Advanced Settings

Curio’s default settings should be fine for most customers; however, for you power-users out there, Curio has a number of advanced settings you can explore.

You can access this page from within Curio via the Curio > Advanced Settings menu item.

Important

Most preference settings may require a Curio relaunch before they take effect! 🚀

How to Change Advanced Settings

Via Curio Using Clickable Links (Recommended)

Curio supports a special URL scheme (curio://) for changing or deleting settings.

So, in the examples you find below, if you see a setting you’d like to change, simply click on the link!

Curio will confirm and give you a chance to modify the setting’s new value if you wish. If you wish to restore the setting, click the link again and click the Restore Default button.
Via Curio’s Help > Advanced Settings Menu

Within Curio, hold Option and click the Help menu, then the Advanced Settings submenu, then choose Change Advanced Settings. You can enter the key you wish to change, like General Open Previous Project, and its new value. Optionally you can click to restore its default setting.
Via Terminal

Quit Curio, then launch Applications > Utilities > Terminal.

In the Terminal window that appears you can copy/paste or type a series of commands to change or delete a default preference.

To change a setting use the defaults write command:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "General Open Previous Project" -bool no

A value can be a whole integer number (-int), boolean (-bool), floating point number (-float), or string (-string).

To delete an overridden setting you use the defaults delete command:

defaults delete com.zengobi.curio "General Open Previous Project"

To delete all Curio settings do the following, which will reset Curio to a true, default state.

defaults delete com.zengobi.curio

Potential Issues

If you’ve ever installed both Curio from the Zengobi website and Curio from the Mac App Store then the defaults command can sometimes get confused. In general it seems to prioritize the settings associated with the sandboxed, Mac App Store Curio, even if you’ve deleted that version of Curio!

Automatic

The easiest way to set the correct preference is to not use Terminal’s defaults command! Instead just click on the links as described above as that will launch the newest Curio you have installed and that Curio will make sure the correct preference is changed.

But there is also a way to force defaults to change the settings for either the non-sandboxed Curio or the sandboxed Curio…

Non-Sandboxed Curio

To force defaults to make changes to the non-sandboxed Curio installed via our website you would do something like this:

defaults write ~/Library/Preferences/com.zengobi.curio "General Open Previous Project" -bool no

Sandboxed Curio

To force defaults to make changes to the sandboxed Curio installed via the Mac App Store you would do something like this:

defaults write ~/Library/Containers/com.zengobi.curio/Data/Library/Preferences/com.zengobi.curio.plist "General Open Previous Project" -bool no

General

Open Untitled

You can prevent Curio from opening a new, untitled project on start-up by changing this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "General Open Untitled" -bool no

Open Previous Project

You can tell Curio to not open previously projects, assuming system-wide window restoration is not enabled in System Settings > General, by changing this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "General Open Previous Project" -bool no

Center Contents

Normally Curio centers all idea spaces and other Organizer documents in the main content area. If you’d like them placed towards the top-left corner instead change this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Center Contents" -bool no

Disable Scroll Elasticity

Normally Curio will show a bounce back effect when you scroll beyond the bounds of your idea space. If you wish you can turn this off this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Disable Scroll Elasticity" -bool yes

Project Auto Lockfile Prefixes

When opening a project file located in a specific tree hierarchy, Curio can automatically use a lock file as necessary to ensure that only a single person has write access to the file at a time. The following setting can be used to specify a semicolon delimited list of path prefixes that require lock files.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Project Auto Lockfile Prefixes" -string "~/Dropbox/;~/SyncService/"

Projects Button Open QuickPick

Normally clicking the Projects toolbar button will show the open project quick pick list, and holding Option while clicking will show the open project gallery. However, you can reverse this mapping with this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Projects Button Open QuickPick" -bool no

Project Gallery Add Categories Via Finder Tags Scope

In the Project Gallery, if you right-click in the left sidebar and choose Add Categories Via Finder Tags Curio will use Spotlight to scan for all .curio projects that it can find and use their Finder tags, like Curio Active, to create Project Gallery categories, like Active.

You can restrict the scope of this scan with some options:

home will only search the user’s home folder hierarchy.
computer will search all local mounted volumes + user home (even if remote).
path will search only the given path (like /Users/gbrowning/Documents).

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Project Gallery Add Categories Via Finder Tags Scope" -string "home"

Use Old Image Pasteboard Types

Curio is using the modern [NSImage imageTypes] call to detect images pasted from the clipboard. If you’re having problems pasting in images from an older application then you may need to tell us to use the older, deprecated [NSImage imagePasteboardTypes] method.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Use Old Image Pasteboard Types" -bool yes

Project Trash Old Backup

Normally Curio sends prior backups to the Trash when a new backup is copied from your Projects folder to your Backups folder. However, you can tell Curio to instantly remove that old backup instead of sending it to your Trash.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Project Trash Old Backup" -bool no

Windows vs Tabs

Curio follows the window vs tabs setting specified in System Settings > Desktop & Doc > Prefer tabs when opening documents. However, Apple allows you to override the global, system-wide setting by changing an app’s settings directly.

For instance, perhaps for all apps in general you want additional windows to open as windows, not tabs, but in Curio you want projects to open in tabs. To do this you can set this variable to always. The alternative, to never open in tabs and always open is windows, is to set it to never.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "AppleWindowTabbingMode" -string “always”

If Curio is running you will need to re-launch to see this change.

Add Tab Option

Choose View > Show Tab Bar menu item if the tab bar isn’t already visible. There’s a + sign at the end of the tab bar so you can easily add new projects.

By default clicking that button will mimic the File > New menu item (thus new from idea space gallery).

Hold Option and click the + button for File > New Blank Project,
Hold Option+Shift and click the + button for File > New From Project Template.

Or change this setting to:

1 for new blank by default, then Option=new from idea space gallery, Option+Shift=new from project template,
2 for new from project template, then Option=new blank, Option+Shift=new from idea space gallery,
3 for new empty, then Option=new blank, Option+Shift=new from idea space gallery.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Add Tab Option" -int 0

Shortcuts

You can override the one-key shortcuts for several items. Set to empty string if you want to disable the shortcut.

Figures

Styles and Markdown

Normally a figure’s style doesn’t include the state of markdown rendering unless it’s enabled for the figure. That way you can apply styles to any figure and it doesn’t add/remove any markdown attribute.

But if you’ve explicitly enabled it for a figure, and you save a style with it, then applying it to another figure will for markdown to be enabled.

But there are several ways to override this logic.

Apply Style Markdown State

This controls whether the markdown state can be modified by style info at all. By default it’s yes so any markdown attribute is set applied but you can force it to be no if you don’t want to touch the markdown state when applying figure styles.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Apply Style Markdown State" -bool no

Apply Style Reset Markdown If Not Specified

By default it’ll be no (so it leaves markdown rendering as-is) but you can set it to be yes and Curio will reset the markdown rendering to the default, generally off, if the style does not include markdown info.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Apply Style Reset Markdown If Not Specified" -bool yes

Style Always Includes Markdown State

By default it’s no but you can force it to be yes if you want to force new styles you create to store their markdown setting in the style dictionary.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Style Always Includes Markdown State" -bool yes

Markdown Support Emoji

By default Curio’s markdown support looks for markdown emoji syntax like :laughing: and replaces it with the appropriate emoji character when rendered. You can disable this functionality if you’d like.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Markdown Support Emoji" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Markdown Support Emoji Autocomplete" -bool no

Image Figures

When Curio loads the image for an image figure from disk, it uses the Mac’s Core Graphics method to retrieve an image for a given file no larger than 1500 × 1500, proportionally sized.

For example, given a 4032 × 3024 12 MP HEIC from your iPhone camera, Core Graphics will load and cache a 1500 × 1125 image instead, allowing much faster initial rendering and reduced memory usage, while still being perfectly suitable for use on idea spaces.

If you resize the image figure to a size larger than that, Curio will simply scale that initially loaded image. Resizing to a smaller size will cause Curio to re-render from that initial image, consuming even less memory.

Of course, double-clicking the image figure opens the full-sized image in the appropriate application.

You can customize that 1500 × 1500 size — smaller sizes for faster performance, larger sizes for better large scaling — or even set it to zero if you always want the full-sized image loaded, but keep in mind this may slow down idea space performance when first loading or resizing.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Asset Figure Preview Thumbnail Size" -string "{1500,1500}"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Asset Figure Preview Thumbnail Size" -string "{0,0}"

Huge Images

To better handle super huge images, Curio will first ask Core Graphics if the size of the image is more than 8000 × 8000. If so, Curio gives Core Graphics permission to return a lower resolution thumbnail than the size requested if one is found embedded within the image file. This is particularly handy with large camera RAW files and other very high resolution files which may have a smaller embedded thumbnail for fast retrieval. So Curio will use that thumbnail instead of forcing Core Graphics to load the entire file just to get a 1500 × 1500 preview. You can customize that 8000 × 8000 cutoff or even set to zero if nothing is too big.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Asset Figure Preview Too Huge Size" -string "{8000,8000}"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Asset Figure Preview Too Huge Size" -string "{0,0}"

Asset Figure Image Size Constraint

Constrain the size of an image dragged onto a Curio idea space to no bigger than the given width and height. That is, once the image is loaded as described above, Curio can proportionally resize it to an image figure with a specific size if you wish, so it doesn’t overwhelm your idea space. If set to zero then no resizing is performed.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Asset Figure Image Size Constraint" -string "{ 600.0, 400.0 }"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Asset Figure Image Size Constraint" -string "{ 0,0 }"

Asset Figure Preview Size Constraint

Constrain the size of non-image asset figures displayed as previews dragged onto a Curio idea space to no bigger than the given width and height.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Asset Figure Preview Size Constraint" -string "{ 400.0, 400.0 }"

Asset Figure Preview Size In Collection Constraint

Constrain the size of non-image asset figures displayed as previews dragged into a Curio collection to no bigger than the given width and height.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Asset Figure Preview Size In Collection Constraint" -string "{ 250.0, 250.0 }"

Asset Figure Preview Alias Icon

Curio shows a tiny superimposed alias icon on asset figures displayed as preview if they are at least 64 points in height and width, are simple rectangular shapes, and aren’t rotated. It can also optionally resize itself if the preview image gets bigger or smaller.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Asset Figure Preview Alias Icon" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Asset Figure Preview Alias Icon Size" -string "{64, 64}"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Asset Figure Preview Alias Icon Resizes" -bool no

Asset Figure Default Stylings For Extensions

Files dragged to the idea space can have certain default stylings when displayed as icons or previews.

