Lightroom settings folder

[gegjr]

Lightroom Version Number

11.4.1

Operating System

1. Windows 10

I used to keep my catalog on an external drive and had LrC set to keep presets with catalog. I recently moved my catalog back to my laptop because I no longer use a desktop and laptop computer and thought I'd gain a bit more performance by having catalog on internal ssd drive ( I still keep original images on external ssd).
My question concerns the Lightroom settings including presets, such as Develop presets and other associated folders and files. What is the default location for all these folders and files? Attached are screenshots of the locations of these folders. Where should they be?

 

[johnrellis]

The easiest and most reliable way to determine the correct folders for all various presets and profiles: Do Preferences > Presets and click Show Lightroom Develop Presets and Show All Other Lightroom Presets:

That will open Windows File Explorer / Mac Finder on the folders for develop presets and creative profiles and the folders for all other lightroom presets. Those folders will be different on Mac and Windows, obviously, but also will change depending on whether you've got Store Presets With This Catalog enabled.

There's a lot of outdated information out there about these folders, so avoid googling it. Just use those two buttons.

 

[gegjr]

Hi John,
Thanks for responding and the illustrative advice. What you show I already did that's how I got the first screenshot in my initial post. The Lightroom folder in the "default" location, the location I was sent to by selecting "show Lightroom develop presets". For the most part those, folders are empty the ones located under appdata>roaming>adobe>Lightroom (except the Develop presets folder because I had just copied files from the folder located at "C:\Users\ggive\Pictures\Lightroom\Lightroom Settings\Develop presets"). The path at "C:\Users\ggive\Pictures\Lightroom\Lightroom Settings\ contains all the presets. So, since I moved the catalog back to the default location at "C:\Users\ggive\Pictures\Lightroom\" and no longer have "keep presets with catalog" selected, I should move all the preset folders from that location to the appdata>roaming>adobe>Lightroom correct? I know this is confusing and I apologize. I'm trying to be as descriptive as I can.

 

[johnrellis]

since I moved the catalog back to the default location at "C:\Users\ggive\Pictures\Lightroom\" and no longer have "keep presets with catalog" selected, I should move all the preset folders from that location to the appdata>roaming>adobe>Lightroom correct?

Yes, move all the preset folders there except the one containing Develop presets -- they go into the folder you get to by doing Show Lightroom Develop Presets.

 

[gegjr]

Yes, move all the preset folders there except the one containing Develop presets -- they go into the folder you get to by doing Show Lightroom Develop Presets.

John,
I know you are not my personal help technician and I hate to keep bothering you so if you wish just point me to another resource, I will understand. When I select the "show lightroom develop presets" button I get taken to "C:\Users\ggive\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\Settings". There is nothing there? Why am I being taken there? Also, for some reason my LrC import, and metadata presets are not available. I don't know what is going on with LrC? It was working fine last night.

 

[gegjr]

John,
I know you are not my personal help technician and I hate to keep bothering you so if you wish just point me to another resource, I will understand. When I select the "show lightroom develop presets" button I get taken to "C:\Users\ggive\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\Settings". There is nothing there? Why am I being taken there? Also, for some reason my LrC import, and metadata presets are not available. I don't know what is going on with LrC? It was working fine last night.

Hi again John,
Well, I think I fixed it. I found all my presets in my Pictures directory (which is tied to my OneDrive which is something I need to fix, but that's for another day and nothing to do with this well, almost nothing).

So, after closing LrC, I copied all the folders from there into the Lightroom folder at ""C:\Users\ggive\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Lightroom\". I then reopened LrC and wallah, now I have my import and metadata presets back.

But the other two (2) things I cannot figure out is why LrC takes to me to "C:\Users\ggive\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\Settings" folder when I select "show lightroom develop presets" button, and what is the path "C:\Users\ggive\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Lightroom\Settings" for? In that folder are presets I received from a Lightroom educator (Jared Platt) when I took one of his classes. That set of "develop" presets used to show up in the left side panel of the Develop module under user presets, but they no longer show there. So how do I get them back there? I don't know how things go so out of sorts.

