MY CARTCamera Raw Preferences in Photoshop:
This video lesson, titled “Learn How to Change Camera Raw Preferences in Adobe Photoshop: A Training Tutorial,” shows how to change the camera raw preferences in Photoshop. This video lesson is from our complete Photoshop tutorial, titled “Mastering Photoshop Made Easy.”
Overview:
To access the “Camera Raw Preferences” dialog box in Photoshop, click the “Open preferences dialog” button towards the upper-right corner of the “Camera Raw” dialog box to open it. The camera raw preference categories appear as buttons at the left side of the dialog box which you can click to specify their individual settings at the right side of the window.
General Preferences:
To set the general camera raw preferences, click the “General” button at the left side of the “Camera Raw Preferences” dialog box.
Appearance Preference:
To set the color theme of the “Camera Raw” dialog box, select a choice from the “Color Theme” drop-down in the “Appearance” section to the right.
Panels Preferences:
To change the behavior of the Edit panels in the “Camera Raw” dialog box, select a choice from the “Edit panel behavior” drop-down in the “Panels” section. How your selected choice impacts the panels’ behavior appears in a label below the drop-down.
To use a compact layout of the sliders and settings in the Edit panel, check the “Use compact layout” checkbox. If checked, this forces the setting name and slider onto the same line and shortens their names to save vertical space. To show rich tooltips for the buttons in the “Camera Raw” dialog box’s toolbar when you hover over them, check the “Show rich tooltips” checkbox. If unchecked, the buttons simply show their names in basic tooltips. For users who prefer the older, legacy Target Adjustment Tool, you can check the “Use legacy Target Adjustment Tool” checkbox to enable it.
Filmstrip Preferences:
If opening multiple camera raw files at once in the “Camera Raw” dialog box, the files appear in a “Filmstrip” at the side or bottom of the preview area. You can then click a picture in the filmstrip to select it and edit it in the preview area. The settings in the “Filmstrip” section determine the appearance of the filmstrip. Use the “Orientation” drop-down to select whether you want a “Horizontal” or “Vertical” filmstrip.
To show filenames in the filmstrip, check the “Show filenames” checkbox. To show ratings and color labels, check the “Show ratings & color labels” checkbox. You can uncheck either checkbox to hide them, instead. To show buttons for the pop-up contextual menu and the “Save Options” dialog box as an overlay that appears in the upper-right corner of the thumbnails in the Filmstrip when you hover over them, check the “Show contextual menu hints on hover” checkbox. Unchecking this checkbox turns them off.
Zoom and Pan Preferences:
To change the default magnification level used to zoom in on camera raw images, select the desired percentage from the “Default image click zooms to” drop-down in the “Zoom and Pan” section. To enable a Lightroom style zoom and pan, check the “Use Lightroom style zoom and pan” checkbox.
If enabled, then you can click and hold down the mouse button to zoom in on a preview image and also automatically activate the hand tool, so you then drag to pan, as needed. Then release the mouse button and click again to zoom out. Enabling this setting also removes the “Zoom Tool” and “Hand Tool” from the toolbar at the right side of the “Camera Raw” dialog box. Unchecking the checkbox uses the default zoom and pan of the “Camera Raw” dialog box.
Keyboard Shortcuts Preference:
In the “Keyboard Shortcuts” section, you can check or uncheck the “Use legacy undo shortcuts” checkbox to enable or disable the legacy “undo” shortcuts.
File Handling Preferences:
To set the default file handling preferences in the “Camera Raw” dialog box, click the “File Handling” button at the left side of the “Camera Raw Preferences” dialog box to show its settings to the right.
DNG File Handling Preferences:
In the “DNG File Handling” section, use the “Sidecars” drop-down to choose how to handle camera raw sidecar data with DNG files. Your choices are “Embed XMP in DNG,” “Always use sidecar XMP files,” or “Ignore sidecar XMP files.” To update embedded JPEG previews in DNG files, if desired, check the “Update embedded JPEG previews” checkbox. Then use the adjacent drop-down to select the desired preview size.
JPEG and TIFF Handling Preferences:
To set how to handle JPEG and TIFF files in the “Camera Raw” dialog box if you choose to open those files in Camera Raw by using Adobe Bridge, select your desired choices from the “JPEG” and “TIFF” drop-downs in the “JPEG and TIFF Handling” section.
Performance Preferences:
To change the camera raw graphics performance and camera raw cache settings, click the “Performance” button at the left side of the “Camera Raw Preferences” dialog box to show its settings to the right.
