File used by GConf, a GNOME Desktop configuration tool; contains specifications for how application preference keys are defined, but does not contain actual application preferences; enables application settings to be generated in the GConf framework; saved to the /etc/gconf/schemas/ directory and often installed with application packages.

Preferences used in the GConf framework are used for remembering application-specific user settings. For example, an application preference may store the default font for a text editor, or it may remember to suppress a warning popup message after the user checks the "Do not show this message again" option. NOTE: GConf schemas are generated from SCHEMAS definition files. Therefore, SCHEMAS files do not contain the application preferences themselves.