[AEM Assets]{class="badge positive" title="Applies to AEM Assets)."}
Manage Image Presets managing-image-presets
Image Presets are predefined, reusable collections of sizing and formatting commands that enable Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Assets to deliver images dynamically. Each Image Preset controls image delivery at different sizes, in different formats, and with dynamically generated image properties such as color space, compression quality, and resolution. This means a single master asset can be delivered in many optimized variations without maintaining separate source files.
What an Image Preset Contains
When you create an Image Preset, you define the parameters that govern how the image is generated and delivered. Each preset specifies:
- Delivery size — the dimensions used when the image is served for viewing.
- Formatting commands — the settings that optimize the appearance of the image for display.
These formatting commands ensure the appearance of the image is optimized whenever the image is delivered for viewing, so every rendition looks consistent and display-ready across the contexts in which it appears.
Exporting Assets with Presets
Administrators can create presets specifically for exporting assets. Users then choose a preset when they export images, which reformats the images to the specifications the administrator defines. As a result, exported assets conform to consistent, centrally governed standards without requiring each user to configure formatting manually.
Responsive Image Presets and Color Space
You can also create responsive Image Presets. When you apply a responsive Image Preset to your assets, the assets adapt to the device or screen size on which they are viewed. This responsive behavior helps deliver appropriately sized images to desktops, tablets, and mobile devices, improving load performance and visual quality across varied viewing environments.
Image Presets support multiple color spaces. In addition to RGB or Gray, you can configure Image Presets to use CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key/Black) in the color space, which supports print-oriented and color-managed delivery workflows.
This section describes how to create, modify, and generally manage Image Presets. You can apply an Image Preset to an image anytime you preview it. See Apply Image Presets.
Learn about Image Presets understanding-image-presets
An Image Preset is a predefined, reusable collection of sizing and formatting commands saved under a name, functioning much like a macro. Each preset stores the exact dimensions, format, and compression settings needed to deliver an image, allowing Experience Manager to generate correctly optimized versions of a source image on demand rather than requiring separate files for every size and device.
How Image Presets Work
Consider a common scenario: a website requires each product image to appear in different sizes, formats, and compression rates for both desktop and mobile delivery. Because modern sites serve images to a wide range of screen sizes and device types, this kind of multi-format delivery is a routine requirement for responsive web experiences.
To handle this, an administrator creates two Image Presets:
Enlarge— displays images at 500 x 500 pixels, suited to desktop delivery.Thumbnail— displays images at 150 x 150 pixels, suited to mobile delivery.
When a request is made for an image at the Enlarge or Thumbnail size, Experience Manager locates the matching Image Preset definition. It then dynamically generates an image that conforms to the size and formatting specifications defined in that preset. As a result, a single source image can be delivered in multiple optimized forms without maintaining duplicate assets.
Maintaining Image Quality at Any Size
Reducing an image in size during dynamic delivery causes it to lose sharpness and detail. To counter this, each Image Preset includes formatting controls that optimize an image when it is delivered at a particular size. This ensures that the delivered output remains sharp and clear, because the preset applies the appropriate sharpening and formatting for the target dimensions rather than simply scaling the source. These controls keep your images crisp and legible when they reach your website or application.
Creating an Image Preset
Administrators can create Image Presets. An administrator can build a preset from scratch or duplicate an existing preset and save it under a new name, reusing established settings as a starting point.
Manage Image Presets managing-image-presets-1
You manage Image Presets in Experience Manager from the Assets > Image Presets area of the Tools console. To reach this location, follow these steps:
- Select the Experience Manager logo to open the global navigation console.
- Select the Tools icon.
- Navigate to Assets > Image Presets.
From this Image Presets area, you create, edit, and organize the presets that control how assets are rendered and delivered.