Anyway, thanks for all your help and patience.

 

[gegjr]

Yes, move all the preset folders there except the one containing Develop presets -- they go into the folder you get to by doing Show Lightroom Develop Presets.

I'm confused, should the develop presets, those ending in lrtemplate as well as xmp be in the C:\Users\ggive\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\Settings folder or the C:\Users\ggive\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Lightroom\Settings folder or in the C:\Users\ggive\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Lightroom folder or none of the above or a combination? I am really confused since moving my catalog back to the internal hard drive and unchecking "keep with catalog" setting. I am not seeing all my develop presets on the left side panel when in the develop module.

 

[Rob_Cullen]

If I can throw in a comment here, maybe to help clarify!
The 'Old' system of Develop Presets used the .LRTEMPLATE type of files.
An upgrade (v7.3- 2018) changed the system to use .XMP files for Develop presets, AND Profiles, to make them compatible with Adobe Camera Raw.
Now-
If you place a .LRTEMPLATE Dev preset in the 'old' folder location {...Adobe\Lightroom\Develop Presets} it will automatically be upgraded and stored in the 'new' folder location {....Adobe\Camera Raw\Settings} as an .XMP file. All future Imports of Dev Presets (and Profiles) will go to this 'new' folder location.

Example My folders-

The 'OLD' system in the {Lightroom \ Develop Presets} folder-
Note the double tilde files ~~ that indicate the .LRTEMPLATE files have been upgraded (and moved) to .XMP.

My 'NEW' system- Now located in the {Camera Raw\Settings} folder-

For a Youtube video of the changes in 2018-
PROFILES & PRESETS EXPLAINED- Jared Platt
And the changes explained-
Managing Develop Presets After the 7.3 Update to Classic

This major change to Presets & Profiles resulted in the two separate buttons-

Storing Presets 'with the catalog' just confuses the situation even further!

 

[gegjr]

If I can throw in a comment here, maybe to help clarify!
The 'Old' system of Develop Presets used the .LRTEMPLATE type of files.
An upgrade (v7.3- 2018) changed the system to use .XMP files for Develop presets, AND Profiles, to make them compatible with Adobe Camera Raw.
Now-
If you place a .LRTEMPLATE Dev preset in the 'old' folder location {...Adobe\Lightroom\Develop Presets} it will automatically be upgraded and stored in the 'new' folder location {....Adobe\Camera Raw\Settings} as an .XMP file. All future Imports of Dev Presets (and Profiles) will go to this 'new' folder location.

Example My folders-

The 'OLD' system in the {Lightroom \ Develop Presets} folder-
Note the double tilde files ~~ that indicate the .LRTEMPLATE files have been upgraded (and moved) to .XMP.
View attachment 19129
View attachment 19130

My 'NEW' system- Now located in the {Camera Raw\Settings} folder-
View attachment 19131

For a Youtube video of the changes in 2018-
PROFILES & PRESETS EXPLAINED- Jared Platt
And the changes explained-
Managing Develop Presets After the 7.3 Update to Classic

This major change to Presets & Profiles resulted in the two separate buttons-
View attachment 19132
Storing Presets 'with the catalog' just confuses the situation even further!

Hi Rob,
Thanks for jumping in here. Your comments are very much welcome. Now I think I have a better understanding what's going on and I understand how I got two sets of preset files, one with the lrtemplate and one set with xmp extension. I thought I had did something to cause it.
Your very good explanation has certainly made it clearer to me what is happening so maybe I can figure out how to fix it. I wish Adobe had just deleted the lrtemplate files after the conversion was done because it is confusing to see both file types for what appeared to be the same presets. I thought it was because each file type was meant to be used in different modules of Lightroom or one extension for camera raw and the other for Lightroom. I did my best to search the Lightroom Queen FAQ but couldn't find an explanation for the two different extensions and it appears the default file locations listed in the LRQ FAQ may need some updating as well.
At any rate, thanks for taking time to explain. And thanks for pointing me to the YouTube resources for further explanations. Even with all that information I'm not sure I have the skill, time and patience to fix it but I'll give it a try.
BTW, after making sure all the lrtemplate develop preset files have a xmp equivalent can I delete the lrtemplate develop preset files? Also, are the lrtemplate files still being used for other areas of Lightroom such as in the Print module? I ask because a while back I got some Lightroom print templates from someone at nature Photography Network (NPN) and when unzipped they were all lrtemplate files. Does Lightroom not convert print templates?