Displayed as Icons

Normally all asset figures displayed in icon mode share the same default “Document Icon” styling, so they all look similar. This styling can be overridden via the Format > Set Default Style For Document Icon Figure menu item

However, you can specify that certain extensions have a different default icon styling with a comma-separated list of extensions (all lowercased!).

For example this setting will make it so png, tiff, and tif files can all have unique default icon stylings set, for example, via the Format > Set Default Style For PNG Icon Figure menu item:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Custom Default Icon Style Extensions" -string "png,tiff,tif"

As a note, URL’s are stored as assets with .webloc extensions.

You can set the default state for whether a file dragged into Curio shows as icon or preview via the Format > Default Figure Settings submenu.

Displayed as Previews

Similarly normally all images or asset figures displayed as previews share the same “Image Figure” styling, with “PDF Image” and “Equation” as the only exceptions. This styling can be overridden via the Format > Set Default Style For Image Figure menu item

But this can be overridden so that certain extensions have a different default preview styling with a comma-separated list of extensions (all lowercased!).

For example this setting will make it so png, tiff, and tif files can all have unique default preview stylings set, for example, via the Format > Set Default Style For PNG Preview Figure menu item:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Custom Default Preview Style Extensions" -string "png,tiff,tif"

As a note, URL’s are stored as assets with .webloc extensions.

You can set the default state for whether a file dragged into Curio shows as icon or preview via the Format > Default Figure Settings submenu.

File Backed Text Figure Icon Overlay

Curio shows a tiny superimposed text file icon on asset figures displayed as text (aka file backed text figures).

The standard icon identifier (public.text) for this icon can be replaced with another from here although you may need to then tweak the offset value.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "File Backed Text Figure Icon Overlay" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "File Backed Text Figure Icon Size" -string "{10, 10}"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "File Backed Text Figure Icon Offset" -string "{-5, 0}"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "File Backed Text Figure Icon Identifier" -string "public.text"

Jump Anchor Size

A jump anchor has a default size of 16 x 16. You can change this using the following setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Jump Anchor Size" -string "{32, 32}"

Mail Messages

When you drag a message from Mail into Curio we include a special title for the created asset figure with the message’s subject, from, and date. You can control what we put in the title this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Include Mail Subject" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Include Mail From" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Include Mail Date" -bool yes

Promised Files Delay

Dragging a message from Mail into Curio uses a clipboard operation called a promised file. If you have problems with a particular message with a large attachment that you drag into Curio then you may need to increase our timeout in accessing that file (which Mail will place in a temp folder for copying purposes). That will ask Curio to retry for the file after a 1 second pause. If it still doesn’t work try 2 seconds and that should definitely take care of it. (The default is a 0.1 second delay.)

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Promised Files Delay" -float 1.0

Min Distribution Gap

When horizontally or vertically distributing figures via the Arrange menu, Curio will normally leave no gap between the figures. If you want a gap then enter a value here.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Min Distribution Gap" -float 10.0

Asset Figure Text Width Constraint

Constrain the width of a text figure as you start typing on an idea space or within a mind map.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Asset Figure Text Width Constraint" -float 600.0
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Asset Figure Text Width Constraint Mindmap" -float 250.0

List Title

The default title for a list.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "List Title" -string "My List"

List Title Is Visible

Determines whether a new list has a title. This is also set if you choose Format > Save As Default Style for List Figure.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "List Title Is Visible" -bool yes

Import Collapsed

By default after importing a mind map or list and converting into a native collection Curio shows the result fully expanded. You can make them collapsed by default if you wish.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Import Mind Map Collapsed" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Import List Collapsed" -bool yes

If you use the index card’s expand/collapse widget to expand, it can be automatically be brought to the front.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Index Card Widget Expand Brings to Front" -bool yes

Convert Into Index Card Title Format

Using Arrange > Convert Into > Index Card you can convert standalone figures on the idea space into one or more index cards. If the selected figure is an asset figure then the title of the index card is the filename of the underlying asset file.

You can change this to a different format where 0=none, 1=Fred, 2=Fred.md, 3=~/Documents/Fred.md. The default is 2.

Note if the file is embedded in the project then if you request format 3 then it will only show the filename without the path, since an embedded file path is quite long.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Convert Into Index Card Title Format" -int 2

Fonts

By default Curio’s font pickers show all user fonts as returned by the macOS system, which is what Apple suggests that we do by default. However, you can change this to show all fonts installed on your system if you wish:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Fonts Show All" -bool yes

By default Curio’s font pickers show your fonts marked as favorites in the standard macOS font chooser (via ⌘T) at the very top of the list of fonts. You can disable that feature:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Fonts Show Favorites" -bool no

SuperSubscript Percentage

The percentage used to reduce the current character font size when generating a super or subscript. The default is 0.75, thus 75% of the font’s current size.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "SuperSubscript Percentage" -float 0.75

Priority

You can override the default text displayed for tooltips and in the Status shelf for priorities.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Priority None" -string "None"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Priority Very Low" -string "Very Low"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Priority Low" -string "Low"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Priority Medium" -string "Medium"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Priority High" -string "High"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Priority Urgent" -string "Urgent"

Adornment Icons

You can override the default adornment icons, such as the priority and checked icons, by placing a specifically named pdf or png replacement file in your app support folder.

For instance, to replace the Priority1 icon which is the “very low priority” flag icon you would place either a Priority1.pdf or Priority1.png into this folder:

~/Library/Application Support/Curio/Version XX/Repository/Icons/

…where XX is your current Curio version. Curio will automatically migrate those files between subsequent major version releases.

Here are the adornment names you can replace (case sensitive): Bookmark, Checked0, Checked25, Checked50, Checked75, Checked100, Checked125, Checked375, Checked625, Checked875, CheckedMixed, CustomData, JumpAction, Note, Person, Persons, Priority1, Priority2, Priority3, Priority4, Priority5, References, Star, Tag.

This setting will make it so the Insert Figure popover doesn’t animate between the galleries.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Instant Insert Figure Popover" -bool yes

Enter Ends Editing

Normally hitting the Enter key on the numeric keypad (not the main Return key) will end editing of the current text figure. You can disable that feature via this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Enter Ends Editing" -bool no

Return Ends Editing

Normally hitting the Return key on the keyboard (not the Enter key on the numeric keypad) inserts a return. You can make it so Return ends editing instead. To insert a return you’ll have to type Option-Return instead.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Return Ends Editing" -bool yes

Text Blinking Cursor

If you have a weird issue when editing text figures where the blinking text cursor disappears then you may want try this option:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Text Editing Draw Into Layer" -bool no

This rare issue has cropped up for some customers especially if on a non-Retina display and/or at certain idea space zoom settings. See this forums post for more details.

Default Styling for Figures Dropped/Pasted Into Collections

When pasting or dropping items within or into a collection, Curio will default to adopt the styling appropriate for placement in the destination collection.

However, the Shift key can be used to reverse this logic. That is, simply hold Shift while dropping, or press Command-Shift-V, or hold Shift when choosing Edit > Paste, and Curio will keep the figure’s styling as-is instead of adopting the destination’s default styling.

Examples

If you move a list or mind map branch — via cut/copy/paste or drag-and-drop — from level 5 to level 1 then it will adopt that level 1 styling to show off its promotion.
Moving a figure from a mind map’s “orange branch” to the “green branch” will force the node to adopt the green branch styling.
Moving a figure from one mind map styled with Chiclets to a different mind map styled with Chalkboard will adopt that destination’s styling.
Dragging figures from the idea space or bringing in data from outside of Curio into a collection will adopt the destination’s styling.
But, if you cut a table cell and then hold down Shift while pasting then it will keep its styling, instead of adopting the styling for that destination table cell.
Likewise if you drag a branch in a mind map and, before releasing, you hold Shift, then the branch will keep its coloring as-is instead of adopting the default level or branch style.

Overrides

You can override the default adopt vs. keep value based on (a) whether you’re dropping/pasting within the same collection vs. into another collection, (b) the specific collection type of the following choices: List, Mind Map, Table, Stack, Pinboard, Album, Index Card.

For example, this will make it so anything you drag into or within a mind map will not adopt the styling and thus keep its existing styling:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Adopt Style Into Mind Map" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Adopt Style Within Mind Map" -bool no

And this will make it so anything you do within the table will not adopt, but dragging items into a table will still adopt:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Adopt Style Within Table" -bool no

Here are all the options:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Adopt Style Into List" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Adopt Style Within List" -bool no

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Adopt Style Into Mind Map" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Adopt Style Within Mind Map" -bool no

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Adopt Style Into Table" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Adopt Style Within Table" -bool no

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Adopt Style Into Stack" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Adopt Style Within Stack" -bool no

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Adopt Style Into Pinboard" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Adopt Style Within Pinboard" -bool no

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Adopt Style Into Album" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Adopt Style Within Album" -bool no

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Adopt Style Into Index Card" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Adopt Style Within Index Card" -bool no

Override the Overrides

Don’t forget: even your override can be overridden on-the-fly by simply holding down the Shift key.

Mind Map Arrangement

The default arrangement for a new mind map. 1=radial, 2=right, 3=left, 4=bottom-up, 5=top-down, 6=org chart. This is also set if you choose Format > Save As Default Style for Mind Map Figure.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Mindmap Arrangement" -int 1

Mindmap Rebalance After Collapsing

Normally a mind map will rebalance itself after you collapse a node. Turning this off will leave the mind map as-is after collapsing nodes.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Mindmap Rebalance After Collapsing" -bool no

Mindmap Gaps and Offsets

These are low-level gaps and offsets that Curio’s mind map algorithm uses.

