Exactly. SketchUp loads defaults at startup, and writes them only at shutdown. In the interim it uses internal collection of settings that have not yet been exposed to the APIs.
CORRECTION: SketchUp loads defaults at startup, and writes MOST OF them only at shutdown. There are some settings that are written dynamically. (See post 8 below for result of test showing 3DText settings are written immediately after tool use.) However, be careful, as settings are seldom read dynamically from the registry. So, directly changing the settings, in the registry whilst SketchUp is running, will not work. SketchUp does not watch for these kinds of changes.
I’ve asked some years ago for an application level (ie, Sketchup.options)
OptionsManager instance, so we can at least read the user’s settings. (But it may not have been translated into a formal Feature Request.)
It has not yet been given to us. (They’ve been concentrating on getting the new C APIs up to parity, before adding much of anything new.)
Some things, that just couldn’t wait, have instead been implemented in new little modules.
Example: Sketchup::RegionalSettings
At least 2 years ago, I mentioned an application level OptionsManager instance, but it was in a comment attached to another FR concerning the registration of resource paths. (Which they’ve decided not to do, as yet, … instead just revamping where the default resource folders are located.)
@tt_su, Can you please, check if a API FR has been logged re, a read-only application level OptionsManager instance ?
(I do remember a long time ago, logging a feature for you concerning reading the user’s ClickStyle setting.)