P: Auto-write changes to XMP

Ah, I think I see what you may mean now. I have a preset that is used as camera default. If I open a raw image of that camera, do nothing and hit 'Done', then an XMP sidecar file is written to disk. But if I open that sidecar in a text editor and check what's in it, then the preset settings aren't written in there. Of course you do not notice this if you open the raw file in ACR on the same computer again, because the camera default preset is once again applied if you do. But if you would open the raw file on another computer -that doesn't have this camera default preset- then you won't see the settings.

That is indeed a bug.

I can't reproduce that on my Mac running Big Sur and ACR 13.4. If I apply a preset, change nothing else and click 'Done', then the settings are written to XMP just fine. 

@Johan_Elzenga

Nope. PRESET settings are not written to a sidecar if no manual changes are made. This is in ACR 13.4.

So which version of Camera Raw do you use? Nobody has asked you that and you haven't said it, but I strongly believe this is the problem. Like Andrew already said, the option to save the edits in the Camera Raw database rather than in XMP was depreciated quite some time ago, so Camera Raw will always write sidecar files for proprietary raw, unless you use an old version that still can write to the database. 

Seems not designed to do that alone. Maybe a bug? I can bug it but again, might be by design. Got older versions you can test?

@andrew_rodney 

yes if I make further changes, ACR writes out the sidecar file. I'd just like my profile adjustments to be saved, I archive the files to our file server and that way the preset adjustments are portable.

So please, so we can see the behavior on your end, do what you're doing but make a tiny (one value of anything) adjustment of ANY slider. Do you see an XMP? 

I don’t touch anything, I simply click Done.

Which may be the issue. 

I open the CR2 files in ACR. The default preset that I have created for that camera loads along with the associated profile. I can see the develop settings I have specified.

I don’t touch anything, I simply click Done. What I want is the preset adjustments (custom color balance, clarity, noise reduction, etc) to be written to an XMP sidecar. I don’t need to make any edits, that is the whole purpose of having default presets and profiles.

However, there is no sidecar file created and all of my adjustments are not written to disk.

And I am NOT changing to a DNG workflow. I have a tested and working setup other than writing changes to XMP. I typically do no further edits or changes in ACR, I simply open the files into Photoshop at that point.

@lumigraphics I find this very strange.  I do not create or use DNG files.  I always see xmp files created after I click Done.  Is there something you are doing in moving files from one computer to another that causes the xmp files to disappear?

Well without a DNG workflow, you'll at the very least, need to populate both computers with the DCP profiles. Most likely the same with presets. Much of the other edits should be written with the Done button used.