Where does Photoshop 2024 keep it’s preferences in OS Sonoma

[DavidMacDo]

According to Adobe's onlne help Photoshops preferences on a Mac are kept in

macOS: Users/[user name]/Library/Preferences/Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings. (See attached screenshot)

When I navigate to my user library there is no Preference folder at all - only Preference Panes. (See attached screenshot).

Somehow Photoshop is remembering tailored settings like my very individual workspace for example. It's keeping them somewhere. So where, if this Preferences file does not exist where Adobe tells me it should? Its not in the presets directory, I've checked that very carefully.

I've used directory searches everywhere with no success. 

Please can anyone enlighten me. I really want to back up my preferences but cannot do this in the way Adobe instructs me.

[jane-e]

@DavidMacDo 

I'm not on Sonoma yet, so I'm not sure if this has changed. It looks like you are already showing hidden files.

I've moved your post from Creative Cloud Desktop to the Photoshop forum for you.

Jane

[DavidMacDo]

Thank you Jane. Didn't realise I had misposted. Silly me. 

[jane-e]

No worries, @DavidMacDo . It's our job, not yours, to make sure posts are in a place where they can get help.

If no one answers, I can tag someone I know uses Sonoma.

Jane

[DavidMacDo]

If no one answers that would be good. I've spent searching for this ..... it's very frustrating.

[DavidMacDo]

Oooops ... spent ages searching .....

[Jeff Arola]

A couple of things to try:

1. Click on your desktop then in the Go menu click Go to Folder

   and paste in ~/Library/Preferences and click Return

2. In the Go menu hold down the Option/Alt key and Library will appear.

     That's your User Library

[jane-e]

@Jeff Arola 

He is in the User Library. Can you look at what David circled in red?

Jane

[Jeff Arola]

Yes but there so many drives attached he could easily be on the wrong drive.

[jane-e]

@Jeff Arola 

Good catch!

Jane

[DavidMacDo]

You can see from the path that In have outlined in my original attachement hat I appear to be on the correct drive and path. 

But now the plot thickens! Jeff's first suggestion using go to folder with ~/Library/Preferences takes me right there ... and there it is! But it's greyed out! (See attached screenshot)

So it exists but is hidden. Certainly all my software, including Photoshop, are respecting their preferences and are reading this invisible folder. As Conrad C has pointed out this seems to be a system problem.

I have the normally hidden user library visible in the usual manner. The question is how do I make this one hidden folder within it visible?

[DavidMacDo]

I should have said thank you all for getting me this far!

I do hope someone has the last piece of the jigsaw. System level stuff is not my strength.

[DavidMacDo]

I have just taken a look at the info for this hidden folder. (See attached)

I have full read and write priveledges, which I should as admin.  So this doesn't appear to be hidden from me specifically for any reason. However the folder name is greyed which presumably reflects its generally non visible status.

[Conrad_C]

I have the normally hidden user library visible in the usual manner. The question is how do I make this one hidden folder within it visible?

By @DavidMacDo

OK good, you established the Preferences folder really exists, which is why your whole system isn’t broken. 🙂

You can hide/show visibility of files and folders in many ways. The most basic way is to use a Terminal command, which you can quickly find in a web search. There are many Mac utilities that will do that for you by clicking a switch; if you have some Mac utilities look through them. One of them is Onyx (free but requests donation). Be sure to download the version specifically made for macOS 14!

The first screen shot is where the setting is in Onyx for changing one file or folder; try that one. The second screen shot is for changing the visibility of all files that are hidden by default, including the obscure Unix ones. You should not have to change the setting in the second picture unless you want to, because Preferences should be visible by default (if Library is visible).

[DavidMacDo]

Onyx did the trick for me instantly! It looks to be a very useful app in many ways. I have sent a donation. Thank you Conrad for you very detailed help.

[DavidMacDo]

Thank you everyone for your help. These forums are just wonderful! 

Fortunately there are other disciplines and forums where my skill levels mean that I am a contributor rather than a receiver ......... and thus the scales are balanced. 😀😀

[Conrad_C]

Onyx did the trick for me instantly! It looks to be a very useful app in many ways. I have sent a donation.

By @DavidMacDo

Yup, Onyx has long been like a pocket multi-tool for the Mac, good to have around when a screw gets loose. Even though I know how to use the Terminal commands for many of the things it does…Onyx is much easier and safer.

[Conrad_C]

I have a test Mac on macOS 14.2 Sonoma, and the Preferences folder is exactly where it should be, and the preferences for Photoshop 2024 and older versions of Photoshop are there. And I have not read anywhere that Apple changed anything about this in Sonoma.

The posted screen shots look correct because the path is shown, as long as Mac SSD is the currently booted system volume. If they are correct, then here is the thing: The missing Preferences folder contains the preferences for every application on that Mac, including Apple applications. If the Preferences folder is really missing, any customized preferences in any app should also be gone. 

Therefore, it’s very clear that this is not actually a Photoshop problem; it needs troubleshooting at the macOS level because a missing Preferences folder should affect everything. (It would be a Photoshop problem if the Preferences folder was easily found with all expected app preferences in it, and the only thing missing was the Photoshop preferences folder. But that is not the case here.)

If other apps are showing customized preferences, then that would be weird, it means Preferences does exist, because other Mac apps can get them, so just figure out where they are looking, although that isn’t as easy as it sounds. One way to back-door that is to think of an app that has a button in it that reveals its Preferences file, but I can’t remember which ones do that specifically.

[Trevor.Dennis]

I have looked and can't see the file locations link, so I'll add it just in case.

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