How Image Presets relate to renditions how-image-presets-relate-to-renditions
Image presets define how Dynamic Media delivers images at request time, controlling the visual output that end users receive. Each preset specifies a set of display parameters, including:
- Sizing — the target width, height, or resolution of the delivered image
- Formatting — the output file format used for delivery
- Compression — the quality and file-size trade-off applied to the image
- Other display parameters — additional settings that govern how the final image appears
A rendition is a processed version of an asset, generated when that asset is ingested and processed by Dynamic Media. Renditions are the underlying image data on which delivery depends.
Image presets do not generate renditions themselves. This distinction is important: a preset is a set of delivery instructions, not a source of image data. Instead, presets rely on renditions that Dynamic Media creates when assets are processed. As a result, the preset applies its sizing, formatting, and compression rules on top of an existing rendition to produce the delivered image.
Because renditions are created during asset processing rather than by the preset, the presence of a suitable rendition is a prerequisite for a preset to deliver the intended output. In practice, this means asset processing establishes the available image data first, and the image preset then determines how that data is presented at delivery.
Rendition generation in AEM as a Cloud Service rendition-generation-in-aemaacs
In Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) as a Cloud Service, AEM generates renditions using Asset Microservices, a cloud-native, scalable processing capability. The Digital Asset Management (DAM) Update Asset workflow is not available for customization in Cloud Service, because rendition processing is handled by the managed microservices layer rather than by an editable workflow model.
Important considerations include the following:
- Renditions are generated at upload time, meaning processing occurs automatically as each asset enters the system.
- Changes to a Processing Profile apply only to newly uploaded assets. As a result, existing assets must be reprocessed if new renditions are required, because a profile change does not retroactively regenerate renditions for content that already exists in the repository.
- Workflow model customization is not supported in AEM as a Cloud Service for rendition generation; rendition control is instead achieved entirely through Processing Profiles.
Image Presets reference available renditions at delivery time to serve dynamic, on-demand image variations. For this reason, ensure that the required renditions exist before configuring or using Image Presets, since an Image Preset cannot deliver a rendition that has not already been generated.
To control which renditions are generated:
- Create or edit a Processing Profile.
- Configure the required rendition definitions, specifying the formats, dimensions, and output settings each rendition must produce.
- Apply the Processing Profile to the appropriate folder so that all assets in that location inherit the defined rendition settings.
When assets are uploaded to a folder that has a Processing Profile applied, Asset Microservices automatically generate the defined renditions. This automation ensures consistent rendition output across the folder without manual intervention, and it means that organizing assets into folders with the correct Processing Profiles is the primary mechanism for controlling rendition generation in AEM as a Cloud Service.
Increase or decrease the number of image presets that are displayed increasing-or-decreasing-the-number-of-image-presets-that-display
Image presets you create are available as dynamic renditions when you preview assets. A dynamic rendition is an on-the-fly variation of an asset—generated from your preset settings such as size, format, or compression—rather than a separately stored file. Experience Manager displays these dynamic renditions when you view an asset from Detail View > Renditions. You can increase or decrease the limit of renditions that are displayed, which is useful when you maintain a large library of presets and want more of them visible at once, or when you prefer a shorter, more focused list.
By default, Experience Manager displays up to 15 image presets. Adjusting the limit property raises or lowers this maximum so the rendition list matches the number of presets your workflow requires.
To increase or decrease the number of image presets that are displayed:
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Navigate to CRXDE Lite (https://localhost:4502/crx/de).
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Navigate to the image preset listing node at
/libs/dam/gui/coral/content/commons/sidepanels/imagepresetsdetail/imgagepresetslist
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In the limit property, change the Value, which is set to 15 by default, to the desired number.
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Navigate to the image preset datasource at
/libs/dam/gui/coral/content/commons/sidepanels/imagepresetsdetail/imgagepresetslist/datasource
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In the limit property, change the number to the desired number—for example,
{empty requestPathInfo.selectors[1] ? "20" : requestPathInfo.selectors[1]}. This expression sets the fallback limit (in this example, 20) that applies when no explicit selector value is supplied in the request path. -
Select Save All to apply and persist the updated limit.
