Preferences
Preference Changes are Stored Immediately
All changes to preferences are stored (a) permanently, (b) the moment they're changed, and (c) affect all files immediately. That's what preferences are.
So, which controls are preferences and which aren't?
The rule of thumb is this: If it's in either the Controls or Inspectors windows, it isn't a preference -- it's a view setting. There are some exceptions to this rule, but for now, you can simply remember this: Preferences are stored the moment they are changed. View settings are stored in the design file when it is saved.
Template files are somewhere in between -- the affect newly opened files.
Why not make everything a Preference?
An excellent question. This mechanism may not be perfect, but here's the reasoning: The current list of preferences are those things rarely altered over a period of weeks or months, and thus hardly worth storing in Templates. Altering a Template file involves several steps in addition to changing the setting itself. Changing a preferences involves no such extra steps, and is maintained even when you change files or Templates
The settings controlled by Templates are those which are likely to change from project to project, or from client to client. In other words, if you have more than one ongoing project, switching Templates is a good way to move back and forth whenever you begin a new design file, with a single click of the mouse. To do this with Preferences, you'd have to change each setting individually. This would be tedious and Design Intuition tries hard not to be tedious.
If you find that some things which are controlled by Templates ought to be Preferences, please contact us. The advantage of being a small company is that it's easy develop a healthy and responsive relationship with customers.
