regedit : Java Glossary

regedit.exe is a Windows command line utility you run as administrator. It lets you examine and modify the registry. It is not for the faint of heart. If you screw things up, you could make your computer unusable, requiring reinstalling Windows and all your apps.

The registry is a keyed lookup file, with several layers of keys. You can export little pieces of it for examining in a text editor. You can also import little pieces, possibly modified in a text editor or possibly copied from a book or post. The *.reg fragments are UTF-16LEBOM.

It is not very bright. For example, it cannot tell you which entries a recently installed app modified.

If the find function stops working, just exit, and restart.