Hermes provides five personal preset slots for calculation settings you use regularly. To make a set of settings the starting point for new charts, set the default separately. To change a saved client chart, use the client-saving action. Each decision has a different scope.
Suppose you want to compare Placidus and Whole Sign houses in a tropical chart. You can first try the settings on the open chart. If you expect to return to both combinations, save them as separate presets. Then decide which combination should appear when you start a new form. Running the comparison does not require rewriting your existing client records.
What does each action change?
The word “save” can refer to different things in different windows. Before using it, check the window title and the full button label.
| Action | Target | Scope shown by the source |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary application path for a saved client chart | Calculation settings for the open chart | Recalculates the chart; writing permanently to the client record is a separate action. |
| Save in the preset editor | Your selected personal preset slot | Stores eight fields and also transfers the values to the relevant form. |
| Set as Default in the preset editor | The selected slot and the new-form default | Saves the preset, writes a separate default record and transfers the values to the form. |
| Save to the client | An open client chart that supports saving | Sends a request to write the chart settings to the client record. |
“Apply” does not always mean temporary. The Zodiac screen has a separate path that stores its own calculation preferences. Adding a natal chart pane and using an archive preview also follow their respective paths. The temporary comparison in this article refers to the relevant path for a saved client chart.
Transferring a preset into a form is also separate from calculating a chart result. Read the values in the form, then complete the calculation or application action for that screen.
Which eight fields does a preset store?
Every slot holds the same structure of calculation preferences:
| Field | Stored preference | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Lunar Node | True Node or Mean Node | Record which calculation method you chose. |
| House system | The selected house-menu value | Placidus and Whole Sign, for example, are separate choices. |
| House-cusp setting | A value from 1 to 12 | Avoid treating Normal as a universal Ascendant rule across all house methods. |
| Zodiac | Tropical or Sidereal | Check the ayanamsha as well when working sidereally. |
| Ayanamsha | A built-in or user-defined option | A stored value is not necessarily active in every view. |
| User-defined ayanamsha degree | A numerical value | Check this field when the user-defined option is active. |
| Coordinate / view | The selected mode | This choice can affect the availability of other settings. |
| Zodiac transformation | Normal or the selected transformation | Check it together with the coordinate setting. |
A person's name, birth date, birth time and location are absent from these eight fields. Calling a preset into another person's form therefore does not load that person's identity or birth data from the preset. The five preset slots are separate from chart panes associated with a client.
A slot number does not identify a method either. The records are numbered; this article does not describe a custom naming field. Keep a short note of what you use each slot for.
Build a controlled comparison with two presets
You do not have to fill all five slots at the start. Two records make it easier to see which difference you are investigating.
The following setup is a proposed exercise, not a factory school profile or a calculated chart result:
| Preference | Preset A | Preset B |
|---|---|---|
| Lunar Node | True Node | True Node |
| House system | Placidus · P | Whole Sign · W |
| House-cusp setting | Normal · 1 | Normal · 1 |
| Zodiac | Tropical | Tropical |
| Stored ayanamsha selection | Lahiri | Lahiri |
| Stored user-defined ayanamsha degree | 24° | 24° |
| Coordinate / view | Normal · geo | Normal · geo |
| Zodiac transformation | Normal | Normal |
Keeping Lahiri and the 24° field equal does not apply an ayanamsha to this tropical calculation. The user-defined degree is not Lahiri's calculated value for the chosen date. Both appear here so that all eight stored fields are visible.
- Choose an empty slot and enter the A values. Complete the preset Save action.
- Save the B values in a second empty slot. Leave the default unchanged at this stage.
- Use the same synthetic input: 20 March 2000, 12:00 UTC, 41° north, 29° east, Gregorian calendar. Avoid introducing a separate difference through local-time conversion.
- Recall the two presets in turn. Check that the node, zodiac, cusp setting and other fields remain equal, with only the house system changing.
