Desktop Settings, rebuilt: System theme, backups and a safer reset
· 2 min read
The Settings screen in the OnTiv desktop app had grown into one long page of stacked cards, with Appearance, Playlist, App Updates, Community, Data, About and Profiles all visible at once. It worked, but it didn't scale as more options arrived. We have rebuilt it.
A sidebar, one section at a time
Settings now has a sidebar on the left and shows a single section at a time. It is a layout familiar from other media players, and it leaves room to add sections without the page getting longer.
Theme: Light, Dark or System
Theme now has a third choice, System, alongside Light and Dark. With System selected, OnTiv follows your operating system and switches live: if your computer changes to dark mode at sunset, OnTiv changes with it, with no restart.
Choosing Light or Dark yourself still works exactly as before and overrides System.
Back up and restore your data
You can now export your local settings to a single JSON file, covering your saved playlists, favorites and watch history, and import that file later.
This is the way to move your setup to another computer, or to keep a copy before you reset anything. Without a cloud account, this data lives only on your device, so a backup file is the safety net.
Clear the cache without losing anything
A new Clear cache option removes only the cached channel list. Your playlists, favorites and settings are left alone. It is useful if the channel list looks stale.
A reset that asks twice
At the bottom of Settings, a Danger zone section contains Reset everything, which wipes all local data. Because that cannot be undone, it asks for confirmation twice.
Licenses and attribution
OnTiv is built on open-source libraries. Settings now lists every library bundled in the app, with its license type, so the credit is easy to find.
What this means for you
If you use the Windows app, open Settings to see the new layout. The first thing worth doing is exporting a backup. If you hit a problem or want something added, let us know.