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- Apr 3, 2012
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"Where are my presets?" That's one of the most common questions on the forums. Lightroom has a lot of rough edges in its handling of presets, and it can be a little tedious resolving problems.
1. If you're moving your Lightroom installation to another computer, then follow the steps in this guide precisely:
https://www.lightroomqueen.com/how-move-lightroom-to-new-computer/
Failing to follow the steps is a frequent cause of missing presets. If you've tried to wing it, just start over and follow the guide.
2. To import presets, use the command File > Import Develop Profiles And Presets or, in the Presets panel of the Develop module, click the + menu and do Import Presets. The former won't convert old-style .lrtemplate presets but the latter will -- go figure.
Don't try to use Windows File Explorer or Mac Finder to manually install your presets (unless you're moving to a new computer and religiously following the guide in step 1). There're a lot of out-of-date or incomplete instructions about which folder(s) to use, and it's easy to get confused about finding and unhiding the right folders.
3. If you don't see the Presets panel at all in the left column of Develop, do the menu command Window > Panels > Presets and ensure that item is checked.
4. If the Presets panel shows no presets at all, make sure you have at least one photo in the catalog and it is selected. A minor LR infelicity causes the Presets panel to be blank with empty catalogs (e.g. when a user is starting out on a new computer). If the catalog is not empty but you go to Develop with no photo selected, the presets will be appear greyed out.
5. You can find a preset's .xmp file by right-clicking the preset in the Presets panel and doing Show In Explorer / Finder. But if you don't see Show In Explorer / Finder in the right-click menu, that means you've placed the preset with the built-in presets that come with LR, in:
Windows: C:\ProgramData\Adobe\CameraRaw\Settings
Mac: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/CameraRaw/Settings
Move your presets' .xmp files out of that folder to your Desktop, restart LR, and then use LR's File > Import Develop Profiles And Presets to reimport them correctly. See 2 about not placing presets in folders manually.
* * *
If you see the message "Unable to import Presets / All items were already imported", then proceed with the next steps:
6. The presets may be in a group (a Presets-panel folder) that is currently hidden. In the Presets panel, click the + menu and do Manage Presets. Check each user group. Then in the panel, expand each group and examine it carefully for the imported presets.
7. Select the option Preferences > Presets > Show Partially Compatible Develop Presets. Without that option checked, if a preset refers to a camera profile and you've selected a non-raw photo or a raw photo from an incompatible camera, then that preset won't appear in the Prests panel.
8. If the preset refers to a camera profile or enhanced profile that hasn't been imported into your LR, then LR won't display the preset (another infelicity). To find the name of such a profile, edit the preset's .xmp file in Windows Notepad or Mac Textedit and look for lines like:
or
You'll need to find the missing profile and import it using File > Import Develop Profiles And Presets. Sometimes the authors of preset packs forget to include the referenced profiles.
1. If you're moving your Lightroom installation to another computer, then follow the steps in this guide precisely:
https://www.lightroomqueen.com/how-move-lightroom-to-new-computer/
Failing to follow the steps is a frequent cause of missing presets. If you've tried to wing it, just start over and follow the guide.
2. To import presets, use the command File > Import Develop Profiles And Presets or, in the Presets panel of the Develop module, click the + menu and do Import Presets. The former won't convert old-style .lrtemplate presets but the latter will -- go figure.
Don't try to use Windows File Explorer or Mac Finder to manually install your presets (unless you're moving to a new computer and religiously following the guide in step 1). There're a lot of out-of-date or incomplete instructions about which folder(s) to use, and it's easy to get confused about finding and unhiding the right folders.
3. If you don't see the Presets panel at all in the left column of Develop, do the menu command Window > Panels > Presets and ensure that item is checked.
4. If the Presets panel shows no presets at all, make sure you have at least one photo in the catalog and it is selected. A minor LR infelicity causes the Presets panel to be blank with empty catalogs (e.g. when a user is starting out on a new computer). If the catalog is not empty but you go to Develop with no photo selected, the presets will be appear greyed out.
5. You can find a preset's .xmp file by right-clicking the preset in the Presets panel and doing Show In Explorer / Finder. But if you don't see Show In Explorer / Finder in the right-click menu, that means you've placed the preset with the built-in presets that come with LR, in:
Windows: C:\ProgramData\Adobe\CameraRaw\Settings
Mac: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/CameraRaw/Settings
Move your presets' .xmp files out of that folder to your Desktop, restart LR, and then use LR's File > Import Develop Profiles And Presets to reimport them correctly. See 2 about not placing presets in folders manually.
* * *
If you see the message "Unable to import Presets / All items were already imported", then proceed with the next steps:
6. The presets may be in a group (a Presets-panel folder) that is currently hidden. In the Presets panel, click the + menu and do Manage Presets. Check each user group. Then in the panel, expand each group and examine it carefully for the imported presets.
7. Select the option Preferences > Presets > Show Partially Compatible Develop Presets. Without that option checked, if a preset refers to a camera profile and you've selected a non-raw photo or a raw photo from an incompatible camera, then that preset won't appear in the Prests panel.
8. If the preset refers to a camera profile or enhanced profile that hasn't been imported into your LR, then LR won't display the preset (another infelicity). To find the name of such a profile, edit the preset's .xmp file in Windows Notepad or Mac Textedit and look for lines like:
Code:
crs:CameraProfile="Camera Landscape"
Code:
<crs:Look>
<rdf:Description
crs:Name="Adobe Landscape"
You'll need to find the missing profile and import it using File > Import Develop Profiles And Presets. Sometimes the authors of preset packs forget to include the referenced profiles.
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