Lightroom classic cc update can't find user presets

[lucyb39204284]

My macbook's graphic card failed. While waiting for my new computer, I removed my hard dive and placed it into an external case and plugged it i to another macbook. I installed LR classic cc. I was prompted to ugrade my lr catalogue (had been using LR cc 2015). All was good but my presets are missing. All LR folders are empty. Library folder/camera raw has no settings folder. The presets just don't seem to exist anymore. Maybe they were contained in my old catalogue but on my Adobe accouny I have no option to re-install LR cc 2015. Any help? I've searched the drive for .xmp and .Lrtemplate and find nothing. I didn't check before the upgrade but the hard drive is fully intact and no reason for all my custom presets to have disappeared. Any advice please?

[johnrellis]

The format and location of develop presets have changed from CC 2015 (version 6) to Classic (version 7/8).

The new format is .xmp, and you can find where user presets are stored by doing Preferences > Prestes > Show Lightroom Develop Presets.

The old format is .lrtemplate.  See this help article for where the develop presets were stored in CC 2015: Preference file and other file locations | Lightroom Classic CC and Lightroom 6 . Note in particular that if you had set the option Store Presets With This Catalog, they would have been stored in a subfolder of your catalog folder.

[lucyb39204284]

Thank you for responding. I reviewed the article. I checked all those locations and they are all empty. I did a search for both preset extensions and nothing. The only files returned in the search were a set of presets I installed as a test, that had still been in my downloads folder. So new presets installed in the aetting folder of that test catalogue, but any presets that I was using in my old catalogue are all gone. LR created a new version of my catalogue during the upgrade ao I might just try re-installing the original and hope my presets were stored with the catalogue.

[johnrellis]

I checked all those locations and they are all empty.

Just to remove any ambiguity, you checked those locations on the old drive (now an external drive)?

LR created a new version of my catalogue during the upgrade ao I might just try re-installing the original and hope my presets were stored with the catalogue.

During the upgrade from CC 2015 to LR 8, LR will use the same catalog folder to store the upgraded catalog.  So there's no need to reinstall an old version -- the .lrtemplate files would be visible in a subfolder of the catalog folder.

[lucyb39204284]

Hi,

Yes, checked those locations on the old, now external drive. Just for kicks checked the local drive too, nothing.

There is a LR settings folder in the directory where both catalogues are housed (original catalogue and the newer upgraded one. All folders in there are empty with exception of some default/basic lrtemplates. So is that a clue? I don't know enough about it all to come to a reasonable conclusion. There was no reason for the presets to disappear, and I didn't check those folders prior to the upgrade to see if something had been there before - because that would make it immediately apparent that the upgrade did something. So unfortunately a bit in the dark about it all. Had custom brushes as well, local adjustments preset folder also empty save for some basic presets that I think just come with the system. And I'll add that I'm a daily user of LR and had it open and using my presets as normal when my display conked out. I can't imagine that affected anything though - LR has crashed on me a few times and closed unexpectedly and have never had an issue with presets before this. The graphics card failed 2 other times, and everything remained intact and I resumed activity after the repair. And I didn't experience this issue with my upgrade to LR CC 2015 from my original LR 5 desktop version.

[johnrellis · Accepted solution]

There is a LR settings folder in the directory where both catalogues are housed

That's where the develop presets would be stored if you had enabled Store Presets With Catalog. (Most people don't do that.)

Note that when you search for ".lrtemplate" files in Finder, by default, it won't search /Users/user/Library on any hard drive. After doing the initial search, you've got to click the "+" button and add the criterion "System files are included":

[lucyb39204284]

This did the trick! I did a search including system files and located them all! Turns out the library folder under my user profile was hidden, and I was checking another library folder that appeared on my drive. Hubby who is the tech around here (just doesn't know LR), said that user profiles have library files and then there are system library files. A bit confusing, but they are all there. I was able to successfully import them all. Thank you so much, I actually learned a lot in this whole process! So grateful!

[johnrellis]

Glad you got it resolved.

[JohanElzenga]

Unless you stored your presets with the catalog, they were stored in your user/Library folder. When you hooked up that disk onto another computer as an external hard disk, you were no longer using the user/Library folder of the first computer, but the user/Library folder on the new computer. That is why you didn't see any user presets anymore. They are now in the wrong place (the user/Library folder on the old disk).

[TheDigitalDog]

JohanEl54  wrote

Unless you stored your presets with the catalog, they were stored in your user/Library folder. When you hooked up that disk onto another computer as an external hard disk, you were no longer using the user/Library folder of the first computer, but the user/Library folder on the new computer. That is why you didn't see any user presets anymore. They are now in the wrong place (the user/Library folder on the old disk).

Which is why I so often recommend the "store presets with catalog" option, among others.

[lucyb39204284]

Hi and thanks for the response. I actually checked the User/library folder on my external drive - shows up as a device when I connect it. All my data on that hard drive is intact including my catalogue and because it was a graphics card failure the drive was unaffected. So I can only think that they were inadvertently wiped with the upgrade.