Y_ProperTree_Secrets

The undocumented super powers of ProperTree

The issue

You probably have come across posts like these on Forums or Reddit:

<dict>
	<key>Base</key>
	<string>\_SB.PCI0.LPCB.HPET</string>
	<key>BaseSkip</key>
	<integer>0</integer>
	<key>Comment</key>
	<string>HPET _CRS to XCRS</string>
	<key>Count</key>
	<integer>1</integer>
	<key>Enabled</key>
	<false/>
	<key>Find</key>
	<data>X0NSUw==</data>
	<key>Limit</key>
	<integer>0</integer>
	<key>Mask</key>
	<data></data>
	<key>OemTableId</key>
	<data></data>
	<key>Replace</key>
	<data>WENSUw==</data>
	<key>ReplaceMask</key>
	<data></data>
	<key>Skip</key>
	<integer>0</integer>
	<key>TableLength</key>
	<integer>0</integer>
	<key>TableSignature</key>
	<data></data>
</dict>

Isolated patches in text format instead of a ready-made .plist. I hate if patches are posted this way for several reasons:

• In this form, it's a drag to integrate them into an existing config.plist
• The data is represented in Base64, so you can't really comprehend it, which makes adding it to your config manually even more tedious
• There's always a chance to mess up the structure of the config.plist if you have to integrate it in text mode.
• Some plist editors don't even allow pasting raw text. If you would paste this patch into PlistEdit Pro for example, it wouldn't even convert it into a plist item since the file header and the rest of tree structure is missing.

ProperTree for the win

Enter ProperTree to save the day! With ProperTree, you can just copy raw text with ⌘c, run the App, hit ⌘v and boom, a <Dict> will be created:

You can then right-click the Dictionary entry, copy and paste it into your config in the correct location as a child and you're done.

Another example: somebody posts his config as raw text on Pastebin or wherever, like this

Just highlight the whole raw text, copy it into memory. Open ProperTree, paste it – boom, the config has been imported successfully:

Converting a .plist file or sections of it to raw text

Another feature I noticed is that you can use ProperTree to convert plists or sections of it into raw text really easy. And the best thing about it: it automatically creates a correct file header and structure required for .plist files, so if you share a patch as raw text, other user can easily use it.

Example 1: converting a config.plist to raw text

• Open a config.plist with ProperTree
• Select the Rootdictionary:
  
• Press ⌘c
• Open TextEdit
• Change Format to raw text (CMD+SHIFT+T)
• Press ⌘v and there's your config as raw text:
  

Example 2: converting a specific section to raw text

Same goes for specific sections like arrays and dictionaries. In this example Kernel/Quirks.

• Open a .plist with ProperTree
• Highlight the array or dictionary you want to copy:
  
• Press ⌘c
• Open TextEdit
• Change Format to raw text (⌘Shiftt)
• Press ⌘v and there's you have to copied section in raw text (file header and correct plist structure included):
  

Credits

corpnewt for ProperTree