settings; no active consumer in 1.7.7.
ShowDetailsForLocalItems	Show the properties/details view when a local library item is selected.	false	Active.
SoundThumbnailWidth	Thumbnail-width setting retained from the former audio-library view, in pixels.	50	Retained in settings; no active consumer in 1.7.7.
VideoThumbnailWidth	Thumbnail-width setting retained from the former video-library view, in pixels.	80	Retained in settings; no active consumer in 1.7.7.
VideosDirectory	Location of the bundled video library.	./library/videos	Active.

Implementation: resource-directory resolution, library interface.

Mirroring Section

Screen-capture mirroring settings. The section starts with [Mirroring].

Parameter	Description	Default value	Status
RefreshRateInFramePerSecond	Requested capture frequency for screen mirroring, in frames per second. Higher values increase capture work. This is not a monitor refresh-rate setting.	2	Code fallback: 2 on Linux, 8 elsewhere.

Implementation: screen mirror.

PDF Section

PDF export settings and historical rendering options. The section starts with [PDF].

Parameter	Description	Default value	Status
enableQualityLossToIncreaseZoomPerfs	Former option allowing downsampled PDF rendering to improve zoom responsiveness.	true (historical)	Legacy; not read in 1.7.7.
ExportBackgroundGrid	Include the page’s grid or ruling when exporting to PDF.	false	Active.
ExportBackgroundColor	Include the page’s dark background colour when exporting to PDF; otherwise use a light background.	false	Active.
Margin	Former PDF-export margin setting. The current exporters do not read this value.	20	Legacy; not read in 1.7.7.
PageFormat	Former PDF-export paper-format setting. Current exporters derive the output dimensions from the page or its imported PDF background.	A4	Legacy; not read in 1.7.7.
Resolution	Resolution supplied to the PDF output device, in dots per inch.	300	Active.
UsePDFMerger	Use the exporter that merges annotations with original PDF backgrounds when true. When false, use the simpler PDF exporter.	true	Active.
ZoomBehavior	Former PDF rendering strategy. 0 selected the old renderer; 4 selected threaded, staged, downsampled rendering.	4 (historical)	Legacy; not read in 1.7.7.

Implementation: PDF exporter, PDF merger exporter.

Podcast Section

Screen-recording settings. The section starts with [Podcast]. Encoder and device support depend on the platform.

Parameter	Description	Default value	Status
AudioRecordingDevice	Audio input selection: Default, None to disable audio recording, or the name of an available input device.	Default	Active.
FramesPerSecond	Retained frame-rate setting, in frames per second. In 1.7.7 the recording controller uses its own initial value of 10 and does not read this parameter.	10	Retained in settings; not read in 1.7.7.
PublishToYouTube	Remember whether the legacy YouTube publication option is selected. It invokes the bundled publisher after recording finishes.	false	Legacy ClientLogin/GData publisher.
QuickTimeQuality	Quality preset for the former QuickTime video encoder.	High	Legacy; 1.7.7 uses other encoders.
VideoSize	Recording size preset: Small targets 640×480, Medium targets 1024×768, and Full uses the board view’s size. Output is adjusted to the captured view’s aspect ratio.	Medium	Active.
WindowsMediaBitsPerSecond	Base video bitrate, in bits per second. The controller uses a quarter of it for Small, half for Medium, and the full value for Full recordings.	1700000	Active.

Implementation: recording controller.

Shortcut Section

The Shortcut section contains keyboard, mouse and stylus button assignments. It starts with [Shortcut] in the configuration file. In OpenBoard 1.7.7, edit these settings in OpenBoardUser.config while OpenBoard is closed, then restart the application. See Configuration for the file location.

Action names are case-sensitive. Each action entry contains three comma-separated values: the keyboard shortcut, the mouse button number and the stylus button number. Leave both button values at 0 when configuring only the keyboard. IgnoreCtrl is a separate Boolean setting and does not use this three-value format.

[Shortcut]
actionHand=Ctrl+Alt+H, 0, 0
IgnoreCtrl=false

This example assigns Ctrl+Alt+H to the Hand tool. Use + between keys, for example Ctrl+Shift+P. On macOS, Ctrl in the configuration corresponds to Command, and Meta to Control, following Qt's key sequence notation.

The following parameters are available in OpenBoard 1.7.7. For action entries, the default values below describe the effective keyboard and button assignments when no override is present; they do not need to be added to the file. “No assignment” means that the action has no default keyboard, mouse or stylus shortcut. Some actions also have separate built-in shortcuts, described below.

