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Question

Non-existing tool for migrating presets to new computer

Forum|Forum|10 months ago
March 19, 2025
5 replies
818 views

Existing machine: Photoshop 25.12.1, Windows 10 (latest)

New machine: Photoshop 26.4.1, Windows 11 (24H2, latest)

On this page (https://helpx.adobe.com/ie/photoshop/using/preset-migration.html), updated just this past October 2024, Adobe describes how to migrate user preferences, actions, presets, etc. to a new computer. It recommends using Edit > Presets > Export/Import Presets as the tool for achieving migration to a new machine.

This tool does not exist in either my old machine or new machine. In various other threads here, and in other Adobe web pages, I see that the standard help response seems to be "just find where the various files are stored and copy them to the new machine". And yes, I've looked at your web page that describes where all of these files are stored, but I'm now skeptical about trusting that information.

I find this really unacceptable on two counts: 1) Adobe does not have a current published user-friendly method of migrating a Photoshop configuration to a new machine, and 2) Adobe is still recommending a method that used to exist but has now been removed. Finding and migrating individual files is massively time-consuming, error-prone, and is NOT what I expect from a software company like Adobe. Obviously there exists a method to do this because installing a new version of Photoshop in CCA offers to bring your settings forward into the new version. Why isn't this packaged up as a standalone tool for use when we have to move to a new machine???

(Side rant: Why am I having to move to a new machine? Adobe. Newer versions of Photoshop require a CPU that includes AVX and AVX2 extensions, so I've acquiesed and I've purchased a new machine, but now there's salt in the wound resulting from not having a clean way to move my Photoshop environment to a new machine. And further, it took me 6 attempts and 2 hours just to get the Creative Cloud app installed on the new machine. It's installer is VERY buggy and it required some deep cleaning of the system to remove remnants of the failed installs and a separately downloaded installer to finally get it going. I am a software professional and I am NOT a beginner at this, and this was a VERY disappointing experience.)

Adobe, please get it together. I expect more from you. If you want to continue adding so much (often not really needed) complexity and bloat to your creative cloud software environment, you must recognize that it is imperative to also build and maintain tools for users to help them to continue using your tools when the inevitable "new machine" scenario happens.

Dave

Windows

D Fosse

Community Expert

Do not move files from one machine to another. You can copy files as backup on the same machine, but don't bring them into a completely new environment. That's inviting problems. The same setting may have a different meaning in the new context. I suspect that's the reason this was removed.

Things that can be saved out and reloaded, like actions and brushes (.atn and .abr files) are safe.

There's another very good reason you should not migrate preferences. The preferences contain a lot more than your own user settings. It's the entire application configuration, including lots of hidden parameters and system-dependent parameters. Crucially, they are rewritten on every application exit - as opposed to read-only program files. If the shutdown sequence is disturbed or disrupted in any way, this can corrupt settings in subtle or not-so-subtle ways. Errors will accumulate, and with new application code that could cause latent problems to surface.

Corrupt preferences can cause weird and inexplicable behavior that is often misinterpreted as application bugs.

Take this opportunity to start with clean sheets.

D

datroAuthor

Known Participant

@D FosseNormally I am of the same mind as what you have written, i.e. when starting with a brand new clean installation (which is my situation, a clean new Windows 11 with a clean new Photoshop) it is generally a good idea (when possible/convenient) to just re-create everything. But that frame of mind applies primarilyh to simpler software tools.

However, over the years the Adobe ecosystem has gotten so complex and so bloated with the ever-present desire and perceived pressure to add "new features" to their product that overall usability suffers. Photoshop seems especially prone to this, and I'm sure it is in no small part due to the disparate and separate teams (and sheer number of programmers and developers) that are all adding in their contributions. What has suffered in Photoshop's case is a coherent architecture for managing user preferences and settings. When it comes time to buy a new computer and get up and running in production with Photoshop on the new machine, it takes significant non-productive time to step through the preferences dialogues one-by-one and then do all the copy/paste of other files. It doesn't need to be that way, and I believe with some effort and attention put on this it is quite possible to make it MUCH easier and less wasted time for users. In my last count, there could be up to 30+ separate files and many different folder locations involved in maintaining a user's setup for Photoshop!! I submit this is excessive and definitely NOT user friendly.

I accept that for most users it will not be that bad. All I'm asking here is for Adobe to think in terms of "ease of upgrade and migration to new machine" as a feature that should get significant architect/developer/programmer time in order to make the software truly more user friendly and valuable in the long run.

D Fosse

Community Expert

Well, this is relative, I suppose. I have a lot of custom settings in Photoshop, and it takes me perhaps ten minutes at most to set it up. But it must be said that I'm very familiar with all those settings and know where to go.

Still, I think that's ten minutes well spent.

Just me.

Trevor.Dennis

Community Expert

Dave, you are using Windows, so it is super easy moving your presets between systems, but I wouldn't do that with Preferences, because they are being updated so often. I might be thinking of just the beta version, but I find I have to reset Preferences way more than I ever have to.

I'm sorry you had issues with the installation. Is the Windows 11 system a new build with a clean OS install? It's a very long time since I've had installing issues.

Regards presests, there is a Preset Manager, but that is only for Tool Presets. I find it safer and more convenient to store things like brush presets in a Documents folder, and place a shortcut to that folder in the presets folder. It lets me share the same files between versions (Release, beta, 22.2) and keeps them safe at major version updates.

Stephen Marsh

Community Expert

@datro

I have logged the out of date help article with Adobe.

c.pfaffenbichler

Community Expert

@datro , as @Olaf Giermann pointed out I was mistaken.

I have not had need to use the feature in a while, so I misremembered it’s presence/absence …

Maybe you should post a Feature Request (mark it »Idea« instead of »Discussion«) to make sure it registers at Adobe and allow people to add their votes.

Olaf Giermann

Community Expert

It is a pity that this function is gone. I hope Adobe supplies a better solution not too far in the future after this and also the cloud-sync version for presets have been abandoned.

---------Adobe Community Expert: "Gewusst wie, spart Energie." 😉

c.pfaffenbichler

Community Expert

This tool does not exist in either my old machine or new machine.

To proof your claim please post a screenshot that includes the Edit > Presets menu.

Olaf Giermann

Community Expert

This tool does not exist in either my old machine or new machine.

To proof your claim please post a screenshot that includes the Edit > Presets menu.
By @c.pfaffenbichler

"Import/Export presets" has been removed by Adobe some Photoshop-versions ago. That is fact not just a claim. Otherwise you could proof with a screenshot that these still exist in the current Photoshop-versions on your computers (which would be not as expected and a bug).

---------Adobe Community Expert: "Gewusst wie, spart Energie." 😉

c.pfaffenbichler

Community Expert

You are right, I didn’t properly check the wording (edit: respectively the current menu-content).

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