When moving to a new computer a fresh install will not have everything you've adjusted or added on your existing computer. This article shows how to find and move your user folder so that you can keep going with all the work you've created.

The user folder contains information about how you have your program set up. This includes user preferences, user interface settings, Smart Collections, and your presets.

Exposure Software products have two types of presets. Factory presets are preinstalled with the software. They are the same no matter what computer you are are using and don't need to be moved.

User presets are created by the user. These are stored in the user folder. If you just want to find your presets, go to the User Folder and open the Exposure folder.

Reinstalling on the same computer

If you are re-installing or updating a program on your computer, your settings and presets are not affected. You will only lose them if you have a hard drive crash or change computers.

Moving to a different product version

Presets must be shared between identical product versions. For example, a preset made in Exposure X2 will not work if it is moved to the Exposure X7 folder. This article shows how to update presets to a newer version.
Converting Presets To A Newer Version

If you are installing a new product version on a different computer, you will need to complete the conversion process on one of the computers.

Sharing settings and presets between multiple computers

You can set up a shared user folder location. This will enable you to share presets between identical versions on two or more computers.
Sharing User Presets Between Multiple Computers

Manually moving user settings and presets

User settings and presets can be manually moved to the same version on a different computer. Find your user presets using the steps below.

Before making the move, we always recommend making a backup to help prevent data loss.

Once you have located your settings and presets, copy and paste them to a flash drive or writable CD/DVD. You can also compress (zip) the presets and send them by email or other file sharing system. On the new computer, place them in the corresponding user preset location.

Checking or changing user folder location

In the Exposure Software application, open the Preferences window. There, you will see options to change the User Folder.

Mac: Exposure X7 > Preferences > General

Windows: Edit > Preferences > General

Older applications: Help (?) button > Preferences

Macintosh default location

macOS 10.12 and newer

The default location for the user folder is the user library folder. The user library is hidden in current Mac operating systems. To find the location follow these steps.

Open Finder.
Select Go from your menu bar.
Hold down the Option (Alt) and Shift keys and you will see Library appear in the drop down list.

Choose Library. A new Finder window will open.
Browse to Application Support > Exposure Software (Alien Skin for older products) > [Program Name].

Mac OS X 10.7 - 10.11

The default location for user presets is the user library folder. The user library is hidden in current Mac operating systems. To find the location follow these steps.

Open Finder.
Select Go from your menu bar.
Hold down the Option (Alt) key and you will see Library appear in the drop down list.

Choose Library. A new Finder window will open.
Browse to Application Support > Exposure Software (Alien Skin for older products) > [Program Name].

Mac OS X 10.6 or earlier

Find your user folder using this path:

Macintosh HD > Users > [User Name] > Library > Application Support > Exposure Software (Alien Skin for older products) > [Program Name]

Windows default location

By default, user presets are located in the following folder, provided that you installed them on your local disk (normally C: drive).

Local Disk > Users > [User Name] > AppData > Roaming > Exposure Software (Alien Skin for older products) > [Program Name]

The AppData folder is a hidden folder so you will need to set your computer up to view hidden items.

Windows 8 and 10

Open File Explorer. To find it, type "This PC" in the search bar and select the top option.
Click the View tab from the menu items.
Locate the Show/hide section and check the box for Hidden items.
File Explorer will now show hidden files and will save the setting until you change it.

Windows 7

Open a Windows Explorer window by clicking your Start button > Computer (or My Computer)
Once Windows Explorer is open you may need to press the ALT key just to the left of your spacebar to show the menu bar at the top.

Once you click on the Folder Options, then you will see the Folder Options dialog box.
Select the View tab, then Show hidden files and folders option.
Once you click OK, reopen your Windows Explorer by clicking again on Start > Computer (or My Computer). You should then be able to browse directly to your presets.