Lightroom Classic has plenty of features, but not all of them are obvious. Some of its most helpful tools are hidden behind shortcuts or specific menus, and knowing where to look can make editing faster and more efficient.
Coming to you from Anthony Morganti, this practical video showcases hidden Lightroom Classic features. One of the first tips he covers involves the Preferences menu. Holding down the Alt (or Option) key while accessing Preferences reveals additional buttons like “Reset All Preferences and Relaunch” and “Generate Diagnostic Report.” These options are especially useful if Lightroom isn’t behaving correctly or you want to troubleshoot with Adobe support. There’s even a way to rebuild sync data to fix issues like endlessly syncing files, a problem many users encounter.
Morganti also highlights a feature for quickly resetting adjustments. By holding the Alt (or Option) key within editing panels, you can change headings like “Tone” or “White Balance” into clickable “Reset” options. For instance, resetting just the Tone adjustments can be done with a single click, saving you time compared to manually undoing each change. If you prefer not to use the key shortcut, simply double-clicking on the heading works too. This functionality applies across panels like Basic, HSL, and even Sharpening, allowing you to reset specific sections without affecting the entire image.
Another useful trick involves copying edits from one image to another. Normally, clicking the “Copy” button brings up a dialog box to select which adjustments you want to transfer. However, if you hold down the Alt (or Option) key, the dialog box is bypassed, and your settings are copied instantly. This small shortcut can save you time, especially when batch-editing a series of similar photos.
Morganti also explores ways to view and toggle specific adjustments. For instance, clicking and holding the small “eyeball” icon next to a panel lets you temporarily disable the adjustments made in that section. Holding the Alt (or Option) key changes the eyeball into a switch, allowing you to turn off adjustments without holding down the mouse. This is especially helpful when comparing the effects of changes like vignettes or sharpening. That's just the start, so check out the video above for the full rundown from Morganti.
Great to know!!! Also under the Tone Curve is a white curve that will give you sliders vs using the curve points, now if they would just put in the masking section vs the contrast levels. I have mentioned before the the four little squares up top in the basic section is all the Jpeg camera profiles that now can be used before an edit. As well as selecting a WB selection if you use AWB always then also the color picker on a white part or supposed to be white part or grey part where you look at the image in the upper left corner you will see the change. No one online uses these at the start of an edit.
If using the color picker on the white Galactic Center of the Milky Way you will get the proper blue night sky not a dark black or grey you think it is due to human eyes can not see colors in the dark but you camera can also using the profiles behind the four little squares that are for your cameras jpegs selections they will be applied to your RAW's also like portrait selection gets you both a bright tan beach AND the yin and yang colors of Pegasus wing (magenta) and horse (a blue different than the night sky).
Also to get ALL the colors you see in like the Grand Canyon at the different levels vs the old film images that are blueish way down. Or the colors of a sunset with clouds over a white house! Colors are there just a faster find!