Preset Guide

Presets let you save a set of randomizer settings under a name and return to it later. They are useful for recurring races, personal presets, or any setup you do not want to rebuild one option at a time.

The preset controls appear at the top of the configurator. You can browse official presets without an account. Sign in to save and manage your own.

Preset types

Official presets

Official presets are maintained by the site administrators and are available to everyone. The Recommended preset is the normal starting point for new configurations.

Official presets have readable links, such as /config/combo/recommended.

You cannot overwrite an official preset. If you want to customize one, make your changes and use Save as new preset, or use Duplicate from the preset menu to create an independent personal copy.

Personal presets

Personal presets belong to your account. Other users cannot browse or edit them. You can change their settings, rename them, add a description, duplicate them, or delete them.

A personal preset only becomes accessible to someone else through a share link that you explicitly create.

Custom settings

Custom means that the configurator is not currently attached to a saved preset. This includes settings loaded from a shared personal preset or from a seed snapshot. Save the configuration as a new preset if you want it added to your account.

Choosing and changing a preset

Use the preset selector at the top of the configurator to search official and personal presets. Selecting one replaces the settings currently shown in the form.

When you change a setting after loading a preset, the configurator shows a Modified badge. Your settings no longer exactly match the saved revision. You can then:

  • Save changes to add the new settings as the preset’s latest revision.
  • Save as new preset to keep the original unchanged and create a separate personal preset.
  • Revert to discard your changes and reload the saved settings.
  • Generate a seed without saving. The seed keeps the exact settings used, but is treated as modified rather than as an exact use of the original preset.

The site warns you before switching presets or leaving the configurator with unsaved changes. A local draft may also be restored if the page is reloaded.

Creating a preset

  1. Open the A Link to the Past configurator or the Quad configurator and choose the settings you want.
  2. Select Save as new preset in the preset controls.
  3. Enter a name and, optionally, a description.
  4. Choose whether to make it your default or pin it.
  5. Save the preset.

Preset names only need to be meaningful to you; personal presets do not need a public URL name.

Revisions

Saving changes creates a new revision instead of silently rewriting the old one. New seeds use the latest revision, while existing seeds retain the exact settings and revision they were generated with.

This is why a preset may display a revision number. It distinguishes a newer version of a recurring setup from the version used by an older seed.

Defaults, recently used presets, and pins

  • Default selects a preset automatically when you open that configurator. You can have one default preset per configurator.
  • Recently used lets the site return to the preset you last used when no explicit link, recoverable draft, or default takes priority.
  • Pin keeps frequently used presets easy to find near the top of the selector. Pinning does not make a preset public or change its settings.

An explicit preset link always takes priority over these preferences.

Sharing presets

Use Copy share link from the preset menu.

  • Official presets use their permanent readable URL, such as /config/combo/recommended.
  • Personal presets use a private capability link. Anyone who has that link can open the preset’s current settings, but they do not gain access to your preset or account.

When someone opens a personal share link, the settings load as Custom. They can generate a seed or save their own independent copy; changes they make do not affect your preset.

Use Disable share link to invalidate the personal preset’s existing link. You can create a new link later. Treat an active share link as sensitive: it can be forwarded by anyone who receives it.

Presets on seed pages

A seed records the complete settings used to generate it, even if its source preset is later changed.

If the seed exactly matches an official preset, or a personal preset you can access, Open these settings in the configurator opens that preset. For an official preset, the link uses its readable name.

If the settings were modified, the preset is inaccessible, or no preset was used, the link instead opens the seed’s stored settings as a Custom configuration. This avoids suggesting that the current preset is identical to the seed when it is not.

Private preset attribution is only visible to its owner. Other visitors can still view a public seed, but they do not see the name or a link to the private preset behind it.

Managing your presets

Open Account > Presets, or select Manage presets from the configurator’s preset menu. The management page lets you:

  • search your saved presets;
  • open a preset in its configurator;
  • rename it or update its description;
  • set or clear the default;
  • pin or unpin it;
  • duplicate it; and
  • delete it.

Deleting a preset removes it from your account, so it can no longer be used to generate new seeds. Seeds already generated from it keep their stored settings.

Troubleshooting

A shared link is invalid

The owner may have disabled the link or deleted the preset. Ask them for a new link. An invalid link does not expose whether the original preset still exists.

Some settings changed when a preset loaded

Presets can outlive changes to the randomizer’s available options. When an older preset is loaded, the configurator migrates settings where possible and shows a notice listing values that were removed or reset.

My changes conflict with a newer revision

The preset was updated elsewhere after you loaded it, such as in another browser tab. Save your settings as a new preset, or load the latest revision before making and saving your changes again.

I cannot save a preset

Saving personal presets requires a signed-in account. If you are signed out, the configurator can retain a local draft in that browser, but it is not synced to an account and is not a saved preset.