Create Image Presets creating-image-presets
An Image Preset is a saved, reusable group of image settings that you apply to apply consistent settings across images when you preview or publish. Creating Image Presets ensures that every asset processed through the preset shares the same dimensions, format, and rendering options, which streamlines large-scale image delivery and reduces manual configuration.
If you intend to support the ingestion of Adobe Illustrator (AI), PDF, and PostScript (EPS) files so that you can generate dynamic renditions of these file formats, review the following information before you create Image Presets.
See Adobe Illustrator (AI), PostScript® (EPS), and PDF file formats.
If you intend to support the ingestion of INDD files so that you can generate dynamic renditions of this file format, review the following information before you create Image Presets.
See InDesign (INDD) file format.
To create image presets:
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In Experience Manager, select the Experience Manager logo to access the global navigation console, then go to Tools > Assets > Image Presets.
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Select Create.
note NOTE To make this Image Preset responsive, erase the values in the width and height fields and leave them blank. Blank dimension fields allow the rendition to scale to the requesting context rather than being fixed to a single size. -
In the Edit Image Preset window, enter values into the Basic and Advanced tabs as appropriate, including a name. The options are outlined in Image Preset Options. Presets appear in the left pane and can be applied on-the-fly to other assets.
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Select Save.
Create a responsive Image Preset creating-a-responsive-image-preset
A responsive Image Preset in Adobe Experience Manager is an Image Preset that delivers images without fixed pixel dimensions, allowing the rendered image to adapt automatically to the size of the requesting device or viewport. To create one, perform the steps in Create image presets.
The defining step is to leave the height and width fields blank. In the Edit Image Preset window, erase any existing values in the height and width fields so that both are empty.
Leaving the height and width fields blank signals to Experience Manager that this Image Preset is responsive. As a result, the preset does not lock the asset to fixed dimensions and instead serves an image that scales to fit the target display context. You can adjust all other Image Preset values as appropriate.
Image Preset options image-preset-options
When you create or edit Image Presets, you have the options described in this section. In addition, Adobe recommends these “best practice” option choices to start:
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Format (Basic tab) - Select JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) or another format that meets your requirements. All web browsers support the JPEG image format, making it the most universally compatible choice for web delivery, and it offers a good balance between small file sizes and image quality. However, JPEG images use a lossy compression scheme, meaning some image data is discarded to reduce file size. If the compression setting is too low, this discarding process introduces unwanted visual artifacts such as blocking or banding. For this reason, Adobe recommends setting the compression quality to 75, a value that delivers an optimal balance between visual fidelity and small file size.
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Enable Simple Sharpening - Do not select Enable Simple Sharpening. This sharpening filter offers less precise control than Unsharp Masking settings, so leaving it disabled preserves finer, more configurable sharpening options.
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Sharpening: Resampling Mode - Select Sharp2, the resampling mode Adobe recommends for high-quality output.
Basic tab options basic-tab-options
Choosing JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) offers the following other options:
• Quality - The JPEG quality scale ranges from 1 to 100. The scale is visible when you drag the slider.
• Enable JPG Chrominance Downsampling - The human visual system is less sensitive to high-frequency color information than to high-frequency luminance. For this reason, JPEG images divide image information into luminance and color components. When a JPEG image is compressed, the luminance component is left at full resolution, while the color components are downsampled by averaging together groups of pixels. Because the color components are averaged, downsampling reduces the data volume to half or one-third with minimal impact on perceived quality. Downsampling is not applicable to grayscale images. This technique reduces the amount of compression useful for images with high contrast (for example, images with overlaid text).
Choosing GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) or GIF with alpha provides these additional GIF Color Quantization options:
• Type - Select Adaptive (default), Web, or Macintosh. If you select GIF with Alpha, the Macintosh option is not available.
• Dither - Select Diffuse or Off.
• Number of Colors - Enter a number from 2 to 256.