Parameter	Description	Default value	Status
IgnoreCtrl	If true, also allow eligible shortcuts to work without Ctrl. For example, both P and Ctrl+P can select the pen. Built-in shortcuts are excluded.	false	Available in 1.7.7; exposed in the 1.8 preferences.
actionStylus	Show or hide the stylus palette.	Ctrl+T, 0, 0
actionBoard	Switch to Board mode.	Ctrl+B, 0, 0
actionWeb	Switch to Web mode.	Ctrl+W, 0, 0
actionDocument	Switch to Documents mode.	Ctrl+D, 0, 0
actionDesktop	Switch to Desktop mode.	Ctrl+Shift+H, 0, 0
actionLibrary	Show the library.	Ctrl+L, 0, 0
actionVirtualKeyboard	Display the virtual keyboard.	No assignment	Availability depends on platform support.
actionOpenTutorial	Open the tutorial web page.	No assignment
actionHideApplication	Hide OpenBoard.	Ctrl+H, 0, 0
actionQuit	Quit OpenBoard.	Alt+F4, 0, 0; Ctrl+Q, 0, 0 on macOS
actionUndo	Undo the last operation.	Ctrl+Z, 0, 0
actionRedo	Redo the last undone operation.	Ctrl+Y, 0, 0
actionNewPage	Create a new page.	No assignment	Insert is handled separately.
actionDuplicatePage	Duplicate the current page.	No assignment
actionImportPage	Import one or more pages from a supported file.	No assignment
actionBack	Show the previous page.	PgUp, 0, 0	Additional built-in navigation shortcuts remain active.
actionForward	Show the next page.	PgDown, 0, 0	Additional built-in navigation shortcuts remain active.
actionAdd	Open the file chooser to add an image.	No assignment
actionClearPage	Clear all elements on the current page.	No assignment
actionEraseItems	Erase all items on the current page.	No assignment
actionEraseAnnotations	Erase all annotations on the current page.	No assignment
actionEraseBackground	Remove the page background object.	No assignment
actionPen	Select the pen.	Ctrl+P, 0, 0
actionEraser	Select the eraser.	Ctrl+E, 0, 0
actionMarker	Select the highlighter.	Ctrl+M, 0, 0
actionSelector	Select and modify objects.	Ctrl+F, 0, 0
actionPlay	Interact with objects.	No assignment
actionHand	Move the view around the page.	No assignment
actionZoomIn	Select the zoom-in tool.	No assignment	Ctrl++ zooms in separately.
actionZoomOut	Select the zoom-out tool.	No assignment	Ctrl+- zooms out separately.
actionPointer	Select the laser pointer.	Ctrl+G, 0, 0
actionLine	Draw a straight line.	Ctrl+J, 0, 0
actionText	Add text.	Ctrl+K, 0, 0
actionCapture	Select the screen capture tool.	No assignment
actionSnap	Toggle snapping to the grid and angles.	Ctrl+S, 0, 0
actionLineSmall	Select the fine line width.	No assignment
actionLineMedium	Select the medium line width.	No assignment
actionLineLarge	Select the thick line width.	No assignment
actionEraserSmall	Select the small eraser.	No assignment
actionEraserMedium	Select the medium eraser.	No assignment
actionEraserLarge	Select the large eraser.	No assignment
actionColor0	Select the first colour.	1, 0, 0
actionColor1	Select the second colour.	2, 0, 0
actionColor2	Select the third colour.	3, 0, 0
actionColor3	Select the fourth colour.	4, 0, 0
actionColor4	Select the fifth colour.	5, 0, 0
actionBackgrounds	Open the background palette.	No assignment
actionPlainLightBackground	Select a plain light background.	No assignment	Available in 1.7.7; not registered in 1.8.
actionCrossedLightBackground	Select a grid on a light background.	No assignment	Available in 1.7.7; not registered in 1.8.
actionRuledLightBackground	Select a ruled light background.	No assignment	Available in 1.7.7; not registered in 1.8.
actionPlainDarkBackground	Select a plain dark background.	No assignment	Available in 1.7.7; not registered in 1.8.
actionCrossedDarkBackground	Select a grid on a dark background.	No assignment	Available in 1.7.7; not registered in 1.8.
actionRuledDarkBackground	Select a ruled dark background.	No assignment	Available in 1.7.7; not registered in 1.8.
actionDefaultGridSize	Reset the grid size.	No assignment
actionDrawIntermediateGridLines	Toggle intermediate grid lines.	No assignment	Available in 1.7.7; not registered in 1.8.
actionPodcastRecord	Start screen recording.	No assignment

The shortcut manager also registers actionCut, actionCopy and actionPaste. Their keyboard assignments are replaced at startup by the platform's standard Cut, Copy and Paste shortcuts, so editing their keyboard values here does not change the resulting bindings. In the 1.8 preferences, these entries are read-only.

Assign each key combination to only one action. To reuse Ctrl+P for the Hand tool, also move the pen to another combination:

[Shortcut]
actionPen=Ctrl+Shift+P, 0, 0
actionHand=Ctrl+P, 0, 0

Built-in shortcuts such as page navigation with the arrow keys, Insert for a new page and Ctrl++/Ctrl+- for zooming are handled separately. Changing an action entry does not remove those bindings. If you enable IgnoreCtrl, also check for conflicts with the combinations without Ctrl.

