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Participant
October 10, 2025
Answered

Stuck Lightroom Preset Upload on Mac? Troubleshooting Wrong Format & Installation Issues

  • October 10, 2025
  • 1 reply
  • 105 views

Hello, I downloaded presets onto my MacbookPro. I downloaded presets from Etsy, some have uploaded but the last one has not uploaded and the upload bar is stuck in the middle. I think I uploaded the wrong format.  I've removed Lightroom from the laptop and redownloded still have the same issue.  Please help! Thank you 

Correct answer Anshul_Saini

Hi @lea_0405,


Thanks for sharing the details. We’ve seen a few similar reports in the past when presets from third-party sellers fail to import or freeze during upload.


If some of your presets imported correctly while others didn’t, that usually points to corrupted or mispackaged files in the preset bundle rather than an issue with Lightroom itself. Lightroom supports both .XMP and.LRTEMPLATE formats equally, so it isn’t selective about which ones it accepts.


In this case, I’d recommend:
 • Reaching out directly to the developer/ seller to verify the preset format and request a clean copy.
 • If the file was part of a ZIP archive, re-download and extract it again before importing.
 • Avoid using system migration tools or third-party unzip utilities that may alter file extensions.


If you receive no response from the seller or developer, report it directly to Etsy.


Best,

Anshul Saini

1 reply

Anshul_Saini
Community Manager
Anshul_SainiCommunity ManagerCorrect answer
Community Manager
October 29, 2025

Hi @lea_0405,


Thanks for sharing the details. We’ve seen a few similar reports in the past when presets from third-party sellers fail to import or freeze during upload.


If some of your presets imported correctly while others didn’t, that usually points to corrupted or mispackaged files in the preset bundle rather than an issue with Lightroom itself. Lightroom supports both .XMP and.LRTEMPLATE formats equally, so it isn’t selective about which ones it accepts.


In this case, I’d recommend:
 • Reaching out directly to the developer/ seller to verify the preset format and request a clean copy.
 • If the file was part of a ZIP archive, re-download and extract it again before importing.
 • Avoid using system migration tools or third-party unzip utilities that may alter file extensions.


If you receive no response from the seller or developer, report it directly to Etsy.


Best,

Anshul Saini

lea_0405Author
Participant
October 29, 2025
Thank you for your response. How do I reset Lightroom because when I try to add a different preset it freezes and does the same thing where it won’t download and only show that it’s half way downloaded. 
I tried to uninstall and reinstall Lightroom but it’s the same issue 
 
Hope this make sense. 

 
Anshul_Saini
Community Manager
Community Manager
November 18, 2025

Thanks for the clarification. This does make sense, and if Lightroom still freezes when you try to import any preset, even after reinstalling, it means the issue is likely with a cached or stuck preset import inside the app, rather than the app installation itself.

You can reset Lightroom’s internal state without removing your photos. Please try the steps below:

• Quit Lightroom completely.
• Go to your Mac’s Finder and navigate to:
/Users/<your username>/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Lightroom CC
• Inside that folder, look for the “Develop Presets” and “Imported Presets” folders.
• Move both folders to your desktop temporarily.
• Relaunch Lightroom and try importing a different preset again.

This clears the stuck preset import and forces Lightroom to rebuild those folders.

If the import works after this, you can re-add the working presets manually. If one of the folders causes the freeze again, the issue is coming from a corrupted preset inside it.

 

If the problem persists, please get in touch with the developer who created the preset.

 

Best regards,
Anshul Saini