• Color List - Enter a comma-separated list. For example, for white, gray, and black, enter
000000,888888,ffffff.Choosing PDF (Portable Document Format), TIFF (Tagged Image File Format), or TIFF with alpha provides this additional option:
• Compression - Select a compression algorithm. Algorithm options for PDF are None, Zip, and Jpeg; for TIFF they are None, LZW (Lempel–Ziv–Welch), Jpeg, and Zip; and for TIFF with Alpha are None, LZW, and Zip.
Choosing PNG (Portable Network Graphics), PNG with Alpha, or EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) provides no additional options.
Advanced tab options advanced-tab-options
The Advanced tab groups the additional configuration controls that are separated from the standard, everyday settings. These options give experienced users fine-grained control over behavior that most people never need to change, which is why they are placed in a dedicated tab rather than the main settings view. Keeping advanced controls in their own tab reduces clutter for typical users while still exposing powerful configuration for those who require it.
When to Use the Advanced Tab
Advanced options are intended for scenarios that fall outside default behavior. You should generally use the Advanced tab when:
- The default settings do not meet a specific technical or workflow requirement.
- You need to override standard behavior for troubleshooting or diagnostics.
- Custom integration, compatibility, or performance tuning is required.
- An administrator or power user is configuring the environment for a specialized use case.
Because changes made here can affect stability or behavior in ways the standard settings do not, it is best practice to review each option before modifying it.
Common Advanced Tab Options
While the exact controls vary by application, the Advanced tab typically consolidates settings such as:
- Performance and resource controls — options that adjust how the application uses memory, processing, or caching.
- Compatibility settings — toggles that adapt behavior for older systems, alternate formats, or specific environments.
- Logging and diagnostics — controls that enable detailed logs or debug output to help identify issues.
- Security and access controls — settings that manage permissions, encryption, or authentication behavior.
- Custom and experimental features — optional capabilities that are not enabled by default.
- Reset and restore controls — options to return advanced settings to their default state.
Why Advanced Options Are Separated
Advanced settings are isolated from the main interface because they carry a higher potential to change core behavior. This separation ensures that everyday users encounter a simpler experience, while power users retain full access to detailed configuration. As a result, the Advanced tab serves as a controlled space where deeper adjustments can be made deliberately rather than accidentally.
For most users, the default configuration is sufficient and the Advanced tab does not need to be modified. When customization is necessary, however, these options provide the flexibility to tailor the application precisely to a given workflow, environment, or requirement.
Sharpening: Definition and Overview
Sharpening is an image-processing technique that increases the apparent detail and clarity of an image by enhancing edge contrast — the difference in brightness or tone along the boundaries between adjacent regions. In technical terms, sharpening raises the acutance of an image, which is a measure of how abruptly tones transition at edges. As a result, edges appear crisper and fine details become more distinct to the viewer, even though sharpening does not add genuinely new information that was not already captured.
How Sharpening Works
Sharpening operates by amplifying the local contrast at edges rather than across an entire image uniformly. When a boundary is detected between a lighter and darker area, the process brightens the lighter side and darkens the darker side of that transition. Because the human visual system interprets high edge contrast as sharpness, this selective adjustment makes an image read as more focused and detailed.
The core steps common to most sharpening methods include:
- Edge detection — identifying where significant tonal transitions occur.
- Contrast amplification — increasing the difference between the lighter and darker sides of each detected edge.
- Control of strength and radius — determining how strong the effect is and how far it extends around each edge.
Common Sharpening Methods
- Unsharp Mask (USM): Despite its name, the Unsharp Mask (USM) technique sharpens images. It works by subtracting a blurred (unsharp) copy of the image from the original to isolate edges, then boosting the contrast along those edges. USM is widely used because it offers precise control over the intensity and spread of the effect.
- High-pass filtering: This approach isolates the high-frequency components of an image — which correspond to fine detail and edges — and reinforces them, which increases perceived sharpness.
- Deconvolution-based sharpening: More advanced methods attempt to reverse specific forms of blur, recovering detail lost during capture.
Practical Applications
Sharpening is applied across photography, digital imaging, printing, and display technologies. It is especially valuable at two stages of a workflow:
- Capture sharpening compensates for the slight softening introduced by camera sensors and lenses.
