How to install presets in Lightroom Classic
Install your XMP presets in Lightroom Classic on Mac or Windows. Classic works a little differently to Lightroom Desktop — presets live in the Develop module and import through a right-click menu instead of a three-dot menu.
- Device
- Mac or Windows
- App
- Lightroom Classic
- Time
- 3 min
Step-by-step
- 1
Update Lightroom Classic first
Open Creative Cloud and make sure Lightroom Classic is on the current release. Versions of Classic older than 7.3 (2018) only support the legacy .lrtemplate format and quietly reject XMP presets. If you're on an older Classic, updating is the fix.
- 2
Unzip your 123presets download
In Finder or File Explorer, double-click the ZIP (Mac) or right-click → Extract All (Windows). Inside you'll find the XMP files — those are the presets Classic will import.
- 3
Switch to the Develop module
Open Lightroom Classic and press D, or click Develop in the top-right module bar. The Presets panel appears on the left side of the window with Lightroom's built-in preset groups already listed.
- 4
Right-click in the Presets panel → Import Presets
In modern Classic, click the + icon at the top of the Presets panel and choose Import Presets. On older builds — or if you prefer — right-click (Ctrl-click on Mac) anywhere inside the Presets panel and choose Import Presets. In the dialog that opens, select all your XMP files and click Import.
- 5
Find your presets under User Presets
Classic drops imported presets into the User Presets group — expand it in the Presets panel to see them. Click any preset to preview it in the main viewer; the change is non-destructive and you can reset any time.
Two Classic-specific toggles worth knowing: Preferences → Presets → 'Store Presets with this Catalog' (keeps presets inside the catalog folder instead of the shared user folder), and 'Sync Cloud Presets' (mirrors your presets to Lightroom cloud and mobile). Update Lightroom Classic if you're on a pre-7.3 (2018) version — those only support the legacy .lrtemplate format, not XMP.
Trying to import inside the Library module instead of Develop is another common trip-up — the Presets panel only shows up in Develop.
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