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Mac How To Find Library Preferences

Though it's not easy to hack into or break through a Mac's security, it is possible, especially if someone accidentally installs malware without realizing it. If your Mac is running slow or you're seeing unusual advertisements within your web browser you might have accidentally installed malware at some point. Don't worry. It happens to the best of us (not me, of course). There are things you can do without having to burn it all down.

In this article, we will show you how to ‘reset’ Pro Tools by deleting its preference files. This helps Pro Tools get back to normal when the app does not appear to be functioning properly or if plug-ins are not showing up. Follow the Mac or PC instructions below to return Pro Tools back to its default state. Reset Pro Tools for Mac.

Dec 20, 2018  So here’s how I got my user library in macOS to show-up permanently in my user folder. First, go to Finder and select Finder Preferences (or use Command+Comma) Choose Sidebar from the top list of tabs (General, Tabs, Sidebar, Advanced) Under Favorites, tick the checkbox next to your user folder’s name Close your Finder Preferences. Excel for Office 365 for Mac PowerPoint for Office 365 for Mac Excel 2016 for Mac PowerPoint 2016 for Mac Excel for Mac 2011 PowerPoint for Mac 2011 More. Less AutoRecover, a feature that is available in some Office applications, attempts to recover files automatically in the event of. Mar 29, 2019 How to Find the Library Folder on a Mac. This wikiHow teaches you how to force your Mac's user 'Library' folder to show up in the Finder window. While the 'Library' folder is hidden by default, you can prompt it to appear both temporarily. Dec 12, 2016  Choose “Show Library Folder” in the settings options for the User home folder This is specific to each user account on the Mac, so if you want to reveal the user account on a different account you’d need to re-enable the same setting individually. Jul 25, 2011  In Lion, your personal Library folder, at the root level of your Home folder, is gone. Actually, it's still there, but it's hidden. Here are a slew of ways to access it or, if you prefer, unhide it. Use the Privacy pane of Security & Privacy preferences to manage the information your Mac makes available to others across the internet or on a network. To open this pane on your Mac, choose Apple menu System Preferences, click Security & Privacy, then click Privacy.

Mac How To Find Library Preferences Free

The problem: Mac malware in the Library folder

Serenity Caldwell writing for iMore in 2017:

My father-in-law's MacBook Pro had been running into curious slowdowns for a two-year-old laptop and he kept on seeing weird sites taking over his Safari and Firefox search bars. It was clear to me that his browser had been hijacked.

We got rid of the browser hijack pretty quickly — I suggest using Cella's excellent how-to if you ever run into a browser hijack yourself — but the slowdowns were more curious. Upon further investigation, I found a couple of self-professed 'Mac security programs' that popped up, demanding money to 'clean your Mac from junk'.

Spoiler: These programs were the junk. And worst of all, they'd seemingly added a bunch of nonsense files into this computer's Library folder, with random folder names like 'prestidigitation' and 'beeswax'.

Now, I want to preface: I'd never seen an attack like this on a Mac before in my life, and finding this kind of full-Mac hijack is very rare. It's likely that he accidentally installed one of these 'security' programs (or had it installed), which spiraled out of control from there.

These hijacks didn't appear to be able to do much beyond slow down his machine with endless failed attempts to run a program — the process didn't have admin permissions, so it couldn't execute a thing from the library. But because they were there, they were constantly crashing aspects of his Mac. I knew I had a malfunctioning laptop on my hands, so I turned to my age-old troubleshooting checklist.

How to fix a corrupted Mac

Mac how to find library preferences on my mac

If you're working on a computer that has slowed down beyond reasonable aging or is otherwise acting beyond the pale, here are my favorite tactics you can take to try and restore it to its former glory.

Update the system software

This is almost always the first thing I do when troubleshooting Macs: Chances are, the user hasn't installed a security update or other software updates that may be slowing their computer to a crawl.

  1. Click on the Apple menu icon in the upper left corner of the screen.
  2. Select App Store to open the Mac App Store.

  3. Click on the Updates tab at the top of the Mac App Store window.
  4. Install all relevant updates. (You may need the Apple ID and password for the machine.)

If the computer is running macOS Sierra, you can avoid having to do this troubleshooting step in the future by turning on Automatic Install in System Preferences, which can automatically download newly available updates in the background, and install them overnight.

  1. With the Mac App Store open, click on App Store in the upper left corner of the Menu bar.
  2. Click on Preferences.

  3. Under Automatically check for updates, check the following boxes:

    • Download newly available updates in the background
    • Install app updates
    • Install macOS updates
    • Install system data files and security updates

Check the disk for errors

If software updates aren't doing the trick, the next thing to check is the hard drive itself. With Apple's Internet Recovery partition, fixing a cranky drive is an easy process.

