Note to self: defaults write

restarting the finder, and logging out and back in, so far seem to be two methods to force manually updated plist files to take effect. Random example from macosxhints:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles 1

Afterwards restart the Finder and all hidden or system files/folders should be visible. Now copy the "~/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences.plist". Finally, enter this command to hide hidden/system files again and restart the Finder:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles 0

(better option, man killall)