- Complete the chart calculation from the relevant screen. Record planetary longitudes, house boundaries and house placements in separate columns. No actual result was calculated for this article.
- Write down the settings if you plan to continue the comparison. Decide separately whether to retain the result in a client record.
If you add a sidereal setup in a third slot, you will change the zodiac and ayanamsha together. That comparison asks a different question from the first house-system exercise. Make the question explicit in your notes.
How do search, favorites and reordering help?
Search helps you find a value in a long list. The shared menu displays a search box when there are more than eight options, so you should not expect one in every small menu. It filters the list using option text and group names.
In menus that support favorites, starred choices move to the front. Changing a star does not select that value for the calculation. Select the actual option row and check the field value. Starring Placidus and Whole Sign, for instance, does not instruct Hermes to calculate both house systems at once.
Reordering personal preset cards in Quick Settings exchanges the contents of two slots. The source includes drag and keyboard paths for this exchange. After moving them, read the card summary and the eight fields instead of relying on the old slot number. Default values are stored separately: moving a slot is a different operation from choosing its contents as a new default.
Why might a choice change before you save?
These settings are not completely independent. In the preset editor, choosing a coordinate mode other than geo resets the zodiac transformation to Normal. Choosing a non-Normal transformation sets the coordinate back to geo. Check more than the last field you edited.
Some alternative views or transformations disable the zodiac and ayanamsha fields. The user-defined ayanamsha degree field is only shown when the relevant option is active. A hidden or inactive preference should not be assumed to affect the calculation merely because its value is present in a record.
A useful order is to choose the coordinate mode, check the transformation, then check whether the zodiac and ayanamsha are active. Save the eight fields as a set. Read that final combination again when you recall it.
Check a new form and a restart separately
Inspecting the same open form after changing the default is insufficient: the preset action already transfers its values to that form. Open a new form to check its starting preferences separately. Opening an existing client record tests a different operation.
You can fill out the following table separately for each platform. Add the application version, date, macOS or Windows, and screen evidence above the table. Fill in the last column with the result of your own check.
| Check | Action to perform | Result / error / evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary application | Apply a preference to a saved client chart; inspect the permanent record separately. | Your result |
| Personal preset | Save A, switch to B, recall A and compare all eight fields. | Your result |
| Reordering | Exchange two slots; check their contents and the selected record. | Your result |
| Default | Open a new form after using Set as Default. | Your result |
| Restart | Close and reopen the application yourself; inspect the presets and new form separately. | Your result |
| Search / favorites | Distinguish filtering and starring from actually selecting a value. | Your result |
| Compatible settings | Observe the interaction between a non-geo coordinate and a non-Normal transformation. | Your result |
| Client saving | Save to the client separately from saving a preset; reopen the record. | Your result |
If a read or write error appears, do not treat the action as complete. Record the message and the steps that led to it. Avoid trying to fix the problem by deleting occupied slots or clearing application data.
Bring the series into everyday use
Earlier articles examined node methods, houses, zodiacs, ayanamshas, transformations and views individually. Presets help you return to combinations of those choices. A slot becomes useful when you know the question it serves and the values it contains.
Start by saving two combinations you use often. Run your comparison, then choose the new-form default deliberately. The guide to building a chart from start to finish brings those decisions into a single exercise. For the overall menu scope, return to the Chart Settings, Systems and Saved Preferences guide.
Frequently asked questions
What does a Hermes preset slot store?
Each slot stores eight calculation preferences: Lunar Node, house system, house-cusp setting, zodiac, ayanamsha, user-defined ayanamsha degree, coordinate/view and zodiac transformation. A person’s name, birth date, birth time and location are not among them.
What is the difference between Save and Set as Default for a preset?
Save stores the values in your selected slot and transfers them to the form. Set as Default also writes a separate default record for new forms. Changing an open client chart needs the separate save-to-client action.
Does reordering presets change the default?
No. Reordering exchanges the contents of two slots, while default values are stored separately. After moving them, read the card summary and the eight fields rather than relying on the old slot number.