  1. Restart your Mac.
  2. During reboot, hold down Command-R until it starts up.
  3. Once rebooted, you should be in the Internet Recovery Partition. Select Disk Utility.
  4. Click Continue.

  5. In Disk Utility, click on the First Aid button,
  6. Click on Run to execute.

Your Mac will then run a cursory check on its hard drive to determine if there's anything wrong — and if so — if it can fix it.

Reset the NVRAM/PRAM and SMC

If neither app updates nor disk repair are helping, sometimes a good cache flush can get your Mac running just a bit more smoothly.

To reset the NVRAM (or, on older Macs, PRAM), reboot the Mac and hold down the following keyboard command during startup for at least twenty seconds: Command-Option-P-R.

After you reset your NVRAM, you may be required to reconfigure some system settings (like sound and time zones), which are stored in that cache.

An SMC reset is a bit more complicated, and Apple recommends it only after all other troubleshooting avenues have been exhausted.

If you're using a laptop:

Mac How To Find Library Preferences Free

  1. Shut down your Mac and plug it in.
  2. Restart the computer by pressing the Power button along with the keyboard command Shift-Control-Option.
  3. Release these keys, then just press the Power button to properly start your computer.

If you're using a desktop:

  1. Shut down your Mac.
  2. Unplug it and wait for at least 20 seconds.
  3. Plug the Mac back in and wait 5-10 seconds.
  4. Restart your Mac with the Power button.

Partition your disk (or erase it)

After exhausting all other avenues, this was the solution we came across to properly fix the broken laptop. The hard drive had been so corrupted by these 'security' programs that there was nothing I could do to fix it. When Safari launched over the login screen after a reboot, I knew my usual fixes wouldn't work: It was time to bring out the big guns.

In most cases, I'd grab an external drive, back up the corrupted disk, then wipe the drive clean with the Internet Recovery partition and start over. But there were a couple of reasons that wouldn't work here:

  • We were on vacation, and lacking any sort of external media.
  • With a semi-corrupted disk, we couldn't just clone the user folder and restore the new disk from a backup — we'd have to do a clean install, which meant moving files over one by one. If we'd missed something and moved all the old files to an external drive, my father-in-law would have had to carry it everywhere just in case.

Given that this laptop had a 500GB hard drive — only 40GB of which was being used — I had an alternate idea: I'd partition the drive, again using Internet Recovery, and install macOS Sierra on the new partition. Essentially, it would be a 'clean' new computer for my father-in-law to work on, but all the original data would still exist on the old partition in case he needed to grab a file.

Note: In order to partition your drive, you'll need enough free space on your drive to do so — at least 30GB. If you're light on space, you may want to back up your corrupted disk to a USB drive, instead.

How to create a partition on your Mac

  1. Open Finder from your dock.
  2. Select Applications.

  3. Scroll down and open the Utilities folder.
  4. Double-click to open Disk Utility.

  5. Select your hard drive in the Disk Utility window. It will be the first drive on the list. It might be named 'Fusion,' or 'Macintosh HD.'
  6. Click on the Partition tab.
  7. Click the plus (+) button.

  8. Change the size of the partition you wish to use by dragging the resize controls. The used space is represented in blue.
  9. Name the new partition.
  10. Click apply.

Disk Utility will check the disk and make changes. This will take several minutes.Disk Utility will then make the changes. After that's completed, quit Disk Utility to return to the main Internet Recovery menu.

  1. Click on Reinstall macOS.
  2. Click Continue.

  3. Click Agree to agree to Apple's licensing agreements.
  4. Choose the New Mac hard drive as the disk you'd like to install macOS onto.
  5. Press Install.

  6. The Mac will download a fresh copy of your operating system from the App Store and will install it. The speed of this process entirely depends on your Mac's connection speed to the Internet. You can wait an hour or longer on a slower connection.
  7. Your Mac will restart automatically into the new partition once the software has downloaded, then the installation of the operating system will continue.

After you finish setting up the new hard drive, it's time to move your files over. Because of the way partitioning works, your old hard drive partition will show up next to your currently-active partition, just like an external drive; you can then grab any files you need from it.

  1. Launch a Finder window.
  2. Under Devices in the sidebar, locate your original Macintosh HD.
  3. Copy any files you'd like to keep from your old hard drive to the new machine.

Note: If you want to copy over applications, I'd strongly suggest redownloading them from the source — the Mac App Store or the company's website — rather than trying to copy them over from the old partition.

From here, you can follow instructions for setting a Mac up from scratch when it comes to installing and customizing anything else.