🔬 Experimental setting to increase the gap between branches with more than one child:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Mindmap Gap Between Branches" -float 20

Table Initial Headers and Footers

Determines whether headers and footers are displayed when creating a new table.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Table Initial Header Row" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Table Initial Header Column" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Table Initial Footer Row" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Table Initial Footer Column" -bool yes

Table Return Edits Next Row

Normally when you press Return in a table cell Curio simply inserts the return into the cell, much like how Keynote’s tables work. If you’d rather edit the cell in the next row, more like Numbers or Excel, then you can use this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Table Return Edits Next Row" -bool yes

Stack Return Creates Sibling

Normally when you press Return in a Stack cell Curio creates a new sibling underneath, much like how mind maps and lists work. If you’d rather insert the return into the current figure then you can use this setting.

Once you disable Return, you can still create siblings with ⌘Return or by double-clicking the background area of the Stack.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Stack Return Creates Sibling" -bool no

Composition Minimim Widths

When a composition determines smallest widths for items in a column it bases those minimums on the figure types. For instance, images and asset figures displayed as preview have a minimum width of 200 points. So if you try to make a column smaller than one of those internal widths the composition may override with one of those minimums.

You can override these minimums if you’d like to create very narrow columns.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "AssetFigure Preview Min Width" -int 200
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "AssetFigure Icon Min Width" -int 200
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "TextFigure Min Width" -int 100

Note that some types of figures have their own minimum widths that cannot be overridden. For example, a mind map placed into a composition will enforce the minimumm width it needs to display the content of its contained items.

You can specify the tabs that appear in the figure inspector popup window. Case sensitive choices include Style, Text, Shape, Effects, Geometry. Enter the tab labels as a comma separated list with no spaces.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Figure Popup Inspector Tabs" -string "Shape,Effects,Geometry"

Figure Show Complete Bounds

The figure Geometry inspector now shows the figure bounds without inflating those bounds for enclosed adornments or captions, as it did prior to Curio 11. If you wish to see those “complete bounds” instead you can use this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Figure Show Complete Bounds" -bool yes

Figure Show Bounds Origin

The figure Geometry inspector shows the minimum (smallest) X and minimum (smallest) Y coordinate for the selected figure. Thus if you rotate a figure it will be the smallest X and smallest Y, as measured from the top/left corner of the idea space, of that rotated object. If you’d rather see the actual internal origin of the figure, regardless of rotation, then use this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Figure Show Bounds Origin" -bool yes

GrabWebArchive Format

Normally Curio will create a PDF when you right-click on a web link figure and choose Grab Web Archive. You can customize this setting in Terminal where 0=paginated pdf, 1=pdf image, 2=webarchive.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "GrabWebArchive Format" -int 0

Pinboard Auto Resizes

Normally Curio automatically resizes pinboards as you add more content. You can turn this off if you wish.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Pinboard Auto Resizes" -bool no

Stack Auto Size

Normally Curio expands a stack collection as you add more, but it doesn’t automatically shrink it when you remove items. You can tell Curio to shrink as well via this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Stack Is Auto Size" -bool yes

Collapse To Title

Normally when you collapse a list or mind map figure (by selecting the collection figure itself and hitting spacebar) it collapses but keeps the parent nodes under the title still visible. You can tell Curio to collapse all the way to the title with these settings.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "List Collapse To Title" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Mind Map Collapse To Title" -bool yes

Direct Click

When working with collection figures, the first click selects the collection itself and, now that the collection is active, subsequent clicks will select items with the collection. Some collection layouts support direct clicking on contained items even if the collection itself is not active. If the click doesn’t hit an item within then the collection itself is selected, as usual.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "List Allows Direct Click" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Mindmap Allows Direct Click" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Album Allows Direct Click" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Pinboard Allows Direct Click" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Stack Allows Direct Click" -bool yes

Link Color and Underline

By default Curio will no longer force a link color which means links will match the figure’s text color although still underlined.

You can force a specific color, if you wish, either with a hex code like #ff0000 or a friendly name like link, which is the shade of blue that Apple uses for links, or blue, which is the true blue (aka #0000ff) that Curio previously used.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Link Color" -string "#ff0000"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Link Underline" -bool no

Locked Figures Allow Adornment Clicks

Normally Curio ignores clicks on adornments associated with locked figures. You can change this with this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Locked Figures Allow Adornment Clicks" -bool yes

Shift Bypasses Galleries

Normally if you click on a collection toolbar button, such as List or Mind Map, then see the gallery for that collection, while holding Shift and clicking on the toolbar button will instantly insert that collection with the default style. This setting will reverse that Shift logic.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Shift Bypasses Galleries" -bool no

Idea Graphs

Many of Curio’s idea graph line defaults can be customized.

The default line width:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Connected Line Width" -int 1

The default line scale:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Connected Line Scale" -int 1

The default line color:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Connected Line Color" -string "#ff0000"

The default line type can be straight (0), curved (1), or orthogonal (2):

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Connected Line Type" -int 1

A midpoint can be automatically added:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Connected Line Add Midpoint" -bool yes

The default line dash pattern (when Command+Shift+Option is pressed) is a 2 (meaning 2 pixels on, 2 pixels off, repeat). The dash pattern is of the format: pixelsOn{,pixelsOff,pixelsOn,pixelsOff}, such as “5,3,2,3,2,3”.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Connected Line Dash Pattern" -string "2,3"

You can also change whether the head or tail decoration is filled or hollow, and determine which decoration is used for the head or tail. The choice of decorations are: “Winged”, “Arrow”, “Triangle”, “Box”, “Circle”, “Stop”.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Connected Line Head Filled" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Connected Line Tail Filled" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Connected Line Head Decoration" -string "Winged"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Connected Line Tail Decoration" -string "Triangle"

Idea Graph Lines From Resize Handles

If you Option-drag on a figure’s resize handle Curio will generate a directional line on-the-fly allowing you to easily connect it to another figure via Sticky Lines.

The specific style (color, width, scale, etc) of the connecting line can be customized as described above.

In addition, several characteristics of this generated line can be also be customized as described below.

The line type is nondirectional with no arrowheads (0), directional with one arrowhead (1), or bidirectional with two arrowheads (2):

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Connected Line Resize Handle Arrowheads" -int 1

As described in Sticky Lines, the line originating (tail) points towards the center of the originating figure (0), sticks to the closest connection point (1), or sticks to this specific connection point (2, the default):

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Connected Line Resize Handle Snap" -int 0

The line is dashed:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Connected Line Resize Handle Dashed" -bool no

Idea Graph Lines From Insert > Line

If you select two figures then choose an option from the main menu’s Insert > Line submenu, Curio will create the appropriate nondirectional, directional, or bidirectional connecting line between the two figures.

The specific style (color, width, scale, etc) of the connecting line can be customized as described above.

As described in Sticky Lines, the tail and head snap points can point towards the center of the figures (0, the default) or stick to the closest connection points (1):

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Connected Line Menu Snap" -int 0

The line is dashed:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Connected Line Menu Dashed" -bool no

Shapes

You can redefine the ordering of shapes in the toolbar, inspector, and Basic Shapes gallery shown within Curio. Here’s the default.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Shapes" -string "Rectangle,RoundedRect,Octagon,Hexagon,Pentagon,House,Underline,Brackets,VerticalBrackets,Trapezoid,TrapezoidFlipped,Semicircle,Oval,Capsule,TriangleLeft,TriangleRight,Triangle,TriangleFlipped,Diamond,Cloud,Speech,ArrowLeft,ArrowRight,ArrowUp,ArrowDown,ArrowLeftRight,ArrowUpDown,Cross,SignpostLeft,SignpostRight,Parallelagram,SlopedRect,Cylinder,Document,Note"

Figure Style Gallery Light

To accurately render previews for figure styles, the various figure galleries (the figure mini-gallery in the inspector shelf, the larger Apply Style (via right-click on figure) gallery, and the Insert figure galleries) are all forced to have a light-mode background, to better match the idea space itself which is also a forced light-mode background. You can disable this so the galleries use a dark mode background if your system is dark mode with this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Figure Style Gallery Light" -bool no

Shadow Color

By default the shadow color in Curio is black at 75% opacity. You can set this to a different default value using a rgba(hexRed, hexGreen, hexBlue, opacityFraction) value. Note the hex values do not have preceding # signs.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Shadow Color" -string "rgba(aa,bb,cc,0.2)"

Jagged Shape Replacement

Since support for the Jagged shape was removed in Curio 8 it is dynamically replaced with another shape. In Curio 8 we replaced it with the Cloud shape but this could conflict with any existing true Cloud shapes in a diagram or flowchart. So in Curio 11 we’re replacing it with the brand new House shape. You can customize the shape using any of the following values: Rectangle, RoundedRect, Octagon, Hexagon, Pentagon, House, Underline, Brackets, VerticalBrackets, Trapezoid, TrapezoidFlipped, Semicircle, Oval, Capsule, TriangleLeft, TriangleRight, Triangle, TriangleFlipped, Diamond, Cloud, Speech, ArrowLeft, ArrowRight, ArrowUp, ArrowDown, ArrowLeftRight, ArrowUpDown, Cross, SignpostLeft, SignpostRight, Parallelagram, SlopedRect, Cylinder, Document, Note.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Jagged Shape Replacement" -string "House"

WebView User Agent

Curio’s various embedded web views, while driven by Apple’s WebKit framework, can mimic a specific browser for compatibility with some sites. In general Curio’s custom user agent is set to the latest Safari user agent string, which seems to maximize compatibility with various sites, although this may change in a given build of Curio.

A handy reference of user agents is WhatIsMyBrowser’s latest user agents on macOS.

