Preset migration in Photoshop CS6

Adobe Photoshop CS6 includes an automated preset migration feature. When you first launch Photoshop CS6, you can migrate any custom presets from previous versions as far back as CS3. If you don't choose this option, you can migrate presets later by choosing Edit > Presets > Migrate Presets. You can also manually import presets from previous versions by choosing Edit > Presets > Export/Import Presets.

Important: Restart Photoshop after you migrate your presets.

Note: Plug-ins and preferences are not migrated. Never copy plug-ins from previous versions to a different version of Photoshop. See this TechNote for more information on Photoshop's plug-ins.

To migrate your presets automatically, make sure that they are saved in the default folders.

The default preset folder locations are:

Windows 7 and Vista: C:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS[Version]\Presets

Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\[User Name]\Application Data\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS[Version]\Presets

Mac OS: Users/[User Name]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop CS[Version]/Presets

You can migrate all the preset folders in the above locations either by the automated process or manually. See below for the full list of potential folders - and presets - that are under the Presets folder, and can be migrated.

Note: To migrate presets, make sure they're in the folders listed above. If they are in the Preset folder in the Adobe Photoshop CS [version] folder, they aren't migrated.

To migrate presets during first launch, do the following:

1. When asked, "Would you like to migrate presets from the following versions? [Installed versions of Photoshop are listed.]," click Yes.
2. When the migration is complete, the message, "Preset files from older versions successfully migrated." appears.
3. Restart Photoshop to use these migrated presets.

To migrate custom presets you created using the Photoshop CS6 Beta, or any other previous version of Photoshop CS6, do the following:

1. Export your custom presets made with the previous version, by choosing Edit > Presets > Export/Import Presets.
2. 
   Uninstall the previous version.
3. Install the release version of Photoshop CS6.
4. Import the presets using Edit > Presets > Export/Import Presets.
   

To manually import presets from previous versions into Photoshop CS6, do the following:

1. Choose Edit > Presets > Export/Import Presets.
2. Select Import Presets.
3. Select the presets you want to import, or Add All.
4. If you saved your presets to a folder that is not the default, select Select Import Folder, and choose the appropriate folder.
5. Click Import Presets.

Note: In Step 3, you can choose Select Import Folder, and choose your Photoshop CS5 preset folder.

All the presets in the following folders, which are under the Presets folder, can be migrated. Some of these presets are only available in Photoshop CS6; some only in Photoshop CS5.

3DLUTs
Actions
Black and White
Brushes
Channel Mixer
Color Books
Color Swatches
Contours
Curves
Custom Shapes
Deco
Duotones
Exposure
Flash 3D
Gradients
HDR Toning
Hue and Saturation
Levels
Lighting Effects
Lights
Materials
Meshes
Optimized Colors
Optimized Output Settings
Optimized Settings
Patterns
Render Settings
Repousse
Scripts
Styles
Tools
Video
Volumes
Widgets
Zoomify
Workspaces