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Adjust project settings and presets

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Premiere Elements

Premiere Elements

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  1. Adobe Premiere Elements User Guide
  2. Introduction to Adobe Premiere Elements
    1. What's new in Premiere Elements
    2. System requirements | Adobe Premiere Elements
    3. Workspace basics
    4. Guided mode
    5. Use pan and zoom to create video-like effect
    6. GPU accelerated rendering
  3. Workspace and workflow
    1. Get to know the Home screen
    2. View and share auto-created collages, slideshows, and more
    3. Workspace basics
    4. Source Monitor and Program Monitor
    5. Preferences
    6. Tools
    7. Keyboard shortcuts
    8. Audio View
    9. Undoing changes
    10. Customizing shortcuts
    11. Working with scratch disks
  4. Working with projects
    1. Creating a project
    2. Adjust project settings and presets
    3. Save and back up projects
    4. Previewing movies
    5. Creating video collage
    6. Creating Highlight Reel
    7. Create a video story
    8. Creating Instant Movies
    9. Viewing clip properties
    10. Viewing a project's files
    11. Archiving projects
    12. GPU accelerated rendering
  5. Importing and adding media
    1. Add media
    2. Guidelines for adding files
    3. Set duration for imported still images
    4. 5.1 audio import
    5. Working with offline files
    6. Sharing files between Adobe Premiere Elements and Adobe Photoshop Elements
    7. Creating specialty clips
    8. Work with aspect ratios and field options
  6. Arranging clips
    1. Arrange clips in the Expert view timeline
    2. Group, link, and disable clips
    3. Arranging clips in the Quick view timeline
    4. Working with clip and timeline markers
    5. Sequence settings
  7. Editing clips
    1. Reduce noise
    2. Select object
    3. Candid Moments
    4. Color Match
    5. Smart Trim
    6. Change clip speed and duration
    7. Split clips
    8. Freeze and hold frames
    9. Adjusting Brightness, Contrast, and Color - Guided Edit
    10. Stabilize video footage with Shake Stabilizer
    11. Replace footage
    12. Working with source clips
    13. Trimming Unwanted Frames - Guided Edit
    14. Trim clips
    15. Editing frames with Auto Smart Tone
    16. Artistic effects
  8. Color Correction and Grading
    1. Color Correction and Grading (LUTs)
    2. Color Correction Panel
    3. Color Correction Settings
  9. Applying transitions
    1. Applying transitions to clips
    2. Transition basics
    3. Adjusting transitions
    4. Adding Transitions between video clips - Guided Edit
    5. Create special transitions
    6. Create a Luma Fade Transition effect - Guided Edit
  10. Special effects basics
    1. Effects reference
    2. Applying and removing effects
    3. Create a black and white video with a color pop - Guided Edit
    4. Time remapping - Guided edit
    5. Effects basics
    6. Working with effect presets
    7. Finding and organizing effects
    8. Editing frames with Auto Smart Tone
    9. Fill Frame - Guided edit
    10. Create a time-lapse - Guided edit
    11. Best practices to create a time-lapse video
  11. Applying special effects
    1. Use pan and zoom to create video-like effect
    2. Transparency and superimposing
    3. Reposition, scale, or rotate clips with the Motion effect
    4. Apply an Effects Mask to your video
    5. Adjust temperature and tint
    6. Create a Glass Pane effect - Guided Edit
    7. Create a picture-in-picture overlay
    8. Applying effects using Adjustment layers
    9. Adding Title to your movie
    10. Removing haze
    11. Creating a Picture in Picture - Guided Edit
    12. Create a Vignetting effect
    13. Add a Split Tone Effect
    14. Add FilmLooks effects
    15. Add an HSL Tuner effect
    16. Fill Frame - Guided edit
    17. Create a time-lapse - Guided edit
    18. Animated Sky - Guided edit
    19. Select object
    20. Animated Mattes - Guided Edit
    21. Double exposure- Guided Edit
  12. Special audio effects
    1. Mix audio and adjust volume with Adobe Premiere Elements
    2. Audio effects
    3. Adding sound effects to a video
    4. Adding music to video clips
    5. Create narrations
    6. Using soundtracks
    7. Music Remix
    8. Adding Narration to your movie - Guided Edit
    9. Adding Scores to your movie - Guided edit
  13. Movie titles
    1. Creating titles
    2. Adding shapes and images to titles
    3. Adding color and shadows to titles
    4. Apply Gradients
    5. Create Titles and MOGRTs
    6. Add responsive design
    7. Editing and formatting text
    8. Align and transform objects
    9. Motion Titles
    10. Appearance of text and shapes
    11. Exporting and importing titles
    12. Arranging objects in titles
    13. Designing titles for TV
    14. Applying styles to text and graphics
    15. Adding a video in the title
  14. Disc menus
    1. Creating disc menus
    2. Working with menu markers
    3. Types of discs and menu options
    4. Previewing menus
  15. Sharing and exporting your movies
    1. Export and share your videos
    2. Export settings
    3. Sharing for PC playback
    4. Compression and data-rate basics
    5. Common settings for sharing

Learn to adjust project settings and understand presets in Premiere Elements.