While you hopefully don’t need to tweak this user agent value, Google’s sites, in particular, can show odd error messages which can cause issues. For instance, at the time of this writing:

If Curio web views are using the Safari user agent, you can login to Google’s services and use Google Docs. However, Google Sheets will show an error.
If using the Chrome user agent then you won’t be able to login to Google’s services, but if you’re already logged in then both Google Docs and Sheets will work just fine.
If you set the user agent to nothing, an empty string, then no custom user agent is used. With this you can login to Google’s services and use both Google Docs and Sheets, but you’ll have to dismiss an innocuous but annoying warning telling you to upgrade your browser.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "WebView User Agent" -string ""

Importantly, Apple no longer allows cookies to be shared between web views and Safari, for security reasons. Thus you can’t login with Safari and expect web views within Curio to use those same cookied credentials.

Capture WebView Opacity

Normally when a live WebView is not active the placeholder screenshot image is slightly dimmed, so you know it’s inactive. You can set this opacity level to anything you wish, including 1.0 if you don’t want it dimmed at all.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Capture WebView Opacity" -float 1.0

YouTube Size

You can change the default, initial size for inserted YouTube videos with this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "YouTube Size" -string "{ 640.0, 360.0 }"

Vimeo Size

You can change the default, initial size for inserted Vimeo videos with this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Vimeo Size" -string "{ 640.0, 360.0 }"

Dim Video WebView Poster Images

Normally video WebViews, like Vimeo and YouTube videos, are dimmed, like all other WebViews, when the WebView itself is not active. You can make it so the placeholder image isn’t dimmed with this option.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Dim Video WebView Poster Images" -bool no

Play Media Key

For audio and video asset figures the media bar appears in the inspector bar area to control playback. Curio also supports the Play/Pause key on macOS keyboards to start or pause playback.

We didn’t want to interfere with the normal Play button as that’s used globally to control Apple Music or Spotify, so by default you have to hold Shift when pressing Play to trigger the play or pause within Curio.

However, you can specify one or more modifier keys to be pressed with the Play key. Modifier strings include Command, Control, Option, and Shift. They can be listed in any order, with or without delimiters like spaces or plus signs.

If you set it to nothing then the Play key without any modifiers will play/pause.

For example, here’s how you would specify that Control+Command must be pressed with the Play key:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Play Media Modifiers" -string "Control+Command"

Movie Controller Style

For normal media files, Curio will display inline controls overlaid on the media viewer to control playback with a handy scrubber. You can customize this with this setting where 0=none, 1=inline (default), 2=floating, 3=minimal.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Movie Controller Style" -int 0

Movie Poster Percentage

Curio will show the poster frame if one is specified via the Media actions menu, else an offset into the movie based on the start and end of the movie (which can be overridden via the Media actions menu). You can specify the percentage (from 0 to 100) which is used, along with the start and end times, to determine the frame to use as the poster: 0=start frame (default), 25=25% of the way through the movie, 50=middle frame, 100=last frame.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Movie Poster Percentage" -int 50

Media Playback Timer

Normally Curio uses a 0.01 second timer when updating the media playback counter. For those wanting to control this value manually you can use this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Media Playback Timer" -float 0.03

Auto Inflate

Normally certain shapes (Cloud, Diamond, Hexagon, Octagon, Oval, Semicircle, Speech, Trapezoid, TrapezoidFlipped, Triangle, TriangleFlipped, TriangleLeft, TriangleRight) are set to auto inflate their bounds automatically to minimize the amount of clipping that could occur to any text or image within the shape. The result is a nicer looking resulting shape without you having to fidget with margins or things like that. This can be toggled off and back on within the Shape inspector. However, you can also set the default to be off for a specific shape for those that like absolute control of the shape from the get-go. Note that you can still toggle it on in the inspector if you wish.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Auto Inflate Triangle" -bool no

You can also turn it off by default for all shapes that support auto inflate.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Auto Inflate" -bool no

Create Linked Idea Space

The Create Linked Idea Space feature supports several customizations.

By default:

For the title of the new idea space, any returns found within the source text figure’s content will be removed and length beyond 40 characters truncated.
The new idea space will have the same style as the current idea space, alternatively it can be blank.
A “back figure” will be created on the new idea space, titled the same as the source idea space, with an action which jumps back to the source idea space, alternatively it can jump back to the source figure on the source idea space.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Create Linked Idea Space Title Remove Returns" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Create Linked Idea Space Title Max Length" -int 40
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Create Linked Idea Space Blank" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Create Linked Idea Space Back Figure" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Create Linked Idea Space Back To Source Figure" -bool no

Idea Space

Insert Space

When you choose an Insert > Space menu item, Curio will create the given number of pixels of empty space around the selected figures or around the idea space if nothing is selected.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Insert Space Around Selection" -int 100
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Insert Space" -int 500

Idea Space Spacebar QuickLook Sensitivity

If a figure is selected an idea space and you quickly tap on the spacebar then we show a Quick Look preview. If you hold down the spacebar we turn the mouse pointer into a Photoshop-like scrolling hand. You can change how quickly you must tap but adjusting this timeout given in seconds.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Idea Space Spacebar QuickLook Sensitivity" -float 0.15

Ruler Measurement Units

Normally the ruler in Curio (visible via the View > Show Ruler menu item) shows dimensions in points. You can optionally set the ruler to a different measurement unit such as inches or centimeters. You can also set a ruler measurement unit specifically for text editing. To change the units enter a case-sensitive unit such as Inches, Centimeters, or Points.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Ruler Units" -string "Inches"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Editing Units" -string "Inches"

Selection Glow

Normally Curio shows a slight glow around selected figures including a blue glow for normal figures, pink for an instance of an original figure, purple for original figures that have instances, and gray for locked figures.

You can allow selection glows, for special cases like the pink and purple glows mentioned above, but customize the normal blue glow conditions.

The default for the normal glow is a smart mode (2) where Curio determines if a glow should automatically like if the figure is unbordered and unfilled, or is contained within a collection, otherwise no blue glow will happen for the figure and you will just see selection handles. You can set it to 1 to make it so all normal glows happen for all selected figures, or set it to 0 if no blue selection glow should happen, just selection handles.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Selection Normal Glow" -int 1

You can turn off all selection glows (even for locked figures, figure instances, etc) if you wish with this setting:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Selection Glow" -bool yes

Fast Render

A new rendering optimization kicks in when you:

Drag figures to move them,
Scribble with a brush or eraser,
Make a rubberband selection of multiple figures,
Pinch or scroll wheel zooming.

During those events figure shadows are suppressed until the event concludes. Shadows are one of the slowest bottlenecks during rendering. This optimization has a massive performance impact especially when working with idea spaces with numerous shadowed figures.

You can turn off fast rendering in specific modes and/or tweak the delay time before normal rendering is restored.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Fast Render When Scroll Zooming" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Fast Render When Scroll Zooming Delay" -int 1
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Fast Render When Pinching" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Fast Render When Pinching Delay" -int 1
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Fast Render When Scribbling" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Fast Render When Moving" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Fast Render When Rubberbanding" -bool no

Swipe Gesture

Possible values for Idea Space Swipe Handler are 0 which means left/right swiping will now go previous/next in sequence and if Shift or Command is held then swipes left/right will go back/forward in history, 1 means left/right swiping will now go back/forward in history and if Shift or Command is held then swipes left/right will go previous/next in sequence.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Idea Space Ignore Swipe Gesture" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Idea Space Swipe Handler" -int 0

Zoom Customizations

Zoom Gestures

Curio supports the pinch to zoom gesture by default, but ignores pinch gestures for zooming if they are too subtle. You can change how sensitive Curio is to zooming (0.008 is the default, make very slightly larger like to 0.01 for even less sensitive) or even turn it off entirely if you change this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Idea Space Ignore Magnify Gesture" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Idea Space Magnify Gesture Minimum Sensitivity" -float 0.003

Quick Zoom

Quick Zoom can be used to zoom out so the entire idea space is scaled to fit, or zoom in so you can get a closeup of your work.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Quick Zoom Shortcut" -string "q"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Quick Zoom In Shortcut" -string "Q"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Quick Zoom In Factor" -float 2.0

Smart Zoom

Smart Zoom is a feature supported by macOS, if enabled via System Settings > Mouse/Trackpad > Point & Click > Smart Zoom. Double-tap on your mouse or trackpad to zoom. Then double-tap again to restore the zoom.

By default, Curio will Smart Zoom to the figure you’re hovering over, else the point you’re hovering over, similar to how Smart Zoom works in Safari.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Idea Space Ignore Smart Magnify" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Idea Space Smart Magnify Zoom To Selection" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Idea Space Smart Magnify Zoom To Hover Figure" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Idea Space Smart Magnify Zoom To Hover Point" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Idea Space Smart Magnify Zoom Max Factor" -float 4

Delta

When zooming with the scroll wheel or pinch gesture Curio steps through the tiny 1% increments below 125%, then 10% increments to just under 200%, then 10% at 200% and beyond. If you wish to fine tune these increments then you can do so here.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Zoom Tiny Increment" -float 0.01
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Zoom Small Increment" -float 0.1
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Zoom Big Increment" -float 0.1

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Zoom Small Start" -float 1.25
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Zoom Big Start" -float 2.0

Inline PDF Annotations

Normally double-clicking on a PDF launches it in your PDF viewer, like Preview. Holding Option while double-clicking will go into annotation mode right there on the idea space. If you wish double-clicking to go into annotations mode directly you can change this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Double Click Inline PDF Annotations" -bool no

PDF Annotation Colors

Curio’s built-in PDF annotation editor allow for some customization of colors. However, note that currently the button images used in the inspector bar highlight buttons cannot be changed so if you customize a color you might want to aim for the same family (i.e. a customized color for the yellow highlight button should ideally be yellow-ish).

