Adobe photoshop deleted my brushes again

[Ava0723]

Read my previous post before this one, I had created new brushes similar to the ones I had before and SAVED THEM as a custom abr file

So it deleted my brushes again and I wanted to import them but somehow they were ALSO deleted, yes the ones I saved as a custom brush file onto my laptop. I I would never delete them, they are very important to me

Nothing in the recycling bin either

Someone please tell me what the hell is happening? This made me very upset

[Chris 486]

Hi Ava07230!

Have you tried doing a search on your comptuer? I would navigate to your "This PC" location in an explorer window and search for "*.abr". Make sure your search options has all sub folders selected. That should search all your files and drives. it may take a while. Hopefully the file you are looking for will be found.

[Camilla2405531156c2]

Same problem.

Brushes are suddenly gone and my brushes folder is empty now.

[c.pfaffenbichler]

Did you ever save your custom Brushes as abr-files? 

Where did you copy the abr-files if you downloaded some? 

[Camilla2405531156c2]

I did add them in Photoshop but I didn't export them. Is there any way I can update them without having to export them again every time? 

[c.pfaffenbichler]

---

I did add them in Photoshop 

---

How? 

Didn’t you copy the abr-files to the Brushes-folder? 

[Trevor.Dennis]

Same problem.

Brushes are suddenly gone and my brushes folder is empty now.

By @Camilla2405531156c2

Hi Camilla

What folder did you search? There are two locations.

If you looked in this one it will have been almost empty

C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2022\Presets\Brushes

But if you check this one, you might have better luck.  

C:\Users\[your user name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2022\Presets\Brushes

Note you'll need to make Hidden files and folders viewable

But what is worrying me is regardless of the location you used, your saved brush group should appear when you right click and chose the little cog icon

Good luck.

[Camilla2405531156c2]

 Hey Trevor Thank you. I already checked that folder and even with the Hidden files option turned on I can't see them so I guess you are right, I probably have saved them in the wrong folder somehow and I don't see them when I open the settings window. Not sure why. 

[Trevor.Dennis]

But if you have Hidden Items enabled and search your entire system for .abr files, you'd surely find them if they are saved.  If you change the list to details and click to sort by Date, then you'll find the last .abr file created.

[melissapiccone]

This issue comes up often. Make a folder far away from your app folders. I call mine Adobe extras and have a bunch of sub folders for all of my presets - brushes, patterns, actions, etc. save everything in there. I have stuff rom the 90's. I have mine in Dropbox. You can also save brushes to your library. Super easy to select and you don't have to install them.

[lc55472355]

I regularly copy all the preset folders from inside the Photoshop program to a safe location on my computer so that I have a backup copy if something goes wrong.  However I have heard of people bypassing the preset folders within Photoshop completely and using their "remote" folder to load brushes, save new brushes they have created, etc.   Can this truly be done, and if so how do I load a brush when I'm working in Photoshop and save a newly created brush to a group? 

[Trevor.Dennis]

I do a similar thing, but copy the entire C:\Users\[usere name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe folder tree when doing a Clean Windows install.  It is much easier doing this with multiple drives of course.

Looking at your question, I don't see why you couldn't do the same thing that I do with plugins. This is on a Windows 10 system.  I keep my older filters (the ones that don't need to be installed, but rather copy .bli files to the plugin folder) to a folder in My Documents,

Find the folder in File Explorer, and right click and choose Send to > Create shortcut (to desktop) 

Then drag that shortcut to:

C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2023\Plug-ins\Filters

It would be easy to addapt this for brushes.

[lc55472355]

I took a hiatus from Photoshop from 2019 to 2022, during which time I switched from Windows computers to Mac, so I had to do a first-time install of Photoshop 2022 for Apple Silicon, and I populated the Presets folder with the last backup I had made in 2019.  Shortly thereafter, Adobe updated my Photoshop to Version 2023 and all I had to do was click on the box to migrate my preferences and presets from the prior version.  

