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Use and save presets

A preset stores the settings of one section. Three sections have them: Color Grading, Curves and Color Adjust. Looks are separate; see Looks.

Apply a preset

Section titled “Apply a preset”
  1. Click the preset icon in the section header, left of the power button.
  2. Choose a preset from the menu.

Screenshot: the Color Grading header with its preset menu open, showing the shipped presets and Save Current As

The preset replaces the section’s settings on the selected layer in one undo step, and switches the section on if it was off. Nothing is blended or scaled; to dial the result back, adjust the section’s own controls.

Example: a landscape before and after the Color Grading preset Teal & Orange

The menu lists the shipped presets first, then yours in alphabetical order. A check mark shows the preset your current settings match. Moving any control clears it.

Presets that come with DarkRay:

Section Presets
Color Grading Teal & Orange, Warm Film, Cool Shadows, Bleach Bypass, Sepia, Cross Process, Cyan Noir
Curves S-Curve Light, S-Curve Medium, S-Curve Strong, Faded Matte, Crushed Blacks, Cross Process
Color Adjust Deeper Blues, Softer Greens, Even Warm Tones

Save your own

Section titled “Save your own”
  1. Set the section the way you want it.
  2. Open the preset menu and choose Save Current As….
  3. Type a name of 1 to 64 characters.

If the name is already one of yours, DarkRay asks before replacing it. Save Current As… is grayed out while the section is at its defaults, because a neutral preset would do nothing.

A photo doesn’t remember which preset you used, only the values. Renaming or deleting a preset later changes no photo.

Rename, delete and share

Section titled “Rename, delete and share”
  • Rename… shows your presets in a submenu. Pick one and type the new name.
  • Delete… opens a list of your presets with a checkbox each. Check the ones to remove and click Delete. The files are deleted for good, not moved to the trash. Shipped presets can’t be renamed or deleted.
  • Show Presets Folder opens your folder for that section. Each preset is one small file, so you share a preset by sending its file. A file dropped into the right folder shows up in the menu the next time you open it.
Technical details: what a preset holds

A preset holds exactly the values the section’s Reset button restores, and not the power switch. Color Grading holds the three tonal zones and their transition settings; Curves holds the four curves; Color Adjust holds its whole list of color edits, so applying one replaces that list.

Presets are JSON files, one per preset. Shipped presets are read-only; yours may reuse a shipped name and both then show. Names are compared without regard to case, so a folder moved between Windows, macOS and Linux never collides. Characters those systems refuse in file names are replaced in the file’s name, not in the preset’s.