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "PDF Editor Yellow Highlight Color" -string "#F7DA34"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "PDF Editor Green Highlight Color" -string "#B2E427"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "PDF Editor Blue Highlight Color" -string "#76A1EF"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "PDF Editor Pink Highlight Color" -string "#EF6BB1"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "PDF Editor Purple Highlight Color" -string "#C686ED"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "PDF Editor Strikethrough Color" -string "#FF0100"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "PDF Editor Underline Color" -string "#027F00"

Ignore Bundled Instant Document Templates

If you don’t want Curio to show bundled instant document templates then apply this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Ignore Bundled Instant Document Templates" -bool yes

Ideaspace Print Auto Expand Threshold

When printing Curio can fit the current idea space to page and rotate the idea space to minimize scaling. It can also auto expand to additional pages if necessary to further minimize scaling if the resulting scaling value is too small (which can happen with especially large idea spaces). The default threshold scaling factor is 50%, where any scaling less than that amount will add additional pages, but you can change this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Ideaspace Print Auto Expand Threshold" -int 50

Figure Tooltips

Tooltips When Status Bar Hidden

Curio can display certain information in the Status Bar, if it’s visible, otherwise it will display it in a tooltip unless you disable this feature as detailed below.

When hovering over a figure, a compilation of meta info is displayed.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Figure Tooltip Info" -bool no

When resizing a figure by dragging its resize handle, its size information is displayed.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Figure Tooltip Resize" -bool no

When rotating a figure by holding Command and dragging its resize handle, its rotation angle information is displayed.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Figure Tooltip Rotate" -bool no

Tooltips Independent of Status Bar

Some tooltips display regardless of Status Bar state, although this can be customized:

When hovering over a figure’s flag adornment, like a due date adornment, the flag’s tooltip is displayed. This is on by default.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Figure Tooltip Flags" -bool no

When dragging figures around, the position information is displayed as a tooltip. This is off by default.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Figure Tooltip Move" -bool no

When dragging a line endpoint or midpiont, a snap help tooltip is displayed. This is on by default.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Figure Tooltip Line Points" -bool no

Ideaspace Flip Tiled Image

macOS Sonoma 14 has an odd issue where tiled images used as idea space backgrounds are suddenly flipped. This appears to be a bug (or a change?) in Apple’s low-level code. An issue has been submitted to Apple so they can fix or detail the reasons for the change.

Curio running on macOS Sonoma 14 or above will now pre-flip the image to work around the issue, at least until Apple addresses it. You can also control this via a new setting:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Ideaspace Flip Tiled Image" -bool yes

Idea Space Previews

Preview Extension

If PDF Mirror is enabled then Curio will always use the PDF format. However, when PDF Mirror is not enabled Curio automatically determines the best format to use based on an idea space’s contents. You can however, force a preview extension instead, either “pdf” or “jpg”.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Preview Extension" -string jpg

Preview Cropped Side

Normally when generating a preview, Curio will crop everything past 5000 pixels to right or below. In other words, you only see the top-left 5000x5000 portion of the idea space. You can make this smaller (to save disk space) or larger (to see more of the preview) as you wish.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Preview Cropped Side" -int 1000

Preview Test Override PDF with JPEG KB

After generating a PDF preview, if larger than 100 KB, Curio will quickly see if a JPEG version is more compact. You can change this cutoff with this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Preview Test Override PDF with JPEG KB" -int 100

Preview Use PDF for Bitmap

If Curio has a PDF preview then it normally generates the JPEG directly from that PDF data. You can tell it to regenerate it from scratch if you wish.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Preview Use PDF for Bitmap" -bool no

Preview Test Override PDF with JPEG Percentage

After generating that test JPEG, Curio will use it instead of the PDF only if the resulting JPEG file size is at least 70% of the size of the PDF file.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Preview Test Override PDF with JPEG Percentage" -int 70

Preview Scaled Percent

If Curio generates a JPEG preview, you can force it to scale to a given percent value. Otherwise, the default is Curio will calculate the percentage on the fly based on the size of the idea space and the settings below.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Preview Scaled Percent" -int 50

Preview Scaled Min Side Upper

Curio will scale the resulting JPEG preview so it has a minimum width or height of 1024 pixels. For example, 1024x1356 or 2352x1024. You can change that minimum side if you wish, for instance 512 would create smaller previews.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Preview Scaled Min Side Upper" -int 512

Preview Scaled Percent Ceiling

Once it scales it to a minimum side, you can make Curio scale it further if you wish. For instance, if an idea space is already close to 1024 in width or height then it wouldn’t scale very much. You can tell Curio to at least scale it by 70% this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Preview Scaled Percent Ceiling" -int 70

Preview Scaled Percent Floor

If a calculated JPEG scaling factor is too small then Curio imposes a floor scaling, which is 20% by default. We didn’t want a calculated scaling value to get too tiny.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Preview Scaled Percent Floor" -int 20

Preview Output Retina

Curio normally creates non-Retina previews as they’re just fine for a preview. If you have a Retina Mac and really want Retina previews, which will greatly increase the size of the resulting preview images, then you can enable this.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Preview Output Retina" -bool yes

Preview JPEG Compression Factor

When generating a JPEG idea space preview file Curio uses a 0.5 compression factor. You can choose a less aggressive value closer to 1.0, like 0.8, or a more aggressive compression closer to 0.0, like 0.3, this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Preview JPEG Compression Factor" -float 0.5

Preview Compress PDF

If Curio is generating PDF’s they are normally compressed with a simple ColorSync filter. You can ask Curio to not perform this PDF compression this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Preview Compress PDF" -bool no

Preview Background Refresh

Curio normally updates the preview for the active idea space in the background even while you are editing the idea space. Generally these previews are very quick to generate and, if they are slow for a particular idea space, Curio will automatically refresh the preview much less frequently. This is key because, for a very brief moment, interactions with the idea space are locked so the preview can complete. However, if you regularly construct very complex idea spaces you can disable background refresh entirely. If disabled the only time Curio will force a preview generation is when you leave the idea space and go to another or close the project.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Preview Background Refresh" -bool no

Preview Immediately Store Thumbnails If None

Back in Curio 10.3, Curio began storing a tiny, compressed JPEG thumbnail of the idea space within the idea space’s data file so it can be used to quickly render the Organizer display. If the thumbnail is not there, Curio has to read the potentially large PDF preview file for the idea space and generate the thumbnail on the fly. The embedded thumbnail is automatically updated when you save changes to an idea space. By default, older projects will also stored updated thumbnails for their idea spaces when the project is loaded even if the user doesn’t manually touch a particular idea space, unless you turn off this feature this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Preview Immediately Store Thumbnails If None" -bool no

Preview Generator On Load

Curio scans your entire project when it is loaded to see if any idea spaces have out-of-date previews and then generates them on a background thread. If you would like to disable this then change this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Preview Generator On Load" -bool no

Preview Generator Force Update

You can force Curio to regenerate all the previews for a project by setting this preference then opening a project. Use in combination with Preview Generator Log to watch the preview generation background progress in Console but it should only take a few seconds to complete. Then close the project and turn off this preference.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Preview Generator Force Update" -bool yes

Preview Generator Log

If you would like to see what the idea space preview generator is doing in the background then change this setting. Log messages are sent to Applications > Utilities > Console.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Preview Generator Log" -bool yes

Organizer

Idea Space Title

The idea space title can be Untitled (which is the default), a custom string, a date, or a custom date format (date format string).

If Idea Space Title is 0 then it will be either the default text (“Untitled”) or custom text if Idea Space Title Text is also set.

If Idea Space Title is 1 then it will be either the default date format (the long format defined in System Settings) or a custom date format if Idea Space Title Date Format is also set.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Idea Space Title" -int 0
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Idea Space Title Text" -string "Ideas"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Idea Space Title" -int 1
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Idea Space Title Date Format" -string "E d/M/yy h:mm a"

Folder Title

The folder title can be Untitled, a custom string, a date (which is the default), or a custom date format (date format string).

If Folder Title is 0 then it will be either the default text (“Untitled”) or custom text if Folder Title Text is also set.

If Folder Title is 1 then it will be either the default date format (the long format defined in System Settings) or a custom date format if Folder Title Date Format is also set.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Folder Title" -int 0
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Folder Title Text" -string "Ideas"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Folder Title" -int 1
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Folder Title Date Format" -string "E d/M/yy h:mm a"

Rename New Idea Space

After creating a new idea space it is, by default, not ready for editing so you can quickly put items into your newly created idea space. If you’d like to be immediately placed into edit mode then do the following. This feature is most useful when using the Add button’s power-user modifiers: hold Option when clicking Add to create a blank idea space, or hold Shift when clicking Add to create an idea space with the same style/template as the current idea space.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Organizer Rename New Idea Space" -bool yes

Rename New Folder

After creating a new folder you are placed in edit mode so you can instantly rename it. You can turn this off if you wish.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Organizer Rename New Folder" -bool no

Journal Sort

Normally Journal years are sorted in descending order, while the months within those years are sorted in ascending order. You can override this by right-clicking on a Journal item and changing the Journal sort.