To restore an action's inherited setting, remove its entry and restart OpenBoard. Leaving its keyboard value empty, for example actionPen=, 0, 0, does not disable the default keyboard shortcut: empty keyboard values are ignored at startup.

Changes in OpenBoard 1.8

In 1.8.0 development builds, OpenBoard > Preferences > Shortcut provides an editor for keyboard, mouse and stylus assignments, with filtering, conflict detection and a reset button. The settings remain in the same [Shortcut] section, using the same format. The editor was added in pull request #955.

The following action entries are added in 1.8:

Parameter	Description	Default value	Status
actionColor5	Select the sixth colour.	6, 0, 0	Added in 1.8.
actionColor6	Select the seventh colour.	7, 0, 0	Added in 1.8.
actionColor7	Select the eighth colour.	8, 0, 0	Added in 1.8.
actionColor8	Select the ninth colour.	9, 0, 0	Added in 1.8.
actionColor9	Select the tenth colour.	0, 0, 0	Added in 1.8.
actionLightDarkMode	Switch between light and dark backgrounds.	No assignment	Added in 1.8.

Action names and version differences are based on the shortcut manager in 1.7.7 and the 1.8 development branch. Default keyboard assignments come from mainWindow.ui and UBMainWindow.cpp.

SVG Section

SVG page-serialization settings. The section starts with [SVG].

Parameter	Description	Default value	Status
ViewBoxMargin	Margin added on each side of the scene bounds when writing the SVG viewBox, in scene coordinates.	50	Active.

Implementation: SVG writer.

Web Section

Internal browser and web-profile settings. The section starts with [Web].

Parameter	Description	Default value	Status
AlternativeUserAgent	User-agent template sent to matching domains. %1 and %2 are filled from platform information in the default user agent.	"Mozilla/5.0 (%1; %2; rv:91.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/91.0"	Active.
AlternativeUserAgentDomains	Comma-separated domain patterns for the alternative user agent. The implementation supports wildcard patterns such as google.*.	google.*	Active.
CookieAutoDelete	Delete stored cookies when the web controller closes, except for domains listed in CookieKeepDomains.	false	Active.
CookieKeepDomains	Comma-separated cookie domains exempted from automatic deletion. A leading dot requests a suffix match; otherwise the cookie-domain string must match exactly.	Empty	Active.
CookiePolicy	Cookie acceptance policy: DenyAll, DenyThirdParty or AcceptAll. An unrecognised value falls back to DenyThirdParty.	DenyThirdParty	Active.
HistoryLimit	Maximum number of previous or next history entries offered by the browser’s navigation menus.	15	Active.
Homepage	Address opened as the internal browser’s home page.	http://www.openboard.ch	Active.
PrivateBrowsing	Use an off-the-record web profile without persistent browsing data or disk cache when true.	false	Active.
SearchEngineUrl	Search URL template. %1 is replaced by the search query.	https://www.qwant.com/?q=%1	Active.
ShowPageImediatelyOnMirroredScreen	Automatically show the browser/desktop view on the presentation display when entering the corresponding mode. Keep the spelling Imediately used by the setting.	false	Code fallback: false on Linux, true elsewhere.
UseExternalBrowser	Open Web mode using the system’s external browser when true.	false	Active.

Implementation: web controller.

YouTube Section

Settings retained for the bundled legacy YouTube publisher, which uses ClientLogin/GData. The section starts with [YouTube].

Parameter	Description	Default value	Status
CredentialsPersistence	Remember the account credentials used by the legacy YouTube publishing dialog. When disabled, the settings cleanup removes the saved password and email.	false	Legacy ClientLogin/GData publisher.
UserEMail	Email address prefilled in the legacy YouTube publishing dialog.	Empty	Legacy ClientLogin/GData publisher.

Implementation: legacy publisher.

Additional settings in OpenBoard 1.8

The following notes refer to the development snapshot 82ea870c. They supplement the 1.7.7 tables above.

Parameter	Description	Default value	Status
App/ThemeMode	Interface theme: 0 follows the system, 1 selects light, 2 selects dark. This is separate from the board’s background colour.	0	Added in the 1.8 development version.
Board/ColorPaletteSize	Number of colour buttons displayed in the toolbar. Supported range: 5 to 10.	8	Added in the 1.8 development version.

In that version, the selected pen and highlighter colour lists are normalised to ten stored entries, while ColorPaletteSize controls how many are displayed. The built-in colour choices also expand, so the five-colour selected lists in the 1.7.7 table do not describe the full 1.8 palette.

Page backgrounds are also reworked: Board/PageBackground stores a background UUID in 1.8, whereas 1.7.7 uses names such as plain, crossed and ruled. The old Board/SeyesRuledBackground switch and several individual background shortcut actions are no longer read or registered by the new implementation. Use the background palette to select the desired background.

For shortcut configuration, see the Shortcut section above. The preferences editor writes the same three-part action values used by manual configuration.