About project settings and presets

Project settings determine the properties of your video and audio project assets. For example, they determine their format (AVCHD), source (hard disk or Flash memory camcorder), and aspect ratio (standard or widescreen video). Project settings also specify the frame rate, audio sample rate, upper or lower field first, and bit depth for your project.

When you start a new project, Adobe Premiere Elements applies a project preset to it. A project preset is a collection of preconfigured project settings. You can use the default project preset of the television standard for the Adobe Premiere Elements version installed on your computer.

NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) is the television standard for the Americas, the Caribbean, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan region.

PAL (Phase Alternating Line) is the standard format for Europe, Russia, Africa, Middle East, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Pacific, China, and other parts of Asia.

Because you can’t change the project preset after starting a project in Premiere Elements 2024 and previous versions, verify the format of your source footage before selecting a project preset. 

New

In Premiere Elements 2025, you can change the project presets even after starting your project.

Note:

If you specify lower-quality settings for output (such as streaming web video), do not change your project settings. Change your export settings instead.

Dynamic sequence preset

When you add a movie clip to the Advanced view timeline, Adobe Premiere Elements automatically changes your project settings in the background to match the clip properties. They include dimension, fps, pixel aspect ratio, and field order.

Select presets and change settings

Adobe Premiere Elements includes default project presets for media from common sources like cameras, DVDs, and mobile phones, among others.

You can select from a list of available presets. However, you cannot create custom presets. The presets for any project can only be selected when creating the project. You cannot change the preset for a project after it has been created.

The Project Presets are listed in the New Project dialog box. To view the list of all presets and their settings, select More and select View All Presets.

Select a project preset

By default, Adobe Premiere Elements uses an AVCHD preset for the television standard you specify when you install the program. Select a new preset to create projects in a different format, television standard, or frame aspect ratio.

  1. Start Adobe Premiere Elements.

  2. Select File > New Project. 

  3. Select one of the available presets from Landscape, Portrait, Square, and Social. Or select More and select View All Presets to view the presets By Aspect Ratio or By Video Standard.

    Note:

    You cannot view the presets By Aspect Ratio or By Video Standard in Premiere Elements 2025

  4. Select the preset that matches the format and standard of the footage you want to edit. Select OK.

  5. Provide a name and location for your project, and select OK.

Change settings for an existing project

After you create a project, you can only make minor display-related changes to the project settings.

Note:

You cannot change the Editing mode and Preview file format after creating a project in Premiere Elements 2024 and previous versions. You can change many display options and change editing mode now in Premiere Elements 2025

  1. Select Edit > Project Settings > General.

  2. In the Project Settings dialog box, specify General and Scratch Disks project settings. Select OK.

Check your project settings

In Adobe Premiere Elements, project settings define a project's basic configuration, affecting how video and audio are processed and displayed. These settings ensure that your workflow is efficient and that your final output meets the desired specifications. You can change the Project Settings by selecting Edit > Project Settings > General or Scratch Disks. 

  1. Open the project in Premiere Elements and select Edit > Project Settings > General.

General

Video Rendering and Playback

Renderer: Determines how Premiere Pro renders previews and processes effects.

  • Mercury Playback Engine GPU Acceleration (CUDA/OpenCL/Metal): Utilizes the GPU for faster rendering and real-time playback. The specific option available depends on your hardware and operating system.
  • Mercury Playback Engine Software Only: Uses the CPU for rendering, which is slower but can be necessary if GPU acceleration is not supported or is causing issues.

Scratch Disks

Captured Video: Location where captured video files are stored.

Captured Audio: Location where captured audio files are stored.

Video Previews: Location where video preview files are stored.

Audio Previews: Location where audio preview files are stored.

Project Auto Save: Location for autosave files, providing backup copies of your project.

Media Cache: Location for media cache files, which improves performance by storing frequently accessed media data.

Motion Graphics Template Media: Location for media associated with Motion Graphics templates.

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