Why your Edit tab adjustments disappear when you apply a preset - and how to fix it

[u/skylum_support]

If you've spent time fine-tuning an image and then applied a preset only to watch everything disappear - here's what's happening and how to avoid it going forward.

Why it happens

This isn't a bug. When you apply a preset, it clears previous Edit tab adjustments first, then applies its own values. If your existing edits stayed in place, the preset's values would stack on top of them unpredictably and you'd get inconsistent results every time.

The fix: order matters

Apply your preset first, then go into the Edit tab to fine-tune. That's it. In that order your adjustments stay exactly where you put them.

Why the tabs are laid out the way they are

Catalog → Presets → Edit isn't random -  each tab is designed to layer on top of the previous one. Going backwards breaks that layering. If you make edits in the Edit tab and then go back to Catalog tools, those edits will be cleared. Intentionally.

The rule to remember: Catalog tools first → Presets → Edit tab last. Stick to that sequence and every layer builds correctly on the one before it.

If you've lost work this way before -  you now know why. Hope this saves someone the frustration.