 

[johnrellis]

after making sure all the lrtemplate develop preset files have a xmp equivalent can I delete the lrtemplate develop preset files?

Yes.

are the lrtemplate files still being used for other areas of Lightroom such as in the Print module?

Yes. Develop presets (in the Presets panel) and creative profiles (in the Profile browser in Develop's Basic panel) end in .xmp, all other types of presets and templates still end in .lrtemplate.

To find out where some kind of preset or template is being stored and what file extension is used, right-click the preset in LR and do Show In Explorer / Finder. This works for most user-defined presets/templates (e.g. Develop presets and profiles, Export presets ,and Print templates), but it doesn't work for some, such as Metadata presets or local-adjustment presets.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

I did my best to search the Lightroom Queen FAQ but couldn't find an explanation for the two different extensions and it appears the default file locations listed in the LRQ FAQ may need some updating as well.

Bottom of page 351 for the differences, under a question called "What’s the difference between *.lrtemplate presets and *.xmp presets?"

I'm wondering if you're looking in an older version, as the locations listed on page 496/7 and in the Presets chapter are current. You can download the latest PDF from the Members Area if you are. They have the update date on the inside cover page so you can check whether yours is the latest.

 

[gegjr]

Bottom of page 351 for the differences, under a question called "What’s the difference between *.lrtemplate presets and *.xmp presets?"

I'm wondering if you're looking in an older version, as the locations listed on page 496/7 and in the Presets chapter are current. You can download the latest PDF from the Members Area if you are. They have the update date on the inside cover page so you can check whether yours is the latest.

Hi Ms. Bampton,

The last download of the FAQ I have was downloaded 4/30/2022 and page 2 of the PDF version says:
February 2022 Release Covering Version Windows/Mac 11.2.
Page 3 says.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic—The Missing FAQ (2nd Edition)
Publication Date 20 October 2020
Last Updated 07 February 2022
Copyright © 2020 Victoria Bampton. All rights reserved.
Published by The Lightroom Queen, an imprint of LRQ Publishing Ltd.

I believe it's the latest, am I correct? At the bottom of page 496 it says:
Develop Presets and Default Settings
are shared with Camera Raw, so they're
stored at...
Windows—C: \ Users \ [your username] \
AppData \ Roaming \ Adobe \ CameraRaw \

When I select the "show Lightroom develop presets" button I am taken to: "C:\Users\ggive\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\Settings" folder and when I open the folder, there is nothing there?

So, should the develop presets (xmp) files be in the CameraRaw folder or should they be in a subfolder, e.g. Develop Presets, Settings or some other folder? What I see looks like this:

Obviously, I am confused. The only develop presets I see in LrC develop modue are these:

and I don't see these in the CameraRaw folder. So, where are they and what extension do they have (I don't mean that the way it reads)?
I have a bunch of develop presets with an xmp extension that are in my C:\Users\ggive\Pictures\Lightroom\Lightroom Settings\Settings folder and inside each subfolder are the xmp files.

Should I copy these subfolders to the cameraraw folder or should I open each folder and copy the xmp files to the cameraraw folder? And if you don't mind my asking what the are the .dat files used for?

I am terribly sorry for all this, but I am thoroughly confused by this new Lightroom file setup. Would it be easier if I just uninstalled everything (saving my custom presets and templates) and reinstalled LrC?