If the sort is changed for a project then this is also reflected into the global default and will override both new and existing projects. You can customize this if you wish.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Journal Sort Years Descending" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Journal Sort Months Descending" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Journal Sort Set Global" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Journal Sort New Match Global" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Journal Sort Existing Match Global" -bool yes

Organizer PDF Display Mode

If you drag a PDF file into the Organizer it normally scrolls in single-page continuous mode. If you wish you can set it to single-page at a time by setting this value to 0.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Organizer PDF Display Mode" -int 1

Organizer Display HTML In WebView

Normally if a local HTML file is dragged to the Organizer as an Organizer Document then the raw source text will be displayed within an editable text editor. If you wish to render the HTML in a WebView instead, which is how web URLs are shown, then change this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Organizer Display HTML In WebView" -bool yes

Organizer Display Non Text Extensions

Normally any plain or rich text document added to the Organizer is opened for editing directly within Curio. If you wish certain file types, such as doc or docs, to be opened as a Quick Look view instead (to insure that no formatting is lost) then specify a comma-separated list of extensions that Curio should skip.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Organizer Display Non Text Extensions" -string "doc,docx"

Organizer Display Read Only Text Extensions

You may want Curio to only provide read-only access to certain text file extensions dragged to the Organizer, like if you use Nisus which has custom RTF stylings which the Mac’s built-in framework for RTF editing (which Curio uses) would strip out.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Organizer Display Read Only Text Extensions" -string "rtf"

Organizer Plain Text Document Font

When showing plain text, like markdown, as Organizer documents Curio has a default font and font size that it uses, which you can override.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Organizer Plain Text Document Font" -string "Menlo"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Organizer Plain Text Document Font Size" -int 12

Organizer Font Size

This is the size of the font the Organizer area uses for item titles. The default is 12.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Organizer Font Size" -int 12

This is the size of the font the Sections area uses for item titles. The default is 13.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Sections Font Size" -int 13

RTF View Color

The RTF Organizer document view normally has a white background. You can change this color with this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "RTF View Color" -string "#ffffff"

RTF View Inset

The RTF Organizer document has a slight inset to text isn’t crammed into the top-left corner. You can adjust this inset with this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "RTF View Inset" -string "{ 50.0, 50.0 }"

Quick Find

Quick Find Typing Timeout

Normally Quick Find waits 1 second after the last keystroke before beginning a query. You can press Return to instantly begin the search, or you can change the timeout.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Quick Find Typing Timeout" -float 1.0

Search

Search Results Export

When exporting your search results as text or markdown you can now customize the title and specify additional header information in the output, with support for several new variables:

{%SearchQuery} = the search query
{%SearchGrouping} = the search grouping
{%CurrentDateTime} = the current date and time
{%ProjectTitle} = the project’s title
{%ProjectURL}= the project’s URL link

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Search Results Export Title" -string "Search Results Grouped by {%SearchGrouping}"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Search Results Export Text Header" -string "Project: {%ProjectTitle}\nDate: {%CurrentDateTime}\nQuery: {%SearchQuery}"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Search Results Export Markdown Header" -string "Project: [{%ProjectTitle}]({%ProjectURL})\nDate: {%CurrentDateTime}\nQuery: {%SearchQuery}"

Search Auto Refresh Results

While viewing search results if figures are changed, deleted, or created then the results automatically refresh. This auto refresh feature can be disabled.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Search Auto Refresh Results" -bool no

Search Hash Is Tag Prefix

Normally if you search for a word with a # (aka hash or pound sign) prefix then it assumes the text is a tag name and searches for tags. If you don’t want the has prefix to represent a tag then this feature can be disabled.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Search Hash Is Tag Prefix" -bool no

Use SearchKit

If you don’t want Curio to search the contents of your project assets then change this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Use SearchKit" -bool no

SearchKit Ignore Extensions

SearchKit normally scans most file types but you can add additional file extensions that it should ignore via a comma-separated list.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "SearchKit Ignore Extensions" -string "nb,sib"

SearchKit Log

If you have problems searching within asset contents then turn on SearchKit logging.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "SearchKit Log" -bool yes

Search Into PDF Pages

If you don’t want Curio to search the within the PDF pages to find out specifically which pages match the query text then change this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Search Into PDF Pages" -bool no

Search Tags Inherit Idea Space Tags

Prior to Curio 12, figures on an idea space would automatically inherit tags associated with the idea space itself. This no longer occurs since this inheritance was not obvious.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Search Tags Inherit Idea Space Tags" -bool no

Assets

Asset Resolve Alias

If you don’t want Curio to ask you to resolve every broken alias in your project then change this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Asset Resolve Alias" -bool no

Embed Assets

Normally we embed files dragged into Curio, unless Option is held down during the drag. If you’d like to reverse this logic then change this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Embed Assets" -bool no

Force Alias To Folders

Normally if you drag a folder into Curio we insert it as an alias, regardless of whether the Option key is pressed or not. We do this primarily to reduce confusion: while an embedded or aliased folder is considered an asset in Curio, the contents of the folder are not, so you cannot tag, search, or do anything with those contained files within Curio but only via the Finder instead. By forcing folders to be an alias, the folder truly lives outside of Curio and it makes sense that the contained files are not true Curio assets. If, however, you wish to allow embedded folders and understand that while the folder and its contents exist within your Curio project’s package the contents are not true assets, and where, like dragged-in files, they will be added as embedded copies by default and aliases only if Option is held down during the drag, then change this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Force Alias To Folders" -bool no

Asset Default Title Show Extension

When you drag a file into Curio its default title is normally the file name without its extension. You can make titles include the file extension if you wish.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Asset Default Title Show Extension" -bool yes

Non-Media File Extensions

Normally Curio asks QuickTime via Apple’s QTKit if a given file dragged into Curio is a media file. On some rare systems, QTKit appears to be a bit too aggressive for unknown reasons so Curio may believe a boring text file dropped into Curio is a movie file. If you want to add extensions for Curio to treat as non-media files then change this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Additional Non Media Files" -string "nb,config"

Asset Max File Name Length

When renaming the title of an asset or asset figure, Curio will try to rename the underlying asset file as well, if it’s embedded. It filters out non-OS-safe characters, of course, but we can also clip it to a max file name length. By default this max length is 255 characters, which is the max supported by OS X, but you can set it to a smaller value if you need those asset files to work with other 3rd party applications or services that may not work with such long file names.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Asset Max File Name Length" -int 50

Delete Last Use Action

Normally when you delete an asset figure in Curio, if it is not being used by any other figure within your project, then Curio will automatically send that item to the Trash since it is no longer needed. However, using the following setting you can tell Curio to ask you before discarding the asset (value=0), leave it in your Library as an Unused Asset (value=1), or move it to the Trash (value=2).

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Delete Last Use Action" -int 2

AssetLibrary Log Level

Watch what the internal asset library is doing. Log messages are sent to Applications > Utilities > Console. The value of 3 is the max detail log level.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "AssetLibrary Log Level" -int 3

Extensions Ignore Title Changes

Normally if you rename the title of an asset figure on an idea space or asset in the library, Curio will also rename the underlying file, thus keeping the title and file name in sync. However, you can specify a comma separated list of file extensions that don’t rename when the title is renamed.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Extensions Ignore Title Changes" -string "mov,mp4"

Library

Library Autorefresh

Curio’s project library shelf allows you to view assets in the current section or idea space. Normally the results are not refreshed automatically if you change to a different section or Organizer item in case you want to drag a resulting item from the Library to a different area of your project. You can force a refresh by clicking the refresh icon on the library shelf or you can tell Curio to autorefresh automatically based on section changes or Organizer changes using these settings.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Section Selects Autorefresh Library" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Organizer Selects Autorefresh Library" -bool yes

Local Library

Dragging from the Local Library shelf normally follows that global Embed Assets setting mentioned above, although you can override drags specifically from the Local Library so they are aliased instead.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Local Library Drag Embed" -bool no

Text files dragged in from the Local Library shelf can come in as file-backed text figures.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Local Library Import Text Files As File Backed Text Figures" -bool no

Curiota

Curiota Note Prepend Title

Curio normally automatically prepends the Curiota note title (if it exists) onto the note body if dragged in from the Local shelf.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Curiota Note Prepend Title" -bool no

Curiota Note Bold Title

If prepending the note title, as mentioned above, then Curio normally makes that title a bold version of the same font used in the note itself.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Curiota Note Bold Title" -bool no

Curiota Extensions to Text Figures

If you drag a Curiota Note into Curio via the Local library shelf, Curio will convert that note (technically a RTF or RTFD file) into a native Curio text figure. But if you drag in other types of files that you’ve stored within Curiota, Curio creates file asset figures instead. However, you can tell Curio to treat certain file extensions differently when dragged in from Curiota and text figures will be created instead.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Curiota Extensions to Text Figures" -string "rtf,rtfd,txt,md"

Scribble

Scribble Pressure Multiplier

You can now customize the multiplier Curio applies to any pressures via a tablet or iPad connected via the macOS Continuity feature. We’ve noticed, that at least with our iPad Pro and Pencil 1, that a value of 5 is perfect for sketching via Sidecar, while a value of 1.3 is better for sketching via Luna, Duet, or Wacom. You may need to fine tune this value given your specific hardware setup.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Scribble Pressure Multiplier" -float 5
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Scribble Pressure Multiplier" -float 1.3

Brush Crosshair

Curio will use the crosshair cursor when scribbling with brushes 2 pixels wide or smaller. You can now change that by changing this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Use Crosshair For Small Brush" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Brush Crosshair At Size" -float 2.0

Brush Log Level

You can enable brush logging if you are having some odd issues with the scribble tools.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Brush Log Level" -int 1

ToC Text Only At Level

By default, Curio includes previews until hierarchical level 3 when it switches to text only entries.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "ToC Text Only At Level" -int 3

ToC Text Only At Max Children

If a Table of Contents parent node has a max number of children or more, then those children will be text only. For example, if a particular parent has 75 children then perhaps text-only is fine, but another with only 12 children can show icons. If 0, the default, then this check is not performed.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "ToC Text Only At Max Children" -int 50

ToC Collapse At Level

By default, Curio automatically collapses the 2nd hierarchical level in the Table of Contents. If you’d like to see more, simply click a parent’s expand widget to see those child items.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "ToC Collapse At Level" -int 2

ToC Stop At Level

By default, Curio includes the first 3 hierarchical levels in the Table of Contents. For complex projects, reducing the number of levels can make generation faster. Note that Curio may throttle the specified value if a massive number of entries would be created, see below for more details.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "ToC Stop At Level" -int 3

ToC Stop At Level At Max Figures

As a safety catch, regardless of what the user has specified in the inspector, to avoid generating a massively large list or mind map, Curio will automatically reduce the included levels to try to bring the number of entries in the entire collection to no more than 200 entries, which is the default. So if 3 levels has 350 entries, and pruning to 2 still leaves 220, then will prune back to level 1 (the minimum). If 0, then all levels are included regardless of how large the resulting collection becomes. Keep in mind, 200 entries at roughly 40 pixels tall per entry, the resulting list would be roughly 8,000 pixels tall!

