CS4 seems to prefer to install User-created Actions, Styles etc., in: User/Library/Application Support/Adobe/ Adobe Photoshop CS4/Presets/.
I don’t know if the reason for doing this is so that we don’t lose our personal Actions etc. if the Application itself is un-installed but it might be.
If you are the only User of Photoshop on your machine you might choose to put your own saved Actions and Styles in the equivalent folder in your Application/Photoshop folder as we did in earlier versions but it does seem that Photoshop can find them in either location but looks first in the User location by default; but subsequently goes to the last location to which you navigated.
I think that having Adobe-installed Presets in one place; and User-saved Presets elsewhere is confusing.
I agree!! This is my first PS experience. I came from PSE 6. Would much prefer one location! Will it "hurt" to put them in both? If PS were uninstalled, wouldn’t it take User folder also?
I can’t see any reasons for not putting them in both places (so that you have back-ups?) just as long as you know to look in both places if you can’t find a particular Preset.
If PS were uninstalled, wouldn’t it take User folder also?
I don’t know the answer to that. You might like to test it to see?
But if you back-up your whole System HD, you will have copies of everything there.