 

[gegjr]

If I can throw in a comment here, maybe to help clarify!
The 'Old' system of Develop Presets used the .LRTEMPLATE type of files.
An upgrade (v7.3- 2018) changed the system to use .XMP files for Develop presets, AND Profiles, to make them compatible with Adobe Camera Raw.
Now-
If you place a .LRTEMPLATE Dev preset in the 'old' folder location {...Adobe\Lightroom\Develop Presets} it will automatically be upgraded and stored in the 'new' folder location {....Adobe\Camera Raw\Settings} as an .XMP file. All future Imports of Dev Presets (and Profiles) will go to this 'new' folder location.

Example My folders-

The 'OLD' system in the {Lightroom \ Develop Presets} folder-
Note the double tilde files ~~ that indicate the .LRTEMPLATE files have been upgraded (and moved) to .XMP.
View attachment 19129
View attachment 19130

My 'NEW' system- Now located in the {Camera Raw\Settings} folder-
View attachment 19131

For a Youtube video of the changes in 2018-
PROFILES & PRESETS EXPLAINED- Jared Platt
And the changes explained-
Managing Develop Presets After the 7.3 Update to Classic

This major change to Presets & Profiles resulted in the two separate buttons-
View attachment 19132
Storing Presets 'with the catalog' just confuses the situation even further!

Rob,
I should have asked what happens if you have develop presets that were in the C:\Users\ggive\Pictures\Lightroom\Lightroom Settings\Settings location inside folders as I do. Based on what I'm seeing those folders didn't get automatically moved to the "C:\Users\ggive\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\Settings" folder. So do I have to move them myself and do I move the folders or open the folders and move just the xmp files?

 

[Rob_Cullen]

I should have asked what happens if you have develop presets that were in the C:\Users\ggive\Pictures\Lightroom\Lightroom Settings\Settings location inside folders as I do. Based on what I'm seeing those folders didn't get automatically moved to the "C:\Users\ggive\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\Settings" folder. So do I have to move them myself and do I move the folders or open the folders and move just the xmp files?

I cannot understand why you have the {Pictures} folder in the path. \Pictures\Lightroom\Lightroom Settings\Settings.
That would not be normal. And your folders have a green spot that possibly means they are synced to online storage somewhere, and so may be unavailable to LrC.

And have you looked in this {Settings} folder for installed Presets?

So - get those (green spot) folders 'out' of any online sync system, and don't "move" anything yet.

My advice, that may work, is this-
Find the .LRTEMPLATE and .XMP files that will be either a Preset or a Profile- (Not any image sidecar files. Neither other types of Presets- Local, Import, etc))
Copy them to a {Documents\Presets Storage} folder.
Now in LrC- Do an IMPORT of Presets and Profiles,
locate them in the {Documents\Presets Storage} folder, and
Let LrC (automatically) import and place them in their correct location. A location that should not be 'under your control'.
If LrC says they are already installed then all is good. (And you have a backup of Presets in {Documents\Presets Storage} )

 

[gegjr]

I cannot understand why you have the {Pictures} folder in the path. \Pictures\Lightroom\Lightroom Settings\Settings.
That would not be normal. And your folders have a green spot that possibly means they are synced to online storage somewhere, and so may be unavailable to LrC.

No offense meant. but you apparently are not a Windows user, are you? Because if you are a long time Windows user you will know. But since you ask, I'll do my best to explain. Those have a green circled checkmark because I moved my catalog from an external drive to the internal drive and had forgotten that years ago going back to Windows-7 and even maybe as far back as Windows 2000, I set up OneDrive to be the default save as well as backup for my files. With OneDrive being default save location (and backup) it meant I had 2 Document folders and 2 Pictures folders, one on OneDrive and one on the computer(s). And since OneDrive was also the backup whenever I saved anything to my computers internal Document or Pictures folder it would automatically synchronize to OneDrive. Over the years I never bothered changing it because I never used my internal hard drive as my Lightroom catalog storage location, and I never used my internal Picture folder as a primary storage location for my images. I would put a few images in the Pictures folder but only those I thought I would want access to if I was on the internet at a remote location either with my laptop or using maybe using someone else's computer.

