A software settings management tool is described that automates much of the process of checking, changing, creating and/or maintaining software settings. The software settings management tool provides users and/or administrators with user-friendly interfaces to view, modify and save all of their software settings (perhaps thousands of settings, extracted from thousands of proprietary software files) all in one place, while the underlying methods and routines of the software settings management tool handle the complex and error-prone tasks of managing modifications of proprietary files and ensuring that added and changed settings are installed correctly.