We know that once you have made presets, actions, or overlays a part of your editing workflow, that you would absolutely hate to suddenly lose them!  So, we want to make sure that you know how to back these files up for perpetual use by providing some tips for finding and saving your files for backup! Now, we highly recommend simply backing up at the time of first download, before you've done anything else, by copying your downloaded .zip(s) and saving those downloads to an external physical drive or cloud storage! 

However, we know that sometimes you are so excited to get things installed and running that this important step can be easily forgotten! So we will show you how to find those files again so you can back them up at any time. Overlays, as photo images, should be the easiest to track down, as you have likely saved them to Documents or Photos. However, Presets and Actions can be trickier to track down. 

Quick Links:
Selecting Your Storage Solution
The Why, When & Where of Backing up Resources
How to Backup Your Presets (.lrtemplate files)
How to Backup Your Presets (.xmp files)
How to Backup Your Local Adjustment Brushes (.lrtemplate files)
How to Backup Your Actions 
Mobile Notes for Presets

To Begin, Select Your Storage Solution

First decide between cloud and physical storage. Unlike a physical drive that can be misplaced lost, or malfunction, it may help to know that cloud storage options are internet-based, and so even if you delete your cloud software or app from your computer or phone, all items that you've uploaded to the cloud are still only a log-in away. (Unless of course you delete you cloud account manually and/or unsubscribe).  Some use the iCloud or a similar whole system storage solution tailored to your particular host of devices, but there are many fabulous cloud options! 

The following are the most popular options, each of them offers a bit of free space to users and then allows users to purchase additional space if needed: 

1. Google Drive

Google Drive is one of the most common options, and with a free 5 GB of space, always a good option for saving digital resources. Google is particularly good for previewing, organizing and sharing files. 

However, it is important to note that on iOS mobile devices (iPhones & iPads) the Drive app cannot unzip/extract .zipped files, and may note the item as unsupported. So, if you are wanting to share DNG files between devices, or you are wanting to re-organize or share your files on mobile devices, you may run into special issues. 

2. Dropbox

Dropbox only allows 2 GB of free space. However, it syncs beautifully between your computer and other devices. This one installs on your computer and adds a folder, making backing up your items and sharing to a new machine a dream, and a matter of just logging in. 

Note: This will encounter similar problems to Google Drive on iOS mobile devices. For iOS, you'll want to stick with iCloud for backup! 

 

Find your files & start your backup - Lightroom Classic 

Why Should You Backup Your Digital Resources?

Unfortunately, computers crash, grow old, and develop issues and this could easily compromise your files if you don't have them saved to a secure location! Additionally, we know that sometimes certain Adobe updates or changes can seem to suddenly wipe out all of your settings and clear all of your presets without warning! 

When Should You Backup Your Digital Resources? 

Obviously, you cannot predict when the worst will happen, so again we always suggest backing up your files as soon as possible. (Hint: TODAY!) It is also wise to ALWAYS back up your presets and actions before upgrading or re-installing Lightroom of Photoshop in the case of an unforeseeable installation issue! 

Where Should You Backup Your Digital Resources? 

It should go without saying that you can backup your files wherever you'd like and however works best for you. Whether a cloud server (à la Dropbox, Google Drive, box or iCloud), or an external physical drive such as a handheld USB thumb drive, an external hard-drive, or a dedicated backup device. Cloud users can access their files at anytime on any machine with an internet connection. Those using external drives, can access their files whenever they'd like with or without an internet connection. Whatever you choose, you'll be thankful to have your files there! You can also save an extra copy somewhere on your primary computer as well! 

How to Backup Your Presets (Perpetual License .lrtemplate files)?

1. Launch Lightroom.
2. Open the Preferences window from the top menu.  For PC: Navigate to Edit > Preferences. For Mac: Navigate to Lightroom > Preferences.
3. From the Preferences window, select the Presets tab (the second from the left.)
4. From the presets tab, under "Location", select “Show all Other Lightroom Presets” or if you only have a single option for your version of Lightroom select "Show Lightroom Presets Folder..." 
5. Your Finder (on Mac) or Windows Explorer (on PC) will open and a folder called “Lightroom” will be highlighted.  Open this folder and look for the "Develop Presets" folder. SPECIAL NOTE: This process will not backup your Adjustment Brush Presets.  Make sure to follow the steps below to locate and back-up your Local Adjustment files. 
6. Copy the “Develop Presets” Folder and Paste it into your backup location. This will be either the cloud or external drive folder on your PC. If using in-browser cloud-storage such as Google Drive or OneDrive, you should be able to simply drag and drop into the browser (where prompted). 

How to Backup your Presets (.xmp files)?

1. Launch Lightroom.
2. Open the Preferences window from the top menu.  For PC: Navigate to Edit > Preferences. For Mac: Navigate to Lightroom > Preferences.
3. From the Preferences window, select the Presets tab (the second from the left.)
4. From the presets tab, under "Location", select "Show Lightroom Develop Presets."
5. Your Finder (on Mac) or Windows Explorer (on PC) will open and a folder called "Settings" will be highlighted. If you manually placed your files into this folder to install them, this will be the file you copy for backup. If you imported your presets via + > Import Presets directly in Lightroom you will select the "ImportedSettings" folder:
   
   SPECIAL NOTE: This process will not backup your Adjustment Brush Presets.  Make sure to follow the steps below to locate and back-up your Local Adjustment files. 
6. Copy the "Settings" or "Imported Settings" Folder and paste it where you want your backup to be. This will be either the cloud or external drive folder on your PC. If using in-browser cloud-storage such as Google Drive or OneDrive, you should be able to simply drag and drop into the browser (where prompted). 

How to Backup your Local Adjustment Presets (.lrtemplate files)?

1. Launch Lightroom.
2. Open the Preferences window from the top menu.  For PC: Navigate to Edit > Preferences. For Mac: Navigate to Lightroom > Preferences.
3. From the Preferences window, select the Presets tab (the second from the left.)
4. From the presets tab, under "Location", select “Show all Other Lightroom Presets"  for older versions of Lightroom select "Show Lightroom Presets Folder..."
5. Your Finder (on Mac) or Windows Explorer (on PC) will open and a folder called "Lightroom" will be highlighted.  Open this folder and look for the "Local Adjustment Presets Folder." This is the folder you need to backup.
6. Copy the "Local Adjustments" Folder and paste it where you want your backup to be. This will be either the cloud or external drive folder on your PC. If using in-browser cloud-storage such as Google Drive or OneDrive, you should be able to simply drag and drop into the browser (where prompted). 

 

How to Backup your Actions 

1. Launch Photoshop
2. Open your Actions Window (Windows > Actions)
3. Select one of your collections, by selecting the collection title (not a particular action).
4. Select the Actions menu. 
5. Select "Save Actions"
6. Save the selected Action collection to your preferred backup folder or device. If using in-browser cloud storage, save this somewhere you can easily locate for upload. 

Mobile Notes for Presets

On a mobile device, when dealing with DNG preset files, we actually suggest unzipping and installing your files first, making sure everything works, and then saving the original .zip file you downloaded (this shouldn't disappear when you extract your files) to the cloud storage of your choosing. Your downloaded .zip should still be present in your Files Manager (Such as "My Files" for Android, or "Files" for iOS) unless purposely deleted. 

It's that easy! 

It should be a great feeling to know that your files are secure even if the worst happens to your editing software or computer. However, you'll want to remember to do this for each new purchase, and once you get the hang of it, a back-up should only take seconds!