A press and a process for operating it, has an upper tool and a lower tool for shaping a workpiece and a work unit including a press drive and/or a drawing device, is controllable by a controller, to perform the shaping process. The controller outputs, to the work unit, press process values, which define the sequence of events of the shaping process. Workpiece parameters characterize, for example, the material and/or the shape and/or at least one dimension and/or quality of the workpiece, which still has to be shaped or has already been shaped. The controller is assigned a composition matrix which contains, for each defined workpiece parameter and for each defined press process value, an individually changeable function, to describe the relationship between every one of the defined workpiece parameters and the defined press process values. This composition matrix allows a quick and rapid adjustment and adaptation of the press.