The documentation is quite hazy on the effect of setDefaultFormat() and the use of native settings when using certain constructors in QSettings. A suggested example that would help clarify the usage of QSettings would look something like this:-

When using the following constructor:-

QSettings::QSettings ( const QString & organization, const QString & application = QString(), QObject * parent = 0 )

the system will use the native format. In the case of Windows (R) this is the registry. Calling

void QSettings::setDefaultFormat ( Format format )

will have no effect in this case.

If the format must be explicitly defined, the constructor that includes the format parameter should be used. e.g.

QSettings ( Format format, Scope scope, const QString & organization, const QString & application = QString(), QObject * parent = 0 )