- Output sharpening prepares an image for its final medium, since printing and downscaling can reduce apparent detail.
Applied carefully, sharpening restores the sense of crispness expected in professional images. Applied excessively, however, it produces visible artifacts such as bright or dark halos along edges and amplified noise, so restraint and appropriate settings are essential to a natural result.
Define Image Preset options with image modifiers defining-image-preset-options-with-image-modifiers
Image modifiers extend the options available in the Basic and Advanced tabs, giving you additional control when defining Image Presets. Image Rendering relies on the Dynamic Media Image Rendering API and is defined in detail in the HTTP Protocol Reference. Each modifier is an image-serving command—identified by the op_ prefix for operator commands—that transforms how the rendered image appears.
The following are some basic examples of what you can do with image modifiers.
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op_invert - Inverts each color component for a negative image effect. Setting the value to 1 enables inversion, producing a photographic negative.
code language-xml &op_invert=1
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op_blur - Applies a blur filter to the image. A higher value produces a stronger softening effect; the example below applies a blur strength of 7.
code language-xml &op_blur=7
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Combined commands - You can chain multiple image modifiers in a single request so that both effects are applied together. The following combines op_invert and op_blur, inverting the colors and applying a blur of 7 in one rendered output.
code language-xml &op_invert=1&op_blur=7
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op_brightness - Decreases or increases the brightness of the image. The supplied value adjusts luminance, so raising it lightens the image and lowering it darkens it. The example applies a brightness value of 58.
code language-xml &op_brightness=58
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opac - Adjusts image opacity, allowing you to decrease the foreground opacity so the image becomes more transparent. The example sets an opacity value of 29.
code language-xml opac=29
Edit image presets modifying-image-presets
Image presets in Experience Manager are reusable, saved configurations that define how images are dynamically resized, formatted, and optimized for delivery. Editing an existing image preset lets you update these settings so that every image rendition generated from that preset reflects the new configuration.
To edit an existing image preset, follow these steps:
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In Experience Manager, select the Experience Manager logo to access the global navigation console, then go to Tools > Assets > Image Presets.
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Select a preset and then select Edit. The Edit Image Preset window opens.
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Make your changes to the preset settings, then select Save to apply and save the updated configuration, or select Cancel to discard the changes. Selecting Save ensures every image rendition produced from the preset immediately adopts the updated settings.
Publish image presets publishing-image-presets
Image presets are automatically published for you. An image preset is a reusable configuration that defines how an image is processed and delivered — including settings such as sizing, cropping, format, and quality — so the same treatment can be applied consistently across many assets.
Because publishing happens automatically, no separate manual publish step is required. As a result, every image preset you create or update becomes available for use without additional action on your part. This ensures your presets remain in sync and immediately usable, reducing the risk of unpublished or outdated configurations.
How automatic publishing works
- When an image preset is created or modified, the system publishes it for you automatically.
- The published preset then becomes available for delivering images according to its defined settings.
- No manual publishing workflow is needed to activate the preset.
Benefits of automatic publishing
- No manual step: Presets do not need to be published individually, streamlining the workflow.
- Consistency: Automatic publishing keeps presets current and applied uniformly across images.
- Reliability: It reduces the chance of using an outdated or unpublished preset, ensuring images are delivered as configured.
Delete image presets deleting-image-presets
Deleting an image preset permanently removes it from Dynamic Media so that it is no longer available when applying preset-based rendering to assets. Because deletion is permanent, Dynamic Media requires confirmation before completing the action.
- In Experience Manager, select the Experience Manager logo to access the global navigation console, and then select the Tools icon.
- Navigate to Assets > Image Presets.
- Select the preset you want to remove, and then select Delete. Dynamic Media displays a confirmation prompt to verify that you want to delete the selected preset. This confirmation step exists to prevent accidental removal. Select Delete to permanently remove the preset, or select Cancel to return to Image Presets without making changes.