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "ToC Stop At Level At Max Figures" -int 200

ToC Title

The title of the Table of Contents is the dynamic variable {%IdeaSpaceTitle}, by default, so it reflects the title of its containing idea space.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "ToC Title" -string "{%IdeaSpaceTitle}"

Spread PDF

Spread PDF Limit

Spreading a PDF within an idea space normally limits the number of pages in the PDF to 20 so that the resulting idea space isn’t too large, mainly for memory reasons. You can change this limit if you change this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Spread PDF Limit" -int 20

Spread PDF Horizontal and Vertical Gap

Spreading a PDF within an idea space normally uses a gap of 50 points between duplicated figures in the horizontal and vertical directions. You can change this limit if you change this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Spread PDF Horizontal Gap" -int 50
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Spread PDF Vertical Gap" -int 50

Import, Export, & Sync

Markdown Text Import Convert To Figure

When you drag a markdown file into Curio it can convert it into a text figure or asset figure and asks you this via a popup alert. If you suppress the alert by checking the don’t ask me again checkbox then Curio doesn’t show the alert in the future and automatically performs your last chosen action.

If you want to reset this so you see the alert once again do this:

defaults delete com.zengobi.curio "Markdown Text Import Convert To Figure"

Colored Rich Text

Normally the coloring of text is maintained when you copy or export rich text. That way if you copy red text, it will paste as red text in another application. However if the text was white, perhaps because it was in a mind map node that was a dark color, then, by default, Curio will change its coloring on the clipboard to black so it’s visible when you paste it into another application (which presumably has a white background, like TextEdit, Word, or Pages). You can turn off this feature if you wish, you can also tell Curio to always force a black coloring for copied text.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Copy Rich Text Force Black Text If White" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Copy Rich Text Force Black Text" -bool yes

Export Rich List Uses Multi Tabs

Normally when you copy a hierarchical collection, like a list or mind map, as rich text Curio will use one or more tabs to indicate the hierarchical level of each line item.

Alternatively, Curio can always output a single tab and adjust each item’s rich text ruler indention distance instead.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Export Rich List Uses Multi Tabs" -bool no

CSV Import Encoding

Text files can be encoded in a number of formats, such as macOS Roman and UTF-8. This encoding is key when Curio tries to import a CSV for display as a table.

The default assumed encoding is the venerable macOS Roman (NSMacOSRomanStringEncoding) which has a value of 30 and seems to be the most reliable. You can also try telling Curio to assume the file is UTF-8 encoded by setting this override to 4 (NSUTF8StringEncoding).

There are a number of other encodings you can try if you’re having difficulties with a certain CSV file.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "CSV Import Encoding" -int 30

Export CSV UTF16LittleEndianBOM

Table exporting as CSV usually outputs everything in the Unicode UTF-8 standard. However, Microsoft Excel apparently has problems with that format and international characters may not appear correctly. You can change Curio’s export format to UTF-16 which works with Excel if you change this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Export CSV UTF16LittleEndianBOM" -bool yes

Asset Image Scan OCR

Normally when images are dropped into Curio it will use Apple’s Vision framework to do Optical Character Recognition on the images to extract text. Then the Search shelf and Quick Find can be used to find text that appear on your images.

The scanning of OCR data happens in the background and takes just a moment. However, you can disable this feature if you’d like with this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Asset Image Scan OCR" -bool no

Image Export Retina

On Retina Macs Curio will create 144 DPI image exports so they are optimized for those systems, instead of regular 72 DPI images. Image exports will appear to be large on non-Retina systems unless the image viewer honors the image’s DPI setting. If you wish to force Curio to output non-Retina (72 DPI) images on Retina systems then change this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Image Export Retina" -bool no

Equation Force Scale Local PDF

When rendering equations as PDF Curio has to ask WebKit for a rendered PDF of the WebView then crop it appropriately. If your main screen is non-Retina or you have a mix of Retina and non-Retina screens then you could encounter an issue where the cropped results is a blank equation. This setting will fix that issue.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Equation Force Scale Local PDF" -bool yes

HTML Image Export Retina

On Retina Macs Curio will create 144 DPI HTML imagemap exports and image exports so they are optimized for those systems, instead of regular 72 DPI images. The HTML imagemap will still look extremely good on non-Retina systems thanks to the HTML img height and width tags added to the HTML export templates and the browser’s built-in scaling. Image exports will appear to be large on non-Retina systems unless the image viewer honors the image’s DPI setting. If you wish to force Curio to output non-Retina (72 DPI) images on Retina systems then change this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "HTML Image Export Retina" -bool no

Calendar Sync

You can set several defaults for Calendar and Reminders syncing including the default Calendar and Reminders list to sync to.

Note that you still need to manually enable syncing for a new project via the Sync inspector. However, once enabled Curio will automatically find the specified default Calendar and Reminders list to sync to.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Calendar Sync Default Calendar Name" -string "Curio"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Calendar Sync Default Reminders Name" -string "Curio Tasks"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Calendar Sync Prefix With Project Name" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Calendar Sync Prefix With Collection Name" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Calendar Sync Ignore Synced Figure Instances" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Calendar Sync Name Includes Source" -bool yes

Status Shelf

The Status shelf has a few settings you can override.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Status Ignore Synced Figure Instances" -bool yes

Copy As Hyperlink

You can tell Curio to not include the title at all, so only the URL is copied:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Copy As Hyperlink Includes Title" -bool no

See Hyperlink Title below for options on how you can customize the hyperlink title.

Copy As Markdown Link

Markdown links are of the form [title](link). If the title has a left or right bracket those are currently left as-is. Likewise if the link has a left or right parenthesis those are left as-is, as well.

Your preferred markdown renderer may be able to handle those just fine, however your renderer may want brackets escaped, like \[ and \] and your links escaped with \( and \) or even %28 and %29.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Markdown URL Title Escape Left Bracket" -string "["
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Markdown URL Title Escape Right Bracket" -string "]"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Markdown URL Link Escape Left Paren" -string "("
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Markdown URL Link Escape Right Paren" -string ")"

See Hyperlink Title below for options on how you can customize the hyperlink title.

Hyperlink Title

You can customize what’s included in a hyperlink, wikilink, or jump link title which is normally of the form “ProjectTitle/IdeaspaceTitle/FigureTitle”.

Customize the “/” separator between project, section, idea space, and figure:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Hyperlink Title Separator" -string "/"

Project’s Title

Choose to not include the project title:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Hyperlink Title Includes Project" -bool no

Idea Space’s Title

For the idea space Curio will take the entire title, including punctuation.

Figure’s Title

If a figure hyperlink is getting created, choose to not include the idea space title:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Hyperlink Figure Title Includes Idea Space" -bool no

For the figure’s title just the first sentence is grabbed by default (1), or you can change it to the first line (2), or the whole thing but new lines turned into spaces (3):

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Hyperlink Figure Title Technique" -int 1

Any trailing punctuation are removed from the figure title by default:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Hyperlink Figure Title Remove Ending Punctuation" -bool yes

Any inline meta, such as #tag or @resource, are removed from the figure title by default:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Hyperlink Figure Title Remove Inline Meta" -bool yes

The figure title is truncated at 30 characters by default and an ellipsis is added:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Hyperlink Figure Title Max Length" -int 30
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Hyperlink Figure Title Truncate Add Ellipsis" -bool yes

Export Markdown Checkmarks

If items have checkmarks Curio will export markdown such as [ ] and [x] which some extended markdown parsers support.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Export Markdown Checkmarks" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Export Markdown Unchecked" -string "[ ]"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Export Markdown Checked" -string "[x]"
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Export Markdown Mixed" -string "[-]"

Export Markdown Other

If exporting for import into OmniFocus you might want Curio to use @defer instead of @start for start dates:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Export Markdown Use Defer" -bool yes

If exporting for import into TaskPaper you might want Curio to use @done instead of @progress for percent complete progress:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Export Markdown Use Done" -bool yes

Markdown Inline Footnote Format

Normally Curio outputs figure notes as markdown inline footnotes compatible with the popular MultiMarkdown renderer which is used in many apps: [^This is a note].

However, you can also ask Curio to use the Pandoc/Obsidian/markdown-it format, like ^[This is a note].

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Export Markdown Note Footnote Format" -int 1

Export Note Prefix and Suffix

When exporting figures, if note exporting is enabled, then notes are generally delimited with special character strings which you can override.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Export Text Note Prefix" -string " ("
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Export Text Note Suffix" -string ")”

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Export Rich Text Note Prefix" -string " ("
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Export Rich Text Note Suffix" -string ")”

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Export Markdown Note Prefix" -string "[^”
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Export Markdown Note Suffix" -string "]“

Export ASCII Filenames

Make the filenames generated via image and HTML export safe, ASCII (7-bit) characters by changing this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Export ASCII Filenames" -bool yes

Copy Text Outline Note Keep CRLF

Normally the mind map and list text outline exporters strip carriage returns contained in figure notes. However, you can tell Curio to leave them in by changing this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Copy Text Outline Note Keep CRLF" -bool yes

MindNode Exports As Package

Normally Curio will export a mind map as a MindNode file in zipped format. Alternatively you can ask Curio to export as an OS X package file if you wish. In both cases the resulting file extension is .mindnode.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "MindNode Exports As Package" -bool yes

AV Session Preset

By default Curio will use the AVCaptureSessionPresetMedium internal setting for making audio and video recordings which is medium quality and size. You can tell Curio to use a different preset, such as a higher-resolution preset for larger video and better quality audio.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "AV Session Preset" -string "AVCaptureSessionPresetHigh"

Default Mail Client (Only For Non-Mac App Store Curio)

Normally Curio determines the default mail client by asking the system. The official way to set your mail client is to launch Mail, choose Mail > Settings and change the Default mail reader. Alternatively you can tell Curio to use a specific client, assuming we support it. Currently we support the following mail clients using AppleScript: Mail, Outlook, Entourage, Eudora, Postbox, Airmail, and MailMate.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Use Mail App" -string "Postbox"

Custom Mail Script (Only For Non-Mac App Store Curio)

As mentioned above, Curio uses AppleScript to communicate with mail clients that it supports. You can supply a custom script if you wish by placing a Scripts/CreateMessage.applescript file in your Curio application support folder and then setting the following. You can see Curio’s bundled scripts in /Applications/Curio.app/Contents/Frameworks/GGCore.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Scripts.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Custom Mail Scripts" -bool yes

PDF Mirror

By default the PDF Mirror feature exports sections with the name of the form *ProjectName*-*SectionName*.pdf, such as Pepsi-Sales.pdf. However, you can customize it so it includes the section index in the resulting name like Pepsi-001-Sales.pdf with a minimum number of digits, which is handy if you’d like to maintain the same ordering in the Finder as you see within Curio.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Publish PDF Section Filename Index" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Publish PDF Section Filename Index Min Digits" -int 3

Presentation Mode

Presentation PreCollapse Mind Maps

Before Curio displays an idea space during presentation mode it can pre-collapse all mind maps if you wish.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Presentation PreCollapse Mind Maps" -bool yes

Smart Zoom

Smart Zoom during presentation mode will apply a multiplier to the current slide’s magnification with the result constrained to a min and max scaling factor.

