Whether installing from a pre-built package or running 'make install' (or not) after building it yourself, there are several resources which Aten needs or expects to find. The most important of these is the default library of filters without which nothing can be loaded or saved (but note that this does not prevent Aten from running). Then there's the optional user preferences file, and finally the optional user filter library. If Aten was installed from a package or built and 'make install'ed yourself then the default filters should be located correctly when Aten runs withour further intervention (if not, read on). No user preferences file is created or installed, and must be created either through the GUI or edited by hand.