Please stop making updates erase settings

[alexcomeauphoto]

It's very frustrating that everytime Photoshop updates it erases all of my customizations.  All keyboard and mouse shortcuts, all preferences, all get reset back to default which is beyond annoying, especially since there is no way to export a preferences file that can be re-loaded after performing an update.

[Ged_Traynor]

@alexcomeauphoto I'm not experiencing the issue when I update, you can backup the Photoshop 2024 settings folder before updating by navigating to c:\users\yourname\appdata\roaming\adobe\adobe photoshop 2024

[Brian Mackey 2024]

Just happened to me today. It kept the action I always use but my saved workspace was corrupted. 

[D Fosse]

A major new version will start with fresh preferences, but this shouldn't happen with a dot update. The only thing I can think of is a permissions issue in your Windows user account, which is where the preferences are stored.

But yes, as Ged says, you can just copy the whole settings folder and put it back after the update. This won't necessarily work well with a major version update, but should be safe in a dot update.

[alexcomeauphoto]

Every time my Photoshop updates it reverts everything back to default.  Brushes, keyboard shortcuts, toolbars, workspace preferences, everything.

Now that I know about that folder, I will make a backup of it, but it's still strange that a software package like this doesn't have an "Import" / "Export" settings feature like many other programs do.

[D Fosse]

If this happens consistently, I'd take a closer look at Windows user privileges and permissions.

Maybe it's enough to right-click the Photoshop icon and "Run as Administrator". You should only need to do that once. That has been known to cure some permissions problems in the past.

[Trevor.Dennis]

I always have my Workspaces and shortcuts after major updates.  Presets sometimes need hunting down.  Isn't there an option to keep Preferences ISTR?

[alexcomeauphoto]

Not that I've found.  Other programs have "Import/Export" settings area in preferences, but not PS.  You can save a copy of the preferences folder and copy and paste it into the new PS folder after an update, but it only works 50% of the time if the file formats and paths all stay the same, but sometimes those change for no reason, so it can't find your backups.

Mind boggling that such a highly customized piece of software doesn't have a way to save and load settings.  Even Camera Raw lets you load settings, but PS does not.

[Trevor.Dennis]

Does this help?

[alexcomeauphoto]

No, it does not.

[alexcomeauphoto]

I will try that, thank you

[alexcomeauphoto]

Another day, another instance of Adobe reverting all my settings back to default.  All my keyboard shortcuts, quick menus, everything, all gone.  This is beyond frustrating.

[Conrad_C]

Have you verified that the Creative Cloud desktop app installer is set up to not throw out your settings? I keep “Import Previous Settings and Preferences” enabled for both automatic and manual updates, so that a new version always opens and works like the previous version did. In the screen shots below, the top shows options during a manual update, and the bottom is for if you enabled automatic updates. A lot of people just click through that screen, but it pays to stop and read it…it controls whether or not the new version carries forward your old settings and erases the old version!

(The screen shots below are some I dug up from last year, so there may be some differences between it and the current Creative Cloud app, but the options are there.)

[alexcomeauphoto]

Yes, those are my settings, but for whatever reason it's not carrying over my settings.

[Earth Oliver]

For years i've been asking Adobe to backup those settings (and others, like Actions) to the cloud in case of issues like this, but the request has gone nowhere. 

[alexcomeauphoto]

Even just the ability to save a config file to a backup location that can be loaded after a reset would be huge and so simple.  Tons of other software packages have it.

[Digital Twins]

I never had this issue, except for now. I was confused why all my settings were at the default state. Never had this problem before. So something must have been screwed up with the latest update.

[alexcomeauphoto]

As someone else mentioned, it tends to happen more often with major updates as opposed to minor bug fixes, but I've even had it happen then.  It happens to me all the time.  Very frustrating.

[D Fosse]

It's supposed to happen with major version updates. Unless you deliberately migrate settings.

It is not supposed to happen with minor dot updates.

[Trevor.Dennis]

I see you are using Windows.  As a last resort, have you looked at previous versions?

C:\Users\[Your User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2023\Adobe Photoshop 2023 Settings\WorkSpaces (Modified)

There is obviously something amiss with your installation and it is not being fixed with majour updates.  That suggests one of the files in the Photoshop Settings folder that geets written to every time we close Photoshop.  We know for sure that the Prefences file is regulaly breaking, so a manual reset might help.

https://helpx.adobe.com/nz/photoshop/using/preferences.html#Manually

I don't see it being the Photoshop installation itself, so the Cleaner Tool and a clean reinstall probably won't help.  I can certainly see this being frustrating for you.

I have taken to keeping my presets in a My Docs folder with a shortcut in the relative presets folders.  This is mainly to keep things like .ABR files available for the release and beta versions, but it keeps them safe from update woes as well.  I do the same with older plugins like those from Flaming Pear (Flood 2 etc.) because Photoshop always seems to miss them on updates.

[alexcomeauphoto]

Photoshop just updated AGAIN (25.9.0) and once again ALL MY SETTINGS AND SHORTCUTS are gone.

This is incredibly frustrating.

[Trevor.Dennis]

Photoshop just updated AGAIN (25.9.0) and once again ALL MY SETTINGS AND SHORTCUTS are gone.

This is incredibly frustrating.

By @alexcomeauphoto

Alex,  can you check Manage Updates in the CC Desktop app and make sure Import previous settings and preferences is checked?

I thought that this was not even an issue with dot updates.  I updated the beta version to 25.10 today, and the update happened so fast, it couldn't have been a full reinstallation, so it's unlikely it was going to forget settings.

Do you use a custom workspace?  I can't say for sure it would fix it, but I can tell you that I have never lost settings and shortcuts.  It's a super useful feature because you can repurpose shortcuts acording to context.  I set and reset my workspaces with actions triggered by Function keys.  It can become addictive being able to see all your panels shoot back into place at the press of a single key.

What OS are you using?  This page tells you were Photoshop files are located.  I said I've never lost my shortcuts, but if I did it wwouldn't matter because I have them backed up.

https://helpx.adobe.com/nz/photoshop/kb/preference-file-names-locations-photoshop.html

If you are using Windows, you'll find your custom workspace .psw files here:

C:\Users\[Your User Nam]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2024\Adobe Photoshop 2024 Settings\WorkSpaces (Modified)

[jamisonsheppard]

This has begun happening to me as well with any new major version install and I have the box checked to migrate settings on update.

Really fun to be giving a presentation and find all my keyboard shortcuts gone so I look like a complete newb in front of collegues.

[gidion_1243]

Couldn't agree more with you!! It takes time to set these things up!! 

[SassyLang]

This just happened to me! Thankfully I have Time Machine so if you find the folder where the Workplaces are kept, go into Time Machine and go back prior to the update, you can restore those workplace files into the current folder. 🙂