I generally recommend keeping the old drive partition around for at least a few months in case you or your family member forgets to move something over; after that period, however, you can easily delete the old partition and move to the new partition full time.

Consider additional anti-malware protection

While malware on the Mac is rare, it does crop up, as we've demonstrated. Having the right tools to get rid of malware can be an important part of keeping your Mac safe and secure. There are a number of tools that you can choose from, including popular programs like BitDefender and Kaspersky, that will help you keep malware from infecting your Mac.

Questions?

Do you have any must-follow troubleshooting steps? Let us know in the comments.

Updated July 2019: Added a sub-section regarding anti-malware protection.

Serenity Caldwell contributed to an earlier version of this guide.

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Money well spent

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Numerous program settings are stored in the Adobe Photoshop Preferences file, including general display options, file-saving options, performance options, cursor options, transparency options, type options, and options for plug‑ins and scratch disks. Most of these options are set in the Preferences dialog box. Preference settings are saved each time you quit the application.

Unexpected behavior may indicate damaged preferences. If you suspect damage to preferences, restore preferences to their default settings.

To re-create the preferences files for Photoshop, start the application while holding down Ctrl+Alt+Shift (Windows) or Command+Option+Shift (Mac OS). Then, click Yes to the message, 'Delete the Adobe Photoshop Settings file?'

Note: If this process doesn't work for you while you're using a wireless (Bluetooth) keyboard, attach a wired keyboard and retry.

Important: If you re-create the preferences by deleting the Adobe Photoshop Settings file, make sure that you only delete that file. If you delete the entire settings folder, you also delete any unsaved actions or presets.

Reinstalling Photoshop does not remove the preferences file. Before reinstalling Photoshop, re-create your preferences.

Important: Apple made the user library folder hidden by default with the release of Mac OS X 10.7. If you require access to files in the hidden library folder to perform Adobe-related troubleshooting, see How to access hidden user library files.

Photoshop preference Filename Path
General settingsAdobe Photoshop [version] Prefs.pspUsers/[user name]/Library/Preferences/
Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings
ActionsActions palette.pspUsers/[user name]/Library/Preferences/
Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings
Camera Raw PreferencesAdobe Camera Raw [version] PrefsUsers/[user name]/Library/Preferences
Color settings (Color management)Color Settings.csfUsers/[user name]/Library/Preferences/
Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings
Custom Color settings (Color management)Userdefined.csfUsers/[user name]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Color/Settings
Custom proof setups (Color management)Userdefined.psfUsers/[user name]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Color/Proofing
Editing and painting toolsBrushes.psp, Contours.psp, Custom Shapes.psp, Gradients.psp, Patterns.psp, RepoussePresets.psp, Styles.psp, Swatches.psp, ToolPresets.pspUsers/[user name]/Library/Preferences/
Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings/
PathsAdobe Photoshop [version] PathsUsers/[user name]/Library/Preferences
Save for Web

Adobe Save For Web CS6 Prefs


Adobe Save for Web [version] Prefs

Users/[user name]/Library/Preferences/
Adobe/Plugins/Adobe Save for Web CS6/
Photoshop
Users/[user name]/Library/Preferences
Filters and EffectsAdobe Adaptive Wide Angle [version], Adobe Dicom [version], Adobe Filter Gallery [version] Prefs, Adobe Lens Blur [version] Prefs, Adobe Lens Correction [version] Prefs, Adobe Liquify [version] Prefs, Adobe VanishingPoint [version],Adobe Oil Paint [version]
Users/[user name]/Library/Preferences/
Adobe/Plugins/[effect or filter name]/
Photoshop
Lens Profiles (Created with the Lens Profile software)Userdefined.lcsUsers/[user name]/Library/Preferences/
Adobe/LensCorrection/1.0/Settings
Workspaces

[User Defined]

Workspaces that have been modified

Users/[user name]/Library/Preferences/
Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings/WorkSpaces

Users/[user name]/Library/Preferences/
Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings/WorkSpaces (Modified)

Third-party plug-in settings (for example, location of the plug-ins folder)(varies)Users/[user name]/Library/Preferences folder
Saved presets[User defined]Users/[user name]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Presets/[feature name]
Photoshop PreferenceFilenamePath
General settings

Adobe Photoshop [version] Prefs.psp (32-bit version)

Adobe Photoshop X64 [version] Prefs.psp (64-bit version)

Users/[user name]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings
ActionsActions palette.pspUsers/[user name]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings
Camera Raw

Windows registry key

.xmp files saved from Camera Raw dialog box

HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Adobe/Camera Raw/[version]

Users/[user name]/AppData/Roaming/CameraRaw/Settings

Color settings (Color management)Color Settings.csfUsers/[user name]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings
Custom Color settings (Color management)Userdefined.csfUsers/[user name]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/
Color/Settings
Custom proof setups (Color management)Userdefined.psfUsers/[user name]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/
Color/Proofing
Editing and painting toolsBrushes.psp, Contours.psp, Custom Shapes.psp, Gradients.psp, Patterns.psp, Styles.psp, Swatches.psp, ToolPresets.pspUsers/[user name]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings/Presets
PathsPreferences are saved as value data in the SettingsFilePath value name in the Windows registry.