Note if the slide is already magnified past the max scaling factor then Smart Zoom isn’t activated.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Presentation Ignore Smart Magnify" -bool yes
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Presentation Smart Magnify Zoom Multiplier" -float 2
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Presentation Smart Magnify Zoom Min Factor" -float 2
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Presentation Smart Magnify Zoom Max Factor" -float 4

Evernote

Evernote Supported

If you really don’t want to see the Evernote shelf you can turn it off.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Evernote Supported" -bool no

Evernote Check Installed

Before potentially allowing Evernote support Curio will see if Evernote is installed. If not then the Evernote shelf tab won’t appear in Curio. You can disable this install check if you’d like.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Evernote Check Installed" -bool no

Evernote Assign Notebook Tag

Optionally Curio can create a global tag set called “Evernote” and create and assign a tag that matches the Evernote notebook the note originated from and any tags associated with the note. You can control this feature with these settings:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Evernote Assign Notebook Tag" -bool no
defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Evernote Assign Note Tags" -bool no

Evernote Results Limit

Normally Curio will only return up to 500 matches in an Evernote notebook, based on the entered search and sorting criteria.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Evernote Results Limit" -int 500

Evernote Results Limit

Normally Curio will only automatically download and cache the first 5 notes in a result set, in order to minimize the number of requests hitting Evernote’s server. We will also download any note when it is selected. To increase the download limit use this setting but don’t make it too high or you could hit Evernote’s 3rd Party App Rate Limits.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Evernote Auto Download Limit" -int 5

Evernote Request Thumbnails

Curio will normally request note thumbnails from the Evernote cloud. Set this to no if you only want local icons instead.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Evernote Request Thumbnails" -bool no

Evernote Note URL

Curio will normally add an attribution line to any text dragged in from the Evernote shelf so you can easily get back to the original note in the Evernote Mac client. However, this attribute line addition can be disabled if you wish.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Evernote Note URL" -bool no

Evernote Force Host

This setting can be used to force a connection to the app.yinxiang.com service, instead of www.evernote.com, if the automatic mechanism for doing so (based on IP address and locale) is not working.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Evernote Force Host" -string "app.yinxiang.com"

Evernote Log Level

Watch what the Evernote shelf is doing. Log messages are sent to Applications > Utilities > Console. The value of 2 is the max detail log level.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Evernote Log Level" -int 2

Sleuth

Sleuth Is KidSafe

If you wish Sleuth to only show kid-safe websites and enable the built-in profanity filter then change this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Sleuth Is KidSafe" -bool yes

Sleuth History Size

Specify the number of entries in Sleuth’s history by changing this setting.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Sleuth History Size" -int 10

Support Folders

Applicable only in Curio from Zengobi’s website, not from the Mac App Store due to sandboxing restrictions.

Personal Repository Folder

By default your Curio personal repository of tags, idea space templates, stencils, etc, is at ~/Library/Application Support/Curio/Repository. However, if you would like to change this to something else, like a synced Dropbox folder, then move it over there and change this setting.

Note that if you want the Curio Spotlight plugin to find your tags and include them in its index generation then it needs to be pointed to the new location as well.

Quit Curio on all of your Macs that you intend to sync.
On Your Main Mac:
1. In the Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder and paste this in: ~/Library/Application Support/Curio.
2. Open another Finder window and go to your Dropbox folder.
3. Create a folder in Dropbox named “Curio”, thus its path is ~/Dropbox/Curio.
4. Drag-and-drop the Repository folder from within the ~/Library/Application Support/Curio/Version XX/ folder to the Dropbox’s Curio folder, thereby creating ~/Dropbox/Curio/Repository.
5. Launch Applications > Utilities > Terminal and type this: defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Personal Repository Folder" -string \"~/Dropbox/Curio/Repository"
6. When you relaunch Curio it will automatically migrate your repository files into a Version XX subfolder within the Repository folder then connect to the files.
On your other Macs launch Applications > Utilities > Terminal and type this: defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Personal Repository Folder" -string \"~/Dropbox/Curio/Repository"

That’s it! Now all your Macs are pointing to the same personal repository folder which exists on Dropbox instead of the default location.

Note that the repository override should point to the Repository folder itself, not a Version XX subfolder. Curio will look for and manage the Version XX folder automatically so that Curio 11 looks within Version 11 and Curio 12 will look within Version 12.

Follow the steps above to relocate your personal repository folder to Dropbox.
In the Finder, right-click on the Repository folder in Dropbox and choose Share. You will be taken to Dropbox’s website where you can invite others to have access to that folder.
When others accept your share invitation they will see a new shared folder titled “Repository” appear within their Dropbox folder.
They are able to rename and even move this folder elsewhere within their Dropbox folder hierarchy. For example, if your name is Tom then perhaps they rename “Repository” to “Tom” and move it into a ~/Dropbox/Shared Repositories folder. Even though the folder has been renamed and moved it is still connected to and syncing with Tom’s original Repository folder.
Next, they launch Curio and bring up the Settings window and add a new external repository by choosing the ~/Dropbox/Shared Repositories/Tom folder.
When they relaunch Curio, your styles, stencils, and templates will now be available on your friend’s machine. As you add new styles and stencils they will sync to everyone sharing your repository.

Application Support Folder

By default your personal Curio application support folder is at ~/Library/Application Support/Curio. However, if you would like to change this to something else, like a synced Dropbox folder, then move it over there and change this setting.

Warning

This is more drastic than just overriding the Personal Repository Folder as described above, since you’d be sharing everything that goes into Curio’s app support folder including project gallery and Status shelf project categories and lists, temporary documents, and other items. The Personal Repository Folder may be a better choice for most users.

Note that if you want the Curio Spotlight plugin to find your tags and include them in its index generation then it needs to be pointed to the new location as well.

Quit Curio on all of your Macs that you intend to sync.
On Your Main Mac:
In the Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder and paste this in: ~/Library/Application Support.
Open another Finder window and go to your Dropbox folder.
Create a folder in Dropbox named “Application Support”, thus its path is ~/Dropbox/Application Support.
Drag-and-drop the Curio folder from Library’s Application Support folder to the Dropbox’s Application Support folder, thereby creating ~/Dropbox/Application Support/Curio.
Launch Applications > Utilities > Terminal and type this: defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Application Support Folder" -string \"~/Dropbox/Application Support/Curio"
On your other Macs launch Applications > Utilities > Terminal and type this: defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Application Support Folder" -string \"~/Dropbox/Application Support/Curio"
That’s it! Now all your Macs are pointing to the same application support folder which exists on Dropbox instead of the default location.
Note that the application support override should point to the Curio folder itself, not a Version XX subfolder. Curio will look for and manage the Version XX folder automatically so that Curio 11 looks within Version 11 and Curio 12 will look within Version 12.

Network Installations

Applicable only in Curio from Zengobi’s website, not from the Mac App Store due to sandboxing restrictions.

The Network Folder

Curio finds its support files on the network via the network path settings in your Curio’s Settings window.

The default network support folder for Curio is: /Network/Library/Application Support/Curio/Version XX

(Where Version XX is replaced with the current major version number like Version 11 or Version 12.)

To begin, copy your /Library/Application Support/Curio/Version XX folder on the administrator’s hard disk to that network location. It will contain the license registration information necessary for the clients to validate their installation.

You should configure all client Macs to automatically mount that folder as a network share point. macOS Server includes helpers such as autofs to make automatically mounting share points for clients easier. The details are specific to your network and macOS version so check with your network administrator and Apple’s documentation to set this up.

To specify a different network install folder (note that Version XX is automatically appended to any specified path):

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Network Application Support Folder" -string \"/Network/Library/Application Support/Curio/"

Additional Settings for Network Installs

To disable automatic Curio update checks

By default Curio checks Zengobi’s servers every day to see if an update is available. This can be disabled this setting:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "SUEnableAutomaticChecks" -bool no

To modify the days left warning for expiring license keys

If you enter an expiring license key such as an annual site license then at launch Curio will warn you when the license will be expiring soon, and thus when Curio will stop working. The default is when there are 60 days left before expiring. You can change that value if you feel you need more or less time to get purchase approval and acquire an updated license key.

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "License Days Left Warning" -int 60

To enable KidSafe Sleuth

As described earlier, Sleuth can be restricted specifically for school and home environments:

defaults write com.zengobi.curio "Sleuth Is KidSafe" -bool yes

After enabling Sleuth will:

Only show KidSafe sites in its search sites popup, such as Google Images with SafeSearch instead the normal Google Image search.
Disallow Sleuth site customization.
Block any query phrase which contain profanity.
Block any query results which contain profanity.

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