Preferences

Open Preferences from File → Preferences… (or ⌘, / Ctrl+,, or on macOS, Macro Studio → Preferences… in the app menu).

The dialog is small on purpose — Macro Studio aims to be opinionated about defaults rather than buried in settings. There are only a handful of preferences, and each commits immediately when you toggle it (there’s no OK/Apply step).

Checkboxes

Confirm before deleting source images

On by default. When you delete source frames from the filmstrip (right-click → Delete), a confirmation dialog appears warning that the original files will be removed.

Turn this off if you’re confident you won’t fat-finger a delete and want the operation to be one-click.

Automatically check for updates on launch

On by default. Macro Studio checks once per day at launch for a new version. If one exists, a small dialog offers Download or Later.

• The check is silent — no telemetry, no usage data, no identifying info.
• It only happens once per 24 hours regardless of how many times you launch.
• You can always trigger a manual check from File → Check for Updates….

Turn this off if you want full control over when (and whether) updates land — you can still check manually anytime.

Match camera brightness in the Editor

On by default. When you open a photo or stack a set of frames, Macro Studio matches the brightness of the camera’s in-camera JPEG — the same rendering your camera showed you and the Library displays — so the Editor starts at the brightness you expected instead of a darker raw decode.

Turn this off to open images at a flat, neutral raw brightness instead — useful if a bright subject on a dark background reads too bright, or if you prefer to set exposure yourself from a neutral starting point. The setting is sticky and applies to images you open or stack after you change it. To adjust a single image without changing the default, use Exposure in Adjustments.

See Improving Your Image for when to reach for this.

Help improve Macro Studio by sending anonymous diagnostic reports

Off by default. When a stacking run slows down or falls back to a slower mode (for example, running low on memory or dropping from the GPU to the CPU), Macro Studio can send us a small, anonymous report so we can fix performance problems on hardware we can’t test ourselves — most of our speed fixes come straight from a report like this.

• Off (default): the app asks you each time a run is flagged, showing a one-click Send diagnostic report action. Nothing is ever sent without your say-so.
• On: future reports are sent automatically in the background, so you’re not interrupted.

A report includes stack size and timing, your computer’s CPU / RAM / disk / graphics-card model, the app and OS version, and the reason the run was flagged (with file paths removed). It never includes your photos, file names, folder paths, or your name, email, or license — see the Privacy Policy for the full list. An anonymous per-install identifier (with no account link) lets us group reports; there’s no other identifying information.

Uploads happen in the background and don’t slow down the app, and are limited to a few per day.

Buttons

Manage Watermarks…

Opens the watermark editor. Watermarks are presets you build once and reuse in the Save dialog:

• Create a watermark from text, an image overlay, or an Info card that auto-fills camera, exposure, stack, and species details from each image’s metadata (see Saving).
• Set placement (top-left, top-right, top-center, bottom-left, bottom-right, bottom-center, center).
• Adjust opacity, font, color, size, padding.
• Save multiple presets for different uses (subtle archival, bold social, etc.).

The Save dialog then picks from these presets via its Watermark dropdown.

Customize Social Post Tags…

Opens the social tags editor for the Draft Social Post feature.

You can configure:

• A general signature line (your handle, contact, etc.) appended to every draft.
• Generic hashtags that apply to all posts.
• Kingdom-specific hashtags that only appear when the subject is an insect, plant, or mushroom.

Set these up once when you start using Macro Studio’s social features. Every Draft Social Post afterward includes them automatically.

Reset Welcome Tour

Re-enables the Welcome card and tour for first-launch helpers. Useful if:

• You dismissed the welcome card and want to see it again.
• You’re demoing the app to someone else and want a clean first impression.
• A new version added a new tour section you haven’t seen.

Click the button; it shows a brief ✓ Reset confirmation for 1.5 s, then returns to normal. Next time you load a folder, the Welcome card reappears.

Reveal Debug Log in Finder… (or Show in Explorer)

Opens the folder that contains Macro Studio’s debug log files in your OS file manager.

Useful when contacting support — the support team may ask for the latest log. Most of the time, Help → Send Log Files… is the easier path (it bundles and uploads automatically), but this button gives you direct access to the files.

Version footer

At the bottom of the dialog, Macro Studio shows the version number and build identifier in small text. Useful when reporting issues — include this in any support email so we know exactly which build you’re running.

Why so few options?

By design. Macro Studio aims to have one good answer for most decisions rather than burying users in toggles. If you find yourself wishing for a preference that isn’t here, email support — we’d rather hear about real needs than guess at imagined ones.

See also

• Saving — where watermark presets get used.
• Species ID and social posts — where social tags get used.
• Send log files — the support flow.