As preset designers, we know that sometimes things get quirky with our electronic devices or programs. Troubleshooting becomes necessary.

The solution can be very straightforward: do a reset or restart. Sometimes with Lightroom, it's also needed. When it's acting up, try resetting Lightroom's preferences file. In this simple tutorial, we'll teach you to reset Preferences and create a backup file.

How to Reset Preferences

1. Resetting preferences is easier in Lightroom and Lightroom Classic than you might be thinking:

Press Alt and Shift (Windows) / Opt and Shift (Mac) while you're opening Lightroom.
The program will then ask whether to reset the preferences.
Be sure to hold down the keys while clicking/double-clicking on the app/shortcut!!

2. You can also reset preferences manually by renaming or moving the preferences file rather than deleting it. (If resetting your preferences doesn't resolve your issues, you can just return it rather than having to recreate it manually.)

Here's how to reset manually:

how+reset+lightroom+preferences+manually

On Windows

1. Quit Lightroom.

2. Open Explorer, and navigate to:

Lightroom Classic, Lightroom 6 (or earlier): C:\Users\[yourusername]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Lightroom\Preferences. Because this is a hidden folder, the easiest thing is to open the Start menu search box in Windows 7 / 10 or Search charm in Windows 8 and type: %appdata%\Adobe\Lightroom\Preferences.
Lightroom Desktop (cloud-based): C:\Users\[your username]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Lightroom CC\Preferences. Because these are hidden folders, the easiest way to find them is to open the Start menu search box in Windows 7 / 10 or Search charm in Windows 8 and type: %appdata%\Adobe\

3. Rename, move, or delete the following files:

Lightroom Classic: Lightroom Classic CC 7 Preferences.agprefs and leave the Startup Preferences there.
Lightroom 6 (or earlier): Lightroom 6 Preferences.agprefs (any earlier

4. Go ahead and restart Lightroom.

On Mac

1. Quit Lightroom.

2. Open Finder.

3. Select the Go menu.

4. Hold down the Opt key until Library appears in the menu, and click on it.

5. In the Finder window, open the Preferences folder.

6. Rename, move* or delete the following files:

Classic: com.adobe.LightroomClassicCC7.plist.
Lightroom 6 (or earlier): com.adobe.Lightroom6.plist and com.adobe.Lightroom6.LSSharedFileList.plist (older versions have similar name).
Lightroom Desktop (cloud-based): com.adobe.LightroomCC.plist.

7. Restart your computer

8. Then restart Lightroom.

Tip: If your presets are missing, go to Lightroom menu > Preferences > Presets tab; check Store presets with this catalog. You should be able to see them now.

Last Things to Know About Resetting Preferences

When you reset your Preferences file, you should know that you also will reset or lose several others. These include last-used settings, View Options settings, FTP server details, some plug-in settings, and a few others.

However, resetting the Preferences file will NOT affect certain other items or settings - such as original photos, collections, Lr presets, Develop settings and defaults, and other important settings. While your presets remain safe, you may need to check Store presets with this catalog because it also reverts to default. Just check the box in Preferences, and the presets should reappear.

Lastly, in Lightroom 6 and Lightroom Classic, there are several startup catalog preferences that you typically don't need to reset. These include the recent catalog list, the last used catalog path, and the catalog upgrade history.

On Lightroom 5 or earlier, Lightroom might reopen and indicate a blank catalog, or it might ask you to create one after deleting the preferences. If it finds a catalog in the default location, it will open that catalog. However, you can navigate to your normal catalog by going to File menu > Open Catalog.

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