Early on when I began using Lightroom I had both a laptop and desktop and it was easier for me to keep my catalog and presets on my external hard drive, and I liked using OneDrive as my primary storage location for my documents because that made my files available to me no matter whether I was using my laptop or even using someone else's computer. All I simply had to do if I wanted a file was sign into my OneDrive and wallah I had access to my files. I had it that way for so long I simply had forgotten that OneDrive was also default location for my Pictures folder. So, recently when I finally decided to no longer keep my catalog on the external drive and moved it back to my internal drive it simply did not occur to me that OneDrive would be the ultimate storage location.

Anyway, all that said, I have now disconnected OneDrive as the default storage and backup location for my documents and pictures folder, which has proven to be harder than I expected.

 

[gegjr]

My advice, that may work, is this-
Find the .LRTEMPLATE and .XMP files that will be either a Preset or a Profile- (Not any image sidecar files. Neither other types of Presets- Local, Import, etc))
Copy them to a {Documents\Presets Storage} folder.
Now in LrC- Do an IMPORT of Presets and Profiles,
locate them in the {Documents\Presets Storage} folder, and
Let LrC (automatically) import and place them in their correct location. A location that should not be 'under your control'.

Fortunately, all my third-party develop presets with the lrtemplate extension had already been converted to xmp and stored by LrC along with the catalog and presets which I kept on my external drive. The converted presets were stored in the Lightroom settings folder so when I moved my catalog and presets back to my internal hard drive unbeknownst to me, I also moved those back too. Apparently, when you tell Lightroom to keep presets with catalog, even though the catalog and the presets are on an external drive LrC converted them anyway, that's why I had never had any issues finding or using the develop presets prior to moving my catalog back to my internal hard.

The issue of not having the develop presets only showed up after moving everything back to my internal hard drive because I didn't realize that Lightroom now shared the develop presets with Camera Raw (CA). So, all I had to do was look in the "C:\Users\ggive\Pictures\Lightroom\Lightroom Settings\Settings\ folder and open each develop preset folder to find the converted xmp. After confirming they were all converted, I then just moved all the develop preset folders from the aforementioned location to the correct location at C:\Users\ggive\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\Settings. Walla, I have my third-party presets back in LrC.

I know this all sounds very convoluted and confusing and it is but it's quite simple once I read and realized that back somewhere along the line Adobe decided to share develop presets with CA and changed to lrtemplate to xmp along with moving the location of some other files. It was Ms. Bampton and you Rob that turned on the light bulb for me.

Now I still have one well, two issues to solve.
1. To find out how to reconnect my camera profiles now that I've moved catalog back to internal drive and
2. Get OneDrive to quit wanting to backup and lay claim to my internal documents folder. I found some instructions involving making some Windows-10 registry changes but I'm not sure that worked entirely.

Anyway, thanks to you Rob and to Ms Bampton for all your patience and help.

P. S.
I must not forget to thank @johnrellis, too.
and @Rob_Cullen look at this https://www.windowscentral.com/how-get-started-onedrive-windows-10 if you're fairly new to Windows.

 

[gegjr]

Where do the Local Adjustment presets (lrtemplate files) belong?

 

[Victoria Bampton]

I believe it's the latest, am I correct? At the bottom of page 496 it says:

It's not quite the latest, there was one in June, but the June changes didn't affect preset locations.

I didn't realize that Lightroom now shared the develop presets with Camera Raw (CA). So, all I had to do was look in the "C:\Users\ggive\Pictures\Lightroom\Lightroom Settings\Settings\ folder and open each develop preset folder to find the converted xmp.

They were in Settings next to your catalog because you had Store Presets with This Catalog checked. With it unchecked, they go in the Roaming folder. Well done for getting that sorted out!

