Recover my preference settings?

[Suzanne Cole]

I need to do the opposite of this FAQ topic:
Mathias Vejerslev "How to delete/reset Photoshop preferences" 2/11/03 1:04pm </cgi-bin/webx?50@@.ef4a07f>

With several applications open, including Photoshop 6.0, working in Word the apps all stopped responding, one by one (lovely MS).

Anyway, the next time I started Photoshop, the preferences had reset to the default settings. Is it possible to recover the previous preferences or has the file simply been overwritten with the defaults? Is there any way to tell?

(Win2k on a Novell network. I searched for 'Adobe Photoshop 6 Prefs.psp' and found just the two instances, one in the Documents and Settings/Administrator directory, one in my user directory. I double-clicked on each to open -- thinking it might apply the settings within -- and both seemed to apply the defaults, so I'm not sure whether that was an appropriate test.)

[Cheesefood]

File this under "Wouldn't it be great if..."

Much like ATM, there were an APM - Adobe Preference Manager. A single program that would manage preferences for all your Adobe apps, so you could do a quick-and-easy look to see that your color pref's are the same, you could trash a programs prefs without having to remember secret key combinations, or you could set a permanent or temporary "Global Preferences" which would set all your apps to the same color prefs.

Oh, how easy it would make life.

[Suzanne Cole]

Thanks! I thought as much... <sigh>

>I make it a habit to copy my Preferences PSP (as well as my actions pallet

PSP) to a "backup" location on the hard drive in case anything happens
- that way I can at least restore 90%+ of my settings




Had I known much about preferences before that file was toasted, I would have done the same from the start. Rest assured I will from now on!!! I appreciate the tip. Thank you.

>Adobe Preference Manager. A single program that would manage preferences

for all your Adobe apps, so you could do a quick-and-easy look to see
that your color pref's are the same, you could trash a programs prefs
without having to remember secret key combinations, or you could set a
permanent or temporary "Global Preferences" which would set all your apps
to the same color prefs.




That's a *very* cool idea. Probably too cool, eh?

[Cheesefood]

That's a *very* cool idea. Probably too cool, eh?




Anyone good at GUI's?

[YrbkMgr]

Had I known much about preferences before that file was toasted, I would
have done the same from the start.




Hindsight may be 20/20, but sure is a b*tch ain't it?

[Suzanne Cole]

>Hindsight may be 20/20, but sure is a b*tch ain't it?

Yes, yes it is.
I suffer from hindsight and blindsight; there seems to be hardly a glimmer in between...

[barry gray]

A cool way to deal with resetting PS prefs-
When you start to reset start recording an action- virtually all settings are recordable, color settings, prefs, pallet locations, you name it. Save action to disc. Next time it's a one button fix. Actually two- one to load action- one to play.

[YrbkMgr]

Barry,

I'm having trouble understanding what you mean - sounds interesting though. Can you elaborate?

[Suzanne Cole]

But... not sure how this works... if I record the settings to create a button, won't that button be lost when my preferences file reverts to defaults? Isn't that macro (or whatever) part of those preferences?

[YrbkMgr]

Barry,

Interesting. If I had lost my preferences and didn't have a backup, I'd be a little bit in too much of a dither to think about recording an action because I'd have to rebuild somewhat from trial an error. I find it easier to create a copy of the Preferences PSP and simply restore that. Good idea though.

Suzanne,

Yes and No. Actions are stored in your preferences, but if you save your action sets to disk, it's easy to restore them. In fact, the method I described earlier about the Preferences PSP, I do the same thing with the Actions Pallet PSP - it makes porting my whole actions pallet much, much easier.