JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

This morning, I was importing some new photos from a card reader. After the import was completed the new photos didn't show up in the folder they were directed to but the message said they had been imported. When I clicked on "Show All", the entire catalog (2000+files less a few that were in now empty folders) is opened and the Organizer tree structure seems to be gone. If I use the "Find--Catalog" function the file shows up, but when I try to open it, I again get all the photos but no 'tree structure'.

The ironic part of this entire fiasco was that I intended to back up the entire catalog after I uploaded my latest 24 photos :cry:

Does anybody have any idea what may have caused this and is there a way to recover the 'tree'?

Would I be better off keeping the picture files on the external hard drive and not using Elements catalog? Does that entail any problems of it's own?

Thanks.

warrior Loc: Paso Robles CA

What photo editing are you using?

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

I have PSE 12 and did not install the Organizer. I don't know if you'd have to uninstall that part, or just not open it - to keep your images on your computer hard drive. But seems like it wouldn't be necessary to move them to a separate drive just for that purpose.

If you'd prefer not to use the PSE organizer, then it's good to have a way to organize that works for you. For example, after I've deleted photos I know I don't want from my latest outing, I create new folders and move the remaining images to those. I base mine on subject, and above that, by season or quarter. So one path might be:

My Pictures\summer 2014\eagles

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

Thanks Linda; that's exactly what I want to do, and I'm using a similar tree structure, but with the Year as a sub folder so it would be My Pictures/Birds/2014/ (various folders by species & one Misc.)

Do you back up to an External Drive, the cloud (I'm not sure I trust that yet), one of the various on line back up services?

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

PSE 10

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Nah. Any photos I really like I've posted to UHH or printed, so it's not super-important to me to have back-ups :)

MtnMan Loc: ID

Backing up to an external drive is the way to go nowadays because they are so inexpensive.

If you use Windows 8 the File History makes backing up photos simple. The computer keeps track of changes you make when the hard drive isn't connected and then brings it up to date for you when you connect the hard drive. I try to do it at least once a month.

I don't know what is going on with your catalog. Probably a setting.