Now I still have one well, two issues to solve.
1. To find out how to reconnect my camera profiles now that I've moved catalog back to internal drive and

What kind of camera profiles? XMP ones go in the same Camera Raw/Settings folder as the Develop presets. DCP ones go in Camera Raw / CameraProfiles (page 497).

2. Get OneDrive to quit wanting to backup and lay claim to my internal documents folder. I found some instructions involving making some Windows-10 registry changes but I'm not sure that worked entirely.

I'll leave that to a Windows user to answer.

Where do the Local Adjustment presets (lrtemplate files) belong?

C: \ Users \ [your username] \ AppData \ Roaming \ Adobe \ Lightroom \ Local Adjustment Presets (unless Store Presets with This Catalog is checked, in which case they go in Lightroom Settings \ Local Adjustment Presets next to the catalog).

 

[gegjr]

It's not quite the latest, there was one in June, but the June changes didn't affect preset locations.



They were in Settings next to your catalog because you had Store Presets with This Catalog checked. With it unchecked, they go in the Roaming folder. Well done for getting that sorted out!



What kind of camera profiles? XMP ones go in the same Camera Raw/Settings folder as the Develop presets. DCP ones go in Camera Raw / CameraProfiles (page 497).


I'll leave that to a Windows user to answer.


C: \ Users \ [your username] \ AppData \ Roaming \ Adobe \ Lightroom \ Local Adjustment Presets (unless Store Presets with This Catalog is checked, in which case they go in Lightroom Settings \ Local Adjustment Presets next to the catalog).

Hi Ms. Bampton,

Thanks for the words of encouragement and answering my questions. I had follow up call from Adobe concerning the my case numberd: ADB-25593176-H9R3, issue: Crash/Launch. The person calling whom I could barely understand ( I have trouble understanding bonus accents) insist that the GPU minimum requirements apply to all systems regardless of whether graphics driver is integrated or not. They closed the case and.once again sent this link https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/system-requirements.html.

Concerning the camera profiles, I can't even find the files and don't know what to look for. What I know is that in the LrC Preferences Presets tab in the Raw Defaults section, in the Camera: area my Sony cameras the A99M2 and A77M2 and my no longer in use Minolta Maxxum 7D were listed. Now there's nothing there.

As for one drive I continue to have issue getting OneDrive stop storing my Lightroom catalog. Even though I've disabled one drive backup and deselected all folders from syncing the Lightroom folder in my Pictures folder continues to stay checked. If anyone has any ideas I'd love to hear them. I'm on verge of copying everything in the folder to another drive than deleting the Lightroom folder from my pictures, restarting the computer and creating a new catalog folder and adding the previously copied contents back to the new folder.

What a mess I'm in huh? I never realized that Adobe had made such radical changes to where files are stored, file syntax and types (i.e. extension from .lrtemplate to .xmp). Although academic I did wonder why Adobe used such an odd file extension such as lrtemplate? I guessed it was to make presets and profiles easy for users to find?

Can't thank you and others enough your patience and help I try to work through these issues.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

You must enable the ‘Override global setting for specific cameras’ checkbox before you can select a preset as camera default for a specific camera.

 

[gegjr]

You must enable the ‘Override global setting for specific cameras’ checkbox before you can select a preset as camera default for a specific camera.

Hi @Johan Elzenga
You're gonna think I'm a crazy old man but I swear I tried that before I posted the question because, with all due respect, I know 'override global settings' must be selected, and it did not work.
I just did the 11.5 update and went to preferences>preset tab selected "override global settings..." and now I see all my camera profiles. I have no idea what's going on with LrC. I will say though, that I recently moved my catalog from my external drive and disabled "keep presets with catalog". As a result of making the change back to my internal drive I lost connection to all my user develop presets. In the process of fixing that issue I discovered that a while back Adobe moved the location as well as changed the extension for certain presets and profiles. I've been trying to clean up the mess I caused by making the change, so maybe while cleaning up the mess I caused is why I am now able to see my camera profiles again.

Anyway, that said, thanks for responding it's much appreciated.