Directing Photoshop to my personal presets folder, as you suggest, is simple and brilliant!  It will save me a lot of time by updating the folder directly through the application, and having that folder outside of Photoshop means it will continue to be immediately uploaded to my offsite backup in Apple's iCloud.  I have a second, periodic backup to an external portable drive using Apple's Time Machine app.

I remember you, dear sir, from when I used to participate in the Adobe Support Community--so glad you are still here to share your excellent advice!

[lc55472355]

I experimented yesterday with placing in the Adobe . . . Presets > Brushes folder a shortcut (alias on Mac) to a folder on my data drive.  To my amazement and delight, the brush groups (.abr files) I put in that folder automatically appeared in the Brushes panel menu (hamburger icon).  They loaded and unloaded flawlessly into the Brushes panel when I right-clicked on them and gave the proper command.  When I made changes to the brushes and resaved the groups using the Export selected brushes. . . command, it took me to the default folder and I just had to click on the shortcut to get to the test folder and save the groups there.

    I'm going to move all of my brushes out of the Photoshop Presets > Brushes folder into that folder I made.

    For the sake of anyone who reads this post looking for help, I want to clarify that the default location in Photoshop's system files where all the Presets are saved that a user adds (e.g., via uploading brush packs or saving brushes they've made with the Export selected brushes. . . command) are located on a computer's system drive here:

• On Mac:  /Users/UserName/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop 2023/Presets/Brushes
• On Windows:  C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2023\Presets\

     The folders for the handful of presets that initially download with Photoshop (which is where you don't want to save the presets you add) are located here:

• On Mac:  Macintosh HD/Applications/Adobe Photoshop 2023/Presets
• On Windows I believe it would be:  C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2023\Presets

     If I got anything incorrectly here, please let me know.  It is confusing that Photoshop saves V. 24 in folders labeled 2023, but so it is. . . .

     In 2019 I typed up steps for every kind of addition/deletion/reorganizaion/change one might make in the Brushes panel and how to save those changes permanently so they cannot disappear when you turn off your computer or it accidentally loses power.  I'm updating those notes and would be happy to share them with anyone who doesn't want to recreate the wheel.  

[lc55472355]

Post script to my earlier post--

I took a long hiatus from Photoshop, 2019 was the last time I used it and I kept a routine that apparently very few people knew was necessary for saving changes to presets like Brushes.  I was experimenting with creating a new brush just now, to see how to permanently save it to an existing group I once created named Untitled Brushes.  The instructions for doing this I found in creating-modifying-brushes.html  In a box on that page, it states:

Note:  To save your new brush permanently or distribute it to other users, you must save the brush as part of a set of brushes. Choose Save Brushes from the Brush Presets [sic] panel menu, and then save to a new set or overwrite an existing set. If you reset or replace the brushes in the Brush Presets panel without saving it in a set, you could lose your new brush.

I applaud Adobe for telling people that they need to manually save their changes to brush presets.  However, the command Save Brushes is no longer to be found in the Brushes panel menu, or anywhere else in that panel or in the Brush Settings panel, as far as I can see.  And the Presets Manager these days only handles presets for Cursors and Tools.  

Upon checking the Presets folder on the back end (on my Mac in Users > UserName > Library > Application Support > Adobe > Adobe Photoshop 2023 > Presets > Brushes) I see that the .abr file for the Untitled Brushes group has not been modified, indicating that Photoshop has not automatically saved it for me any more than it did in prior versions.

Remembering vaguely how I used to do it, I experimented in the Brushes panel, selecting all the brushes in the Untitled Brushes group (rather than the group itself), then opening the panel menu and clicking on Export Selected Brushes...  It took me by default to the Presets > Brushes folder, I selected Untitled Brushes.abr as the file to export to, and clicked OK.  The target file's Date Modified immediately changed and the size of the file increased by 0.1 MB, indicating the new brush has been successfully, permanently saved.  All that remains to be done is to switch out the file in my backup presets folder.