Configuration Files¶

MIB stores its configuration parameters in files that are created automatically when MIB is closed. This page is reference material - you do not need it to start using MIB.

Where MIB stores its settings¶

MIB3 (current) uses separate files for machine-specific preferences and user statistics:

Using several versions of MIB¶

Settings written by an older MIB are always understood by a newer one, so upgrading needs no action: your preferences carry over and anything the new version added starts at its default.

Going back to an older MIB is the case that needs care, because the older version cannot know what the newer one added. When that happens MIB tells you so at startup and:

• restores the settings the older version does have;
• ignores the newer ones instead of guessing;
• keeps the newer preferences in a separate file (mib3_VERSION.mat, e.g. mib3_2026.09.mat), so that closing the older MIB cannot discard them.

Start the newer version again and it picks that file back up, including any change you made while working in the older one. Both versions can be used side by side; only the file names in the table above ever appear.

Sharing your statistics between computers¶

By default your statistics stay on the computer that recorded them. On Windows the default folder sits under AppData\Roaming, but that name is misleading: the folder only travels to other computers if your administrator set up a roaming profile for your account, which is rarely the case. Neither OneDrive nor Windows settings sync ever copies AppData.

To make your statistics follow you, put them in a folder that all your computers can reach:

1. The first time MIB starts on a computer it asks where to keep your statistics and offers the locations it found - typically your OneDrive folder and, on a university machine, your network home directory.
2. Pick the same folder on every computer you use. You can change the choice later from Home → Help → Your stats → Set stats folder...

Each computer writes its own file into that folder and MIB adds them all up, so nothing is ever overwritten and no points are lost when you use two computers on the same day. A computer that is temporarily offline simply does not contribute until its file syncs again.

Coming from MIB2¶

The points you collected in MIB2 are taken over the first time MIB3 runs on that computer. MIB2 keeps its own file and goes on using it, so both programs remain usable - but the handover happens once, and points earned in MIB2 afterwards are not added to MIB3.

Overriding default settings¶

Administrators can give the new users of a workstation a starting configuration that differs from the MIB defaults, for example in a core facility.

Creating an override file¶

1. Start MIB and change the settings that new users should start with
2. Press Home → Preferences ▾ → Make override default settings file
3. Choose whether the file is for all computers that use this MIB installation or only for this computer
4. Save the file into the MIB program directory: the folder that contains mib3.m, or the installation folder of the standalone version

The file lists only the settings that differ from the MIB defaults; all other settings keep their default values. Recent directories, user statistics and the email password of DeepMIB reports are never written to it.

The file is plain text and can be edited: delete a setting to return it to the default. The _comment entries describe the settings next to them and their allowed values.

Override files created in earlier versions of MIB by copying mib3.mat and renaming it to mib3_prefs_override.mat or mib3_prefs_override_COMPUTERNAME.mat still work.

Load priority at startup¶

When MIB starts, it looks for a configuration file in this order:

1. mib3.mat in the user directory - used immediately if found
2. mib3_prefs_override_COMPUTERNAME.json, then mib3_prefs_override_COMPUTERNAME.mat - workstation-specific override
3. mib3_prefs_override.json, then mib3_prefs_override.mat - global override
4. Built-in defaults - used if none of the above are found

User statistics (tier data stored in mib_user_COMPUTERNAME.mat) are never taken from an override file - each user keeps their own.

Previous versions¶

This documentation describes MIB3 - the current release. Previous releases are hosted on GitHub and include their own documentation and release notes:

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