(Windows registry key) HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Adobe/Photoshop/[version]

Settings FilePath value:

Users/[user name]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings

Save for Web

Adobe Save for Web 13.0 Prefs

Save for Web file

Users/[user name]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Plugins/
Adobe Save For Web [version]/Photoshop

Users/[user name]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Optimized Settings/filename.irs

Filters and EffectsAdobe Effect [version] Prefs, Adobe Filter Gallery [version] Prefs, Adobe Lens Blur [version] Prefs, Adobe Lens Correction [version] Prefs, Adobe Liquify [version] Prefs, Adobe Mondo Filter [version], Adobe Oil Paint [version]
Users/[user name]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Plugins/
[effect or filter name]/Photoshop
Lens Profiles (Created with the Lens Profile software)

Userdefined.lcs

Adaptive lens profile files: .wac

Users/[user name]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/
LensCorrection/1.0/Settings

Users/[user name]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Optimize Settings

Workspaces

[User Defined]

Workspaces that have been modified

Users/[user name]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings/Workspaces
Users/[user name]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings/Workspaces (Modified)
Third-party plug-in settings (for example, location of the plug-ins folder)Settings are stored as value data in the SettingsFilePath value name in the Windows registry.HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Adobe/Photoshop/[version]
Saved Presets[User defined]Users/[user name]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Presets/[feature name]
Photoshop PreferenceFilenamePath
General settingsAdobe Photoshop [version] Prefs.pspDocuments and Settings/[user name]/Application Data/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings
ActionsActions palette.pspDocuments and Settings/[user name]/Application Data/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings
Camera Raw

Windows registry key

.xmp files saved from Camera Raw dialog

HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Adobe/Camera Raw/[version]

Documents and Settings/[user name]/Application Data/Adobe/CameraRaw/Settings

Color settings (Color management)Color Settings.csfDocuments and Settings/[user name]/Application Data/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings
Custom Color settings (Color management)Userdefined.csfDocuments and Settings/[user name]/Application Data/Adobe/Color/Settings
Custom proof setups (Color management)Userdefined.psfDocuments and Settings/[user name]/Application Data/Adobe/Color/Proofing
Editing and painting toolsBrushes.psp, Contours.psp, Custom Shapes.psp, Gradients.psp, Patterns.psp, Styles.psp, Swatches.psp, ToolPresets.pspDocuments and Settings/[user name]/Application Data/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Presets
PathsPreferences are saved as value data in the SettingsFilePath value name in the Windows registry.

KEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Adobe/Photoshop/[version]

SettingsFilePath:
Documents and Settings/[user name]/Application Data/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings

Save for WebAdobe Save for Web [version] PrefsDocuments and Settings/[user name]/Adobe/Plugins/Adobe Save For Web [version]/Photoshop
Filters and EffectsAdobe Effect [version] Prefs, Adobe Filter Gallery [version] Prefs,
Adobe Lens Correction [version] Prefs,
Adobe Liquify [version] Prefs,
Adobe Adaptive Wide Angle

Documents and Settings/[user name]/Application Data/Adobe/Plugins/[effect or filter name]/Photoshop

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Documents and Settings/[user name]/Application Data/Adobe/Plugins/Adobe Lens Correction [version]/Photoshop

Documents and Settings/[user name]/Application Data/Adobe/Plugins/Adobe Liquify [version]/Photoshop

Documents and Settings/[user name]/Application Data/Adobe/Plugins/Adobe Adaptive Wide Angle [version]

Lens Profiles (Created with the Lens Profile software)Userdefined.lcsDocuments and Settings/[user name]Application Data/Adobe/Plugins/Adobe Lens Correction [version]/Photoshop
Workspaces

[User Defined]

Workspaces that have modified

Documents and Settings/[user name]/Application Data/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings/Workspaces

Documents and Settings/[user name]/Application Data/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings/Workspaces (Modified)

Third-party plug-in settings (for example, location of the plug-ins folder)Settings are stored as value data in the SettingsFilePath value name in the Windows registry.HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Adobe/Photoshop/[version]
Saved presetsSaved presetsDocuments and Settings/[user name]/Application Data/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Presets/[feature name]

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