When - and why - should you store data in the Windows Registry?

Question

As a developer, tools that store configuration/options in the registry are the bane of my life. I can\'t easily track changes to those options, can\'t easily port them from

Answer 1

I believe that Windows Registry was a good idea, but because of great abuse from application developers and standard policies not encouraged/mandated by Microsoft grew into an unmanageable beast. I hate using it for the reasons you've mentioned, there are however some occasions that it makes sense using it:

• Leaving a trace of your application after your application has been uninstalled (e.g. remember user's preferences in case the application is installed again)
• Share configuration settings between different applications - components