Save a preset

A preset is a set of setting values that you keep under a name. You can apply it later at any level, for example to a different scene or to one camera. This page shows how to save, apply and delete a preset on the settings page, and how to do the same from OPAL.

Open the settings page

Press Ctrl+, in any app. In Construct, you can also click the settings button in the toolbar.

The preset bar is above the table:

A line under the bar tells you what each button did, or why it did nothing.

Save a preset

1. In Write to, select the level that holds the values you want to keep. For example, select Scene in Construct.
2. Change the settings until the result is correct.
3. Type a name in the name field, for example Studio look.
4. Click Save.

The preset keeps only the settings that are set at that level. A setting that shows an inherited value is not in the preset, so it does not change when you apply the preset later.

A name can contain letters, digits, spaces, _, - and .. It cannot start with a dot, and it can have at most 128 characters.

Note

A secret value, for example an API key, is never saved in a preset.

To change a saved preset, type its name, change the settings and click Update.

Apply a preset

1. In Write to, select the level that gets the values.
2. Select the preset in the Preset list.
3. Click Apply.

Selecting a preset in the list does not change anything. Only Apply writes the values.

All values of the preset are one step of the history. Press Ctrl+Z once to undo the full preset.

A level cannot hold every setting. For example, a machine setting cannot be set on a camera. When a preset names such a setting, Apply writes the other values and the line under the bar names each setting that it did not apply.

Delete a preset

1. Select the preset in the Preset list.
2. Click Delete.

You cannot delete or overwrite a built-in preset. To keep your own version, apply the built-in preset, change it and save it under a different name.

The built-in presets of Construct

Construct has three built-in presets for path tracing. They set the number of samples per pixel, the point at which a pixel stops, and the number of bounces of a ray. They set nothing else.

Apply Draft while you work on a scene, and Final for the image you export.

The preset bar of the Rendering window uses the same presets, and applies them to the render job of the scene. A preset that you save there is on the settings page, and the reverse. A preset writes only the settings it holds, so the frame range, the codec and the file names of the render stay.

Where presets are kept

Each saved preset is a JSON file:

config/presets/<app>/<name>.json

This path is inside the hive of the active sentient, so your presets go with your identity. When no sentient is mounted, the app keeps the presets in the same path under its data folder.

The file has the same format as a file from Export…, so you can copy a preset to another machine.

Use presets from OPAL

The config.preset.* tasks do the same operations as the preset bar. Each takes the schema of the app, for example construct.

For example, to apply Final to the open scene in Construct:

{"task": "config.preset.apply", "args": {"schema": "construct", "name": "Final", "level": "scene"}}

config.preset.apply replaces the task construct.preset.apply.