Kind Regards,
George

 

[gegjr]

No offense meant. but you apparently are not a Windows user, are you? Because if you are a long time Windows user you will know. But since you ask, I'll do my best to explain. Those have a green circled checkmark because I moved my catalog from an external drive to the internal drive and had forgotten that years ago going back to Windows-7 and even maybe as far back as Windows 2000, I set up OneDrive to be the default save as well as backup for my files. With OneDrive being default save location (and backup) it meant I had 2 Document folders and 2 Pictures folders, one on OneDrive and one on the computer(s). And since OneDrive was also the backup whenever I saved anything to my computers internal Document or Pictures folder it would automatically synchronize to OneDrive. Over the years I never bothered changing it because I never used my internal hard drive as my Lightroom catalog storage location, and I never used my internal Picture folder as a primary storage location for my images. I would put a few images in the Pictures folder but only those I thought I would want access to if I was on the internet at a remote location either with my laptop or using maybe using someone else's computer.

Early on when I began using Lightroom I had both a laptop and desktop and it was easier for me to keep my catalog and presets on my external hard drive, and I liked using OneDrive as my primary storage location for my documents because that made my files available to me no matter whether I was using my laptop or even using someone else's computer. All I simply had to do if I wanted a file was sign into my OneDrive and wallah I had access to my files. I had it that way for so long I simply had forgotten that OneDrive was also default location for my Pictures folder. So, recently when I finally decided to no longer keep my catalog on the external drive and moved it back to my internal drive it simply did not occur to me that OneDrive would be the ultimate storage location.

Anyway, all that said, I have now disconnected OneDrive as the default storage and backup location for my documents and pictures folder, which has proven to be harder than I expected.

I'm going to correct myself because in an effort to disengage OneDrive from my PC I found out the checkmark inside the green circle is NOT caused by OneDrive but is instead because the folders and files were being backed up to Google Drive. I kept wondering why even after disabling OneDrive backup and removing OneDrive as the default save location for Pictures and Document folders I still had folders (i.e. Lightroom folder and subfolders) with a checkmark in a green circle in the lower left corner. I finally discovered, more like stumbled on, the folders were being synced up to Google Drive so the icons just meant the folders and subfolders were synced. Once I disengaged the folder from Google Drive the synced icon disappeared.

The other correction or clarification I need to make is, you @Rob_Cullen were confused why the 'Pictures' folder is in path for my Lightroom folder. The reason is that the default location used by LrC installer for the Lightroom catalog files.

In case anyone besides me I hope this rather long post explains and answers some outstanding questions. However, I'm still confused by the myriad of locations Adobe have chosen to put certain files.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this post.

 

[Rob_Cullen]

confused why the 'Pictures' folder is in path

I was confused! And now realize you had Presets 'Saved WITH your Catalog'. My mistake.
Hopefully you are getting it 'sorted'.
Have you read this blog by Victoria?-
FILE LOCATIONS

 

[johnbeardy]

Have you considered using a symbolic link to store the presets wherever you want, for example on Dropbox or OneDrive?

See my 11 year old article http://lightroomsolutions.com/dropbox-lightroom-aliases-and-symbolic-links/ . I must have started doing this a few years before, and I've always found the method much preferable to storing presets in the default location, and far more preferable than storing them with the catalogue. Effectively, all my non-Develop presets and templates are shared between my computers.

I've not bothered testing the method with the xmp-based Develop presets, but that's because it doesn't seem worth the effort for the 3-4 Develop presets that I care about.

 

[gegjr]

I was confused! And now realize you had Presets 'Saved WITH your Catalog'. My mistake.
Hopefully you are getting it 'sorted'.
Have you read this blog by Victoria?-
FILE LOCATIONS

Yes, read it. It's helpful but Adobe's file location scheme is not so much a scheme as it is an exercise in Adobe trying to see how they confuse the average non-geek (not a slam) user. No wonder Adobe tries to hide most of it by requiring that, windows users at least, have show hidden files turned on.