Pref Presets

It is common knowledge that in the Preferences dialog lets us tune Photoshop to our specific goals. But what if our workflow includes several kinds of tasks requiring different sets of preferences?

For example, while working with Web graphics:
- "pixels" are preferable for the both "ruler" and "type" units;
- "Bicubic sharper" is supposed to be the best interpolation algorithm when downscaling full-size photos for the Web publications;
- RAM issues don't matter, so the "Undo History" may contain up to 1000 states.

On the contrary, when working on a huge poster:
- you, most probably, choose "cm" or "inch" units;
- "Bicubic Smoother" is better suited for the image upsizing;
- "History States" sequence must be as short as possible;
- you may need to allocate more memory (RAM) to Photoshop.

The "Pref Presets" script enables a quick-switch between the two (or more) sets of parameters.

The left panel of the script dialog contains the list of the previously saved presets. The last, additional, item in the list represents the current program preferences.

The right part of the dialog window displays parameters of the currently selected preset. As you can see, not all the possible preferences are included, but just the most useful ones (at least, in the author's opinion).

1. To choose a previously saved preset, just click the corresponding line in the presets list. Let's make it clear, that this operation merely loads the settings combination to the right panel without affecting the current Photoshop preferences.

2. If necessary, you may alter the loaded parameters by using the sliders, checkboxes, and drop menus. This affects neither the Photoshop preferences nor the existing pref presets.

Now you can use the displayed parameters in two ways - either apply or save.

3. The "Apply" button makes the currently displayed settings the Photoshop preferences, just as if you defined them in the "Preferences" dialog.

4. The "Save" button records the displayed parameters to a new pref preset. This doesn't affect the Photoshop preferences.

5. To delete an unnecessary preset, select it in the left panel and click the "Delete" button.

After saving the customized preferences, you can load them as follows:

1. Run the "Pref Presets" script.
2. Choose the required preset in the left panel.
3. Click the "Apply" button (screenshot).