Where VirtualZones stores settings (settings.json) and data

Where everything lives

What	Location	Notes
Settings and layouts	%APPDATA%\VirtualZones\settings.json	JSON, format below
Usage counter (About → “Used N times”)	%APPDATA%\VirtualZones\usage.dat	Local only, never sent anywhere. Kept separate from settings.json since 1.3.15 so an older copy can’t reset it
License	%APPDATA%\VirtualZones\license.dat	Encrypted with Windows DPAPI for your user on this PC, so it won’t work if copied elsewhere
Trial start date	%APPDATA%\VirtualZones\trial.v2.dat and registry HKCU\Software\VirtualZones	Encrypted
Language files	%APPDATA%\VirtualZones\lang\<code>.lang	Downloaded translations, used offline
Start with Windows	Registry HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run, value VirtualZones	Contains "<path to exe>" --tray
Diagnostic log	%TEMP%\virtualzones.log	Plain text. Never contains your license key. Attach it to bug reports
Downloaded update	%TEMP%\VirtualZones-Update-Setup.exe	Only while an update is pending
Program	%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\VirtualZones\ (or C:\Program Files\VirtualZones\ for all users)

Tip: paste %APPDATA%\VirtualZones into the File Explorer address bar to open the folder.

settings.json

Exit first

VirtualZones reads settings.json only at startup and rewrites it often. Exit from the tray before editing it, or your changes will be overwritten. Keep the structure exactly as the app writes it: it uses a small, strict parser.

Example:

{
  "AutoStart": true,
  "AccentColor": "#a855f7",
  "Theme": "auto",
  "Language": "en",
  "HideToTray": true,
  "StartMinimized": false,
  "UpdateAutomatically": false,
  "HotkeyStartStop": [3, 82],
  "HotkeyToggleZones": [3, 90],
  "HotkeyCycleLayout": [3, 67],
  "HotkeyMoveLeft": [3, 65],
  "HotkeyMoveRight": [3, 68],
  "HotkeyMoveUp": [3, 87],
  "HotkeyMoveDown": [3, 83],
  "HotkeyShareZone1": [3, 49],
  "HotkeyShareZone2": [3, 50],
  "HotkeyShareZone3": [3, 51],
  "HotkeyShareZone4": [0, 0],
  "Screens": [
    { "Id": "MONITOR\\SAM0F9D\\{4d36e96e-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\\0003", "Name": "C49RG9x", "Enabled": true, "CoverTaskbar": false, "ActiveLayout": "25% | 50% | 25%" }
  ],
  "ScreenLayouts": [
    { "Screen": "MONITOR\\SAM0F9D\\{4d36e96e-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\\0003", "Name": "25% | 50% | 25%", "Zones": [[0, 0, 0.25, 1], [0.25, 0, 0.75, 1], [0.75, 0, 1, 1]] },
    { "Screen": "MONITOR\\SAM0F9D\\{4d36e96e-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\\0003", "Name": "Quad", "Zones": [[0, 0, 0.5, 0.5], [0.5, 0, 1, 0.5], [0, 0.5, 0.5, 1], [0.5, 0.5, 1, 1]] }
  ],
  "SelectedScreen": "MONITOR\\SAM0F9D\\{4d36e96e-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\\0003"
}

Screens and layouts

• Screens holds one entry per monitor ever seen. Id is the monitor’s hardware ID. Run --list-monitors to see yours.
• ScreenLayouts is a flat list of every layout. Each entry is tagged with the Screen it belongs to. Layouts tagged with an unknown screen ID are dropped.
• Zones are [left, top, right, bottom] as fractions from 0 to 1 of the screen area.
• Layout names can’t contain " \ { } [ ].
• Missing keys fall back to their defaults.

A hand-edited layout that doesn’t form a clean grid still works for confinement, but can’t be opened in the editor.

Hotkeys in settings.json

Each hotkey is [modifiers, key]:

• modifiers add up: Alt = 1, Ctrl = 2, Shift = 4, Win = 8. So Ctrl+Alt = 3.
• key is the Windows virtual-key code: letters A–Z are 65–90, digits 0–9 are 48–57.
• [0, 0] means unbound.

The keys are HotkeyStartStop, HotkeyToggleZones, HotkeyCycleLayout, HotkeyMoveLeft, HotkeyMoveRight, HotkeyMoveUp, HotkeyMoveDown and HotkeyShareZone1 to HotkeyShareZone9. The Keyboard Shortcuts dialog is the easier way to change them.

Backing up or copying layouts

There’s no import/export button. To back up or move layouts:

1. Exit VirtualZones from the tray.
2. Copy %APPDATA%\VirtualZones\settings.json.
3. On another PC, the Screen values in ScreenLayouts must match that PC’s monitor IDs. Run VirtualZones.exe --list-monitors there, then update the Screen (and Screens[].Id) values before starting VirtualZones.

Don’t copy license.dat or trial.v2.dat. They are encrypted to the original PC and won’t work. To move a license, use Deactivate.