Performance Preference:
In the “Performance” section, you can set the graphics processor performance settings. To set the graphics performance setting for supported graphics processors, select a choice from the “Use Graphics Processor” drop-down. If you select the “Custom” choice, then you can check the checkboxes that appear below the drop-down to select for which camera raw tasks to use the GPU.
Camera Raw Cache Preferences:
To set the maximum size in gigabytes for the camera raw cache, enter the desired limit value into the “Maximum Size” field in the “Camera Raw Cache” section. To purge the camera raw cache in Photoshop, click the adjacent “Purge Cache” button. If desired, to change the camera raw cache location, click the “Select Location…” button, navigate into the selected folder in the “Select Cache Folder” dialog box that opens, and then click the “Select” button in the “Select Cache Folder” dialog box.
Defaults Preferences:
To change the camera raw default settings applied to photos opened in camera raw, click the “Defaults” button at the left side of the “Camera Raw Preferences” dialog box to show its settings to the right. You can set the default camera raw settings to apply to raw images by selecting either “Adobe Default,” “Camera Settings,” or one of the available camera raw presets from the “Global” drop-down.
To override the global camera raw default settings for specific camera models, check the “Override global settings for specific cameras” checkbox. Then select the name of the camera for which to create an override from the “Available Cameras” drop-down. To show serial numbers for the cameras in the drop-down menu, check the “Show serial numbers” drop-down. For the selected camera, then use the adjacent drop-down to select the desired default or preset to apply. Then click the “Create Default” button to add the camera’s default settings to the list below.
To edit or delete a preset in this list, click the three-dot button at its right end. In the menu that appears, then select a different default or preset to apply to edit it or select the “Delete Default” command to delete it.
Workflow Preferences:
To change the default workflow settings in camera raw, click the “Workflow” button at the left side of the “Camera Raw Preferences” dialog box to show its settings in the “Color Space,” “Image Sizing,” “Output Sharpening,” and “Photoshop” sections to the right. If you have a saved workflow preset to apply, select it from the “Preset” drop-down.
Color Space Preferences:
To specify a default color space profile in camera raw, use the “Space” drop-down in the “Color Space” section. To set the bit depth, use the “Depth” drop-down. If needed, to specify the default intent for a selected color space, use the “Intent” drop-down. To simulate paper and ink if needed for your color space profile, check the “Simulate Paper & Ink” checkbox.
Image Sizing Preferences:
To resize files by default, check the “Resize to Fit” checkbox in the “Image Sizing” section. Then use the adjacent drop-down to select the desired resizing method. Then fill-in the values for the selected resizing method, which appear below the drop-down. To prevent enlarging the file when resizing, check the “Don’t Enlarge” checkbox. To set the default image resolution, type a value into the “Resolution” field and then use the adjacent drop-down to specify the value as either pixels per inch or per centimeter.
Output Sharpening Preferences:
To sharpen files based on their output destination by default, check the “Sharpen For” checkbox and then select the final output destination from the adjacent drop-down. Then use the “Amount” drop-down to set the amount of output sharpening to apply.
Photoshop Preference:
To open files in Photoshop as Smart Objects by default, check the “Open in Photoshop as Smart Object” checkbox in the “Photoshop” section.
How to Save the Workflow Preferences as a Preset:
After specifying the default camera raw workflow settings you want, to then save the settings as a new workflow preset, select the “New Workflow Preset …” command from the “Preset” drop-down at the top of the “Camera Raw Preferences” dialog box to open the “New Workflow Preset” dialog box.
Type a name for the workflow preset into the “Name” field in this dialog box and then click the “OK” button. In the future, you can then select the name of this preset from the “Preset” drop-down in the “Workflow” section of the “Camera Raw Preferences” dialog box to instantly apply the saved workflow default settings.
Technology Previews Preferences:
To enable HDR output in the “Camera Raw” dialog box of Photoshop if using compatible hardware, which also enables the JPEG XL and AVIF file formats, click the “Technology Previews” button at the left side of the “Camera Raw Preferences” dialog box. Then check the “HDR Output” checkbox in the “Technology Previews” section to the right. Note that this is a preview feature in Photoshop, which means it is still under development and not yet finalized, so you can expect changes if you enable it.
To apply any changed settings in the “Camera Raw Preferences” dialog box, click the “OK” button in the upper-right corner of the dialog box. Alternatively, to close the dialog box and cancel your changes, click the “Cancel” button, instead.
