PhotogHobbyist Loc: Bradford, PA

I've been using PSE for several years but have never intentionally or consciously used the organizer. Recently I decided I should have better organization of my photos and started reading about how to use the organizer. Initially I read there are a variety of settings for organizing the photos, which may be individualized. I checked the areas where I have haphazardly stored my photos and discovered I have about 375 GB of them, many probably duplicates and some include the RAW, jpg (SOOC, not pp'ed) and post processed photos.

Currently I use PSE 2019 and when I opened the organizer to set my parameters, it was filled with photos and I am unable to change the settings (at least I cannot see how to do so). If I uninstall PSE 19 and re-install would I be able to set my organizer to my references and then get my pics organized according to my preferences? Or is there a different approach I should use?

Thank you, any and all who may help with advice.

maxlieberman Loc: 19027

The default view in the Organizer is disorganized mish-mash, but it needn't be. Go to preferences and select date order, show gridlines, and show details.

I have all my photos on a separate drive with a main folder called "Photographs" Under that, I have a series of subfolders by date (YYYY MM DD) and a short description of subject, i.e., Bahamas Vacation. Once you physically order your photos, you can then create a new catalog, and you will be all set, and canstart key tagging, star rating, etc.

Bubbee Loc: Aventura, Florida

I have both PSE 18 and 21. Imports go to the top (newest) of the main Organizer, as well as a dated folder. I have created various categories under which are appropriate albums which I have created. I automatically include edited images in the Organizer but I can always go back to the original jpeg. You can also organize with keywords. There are other options, but these work for me.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

If photos show in Organizer, you must have imported them at some point into the Catalogue. The Catalogue is just a data base that knows where your photos are, keeps track of your edits, categories, tags, stars, all that stuff. You may be best off creating a new Catalogue, set your preferences, and import your photos and ignore the old catalogue. Delete it if you want to. I create folders in the naming format of "yyyy mm text descriptor".

PhotogHobbyist Loc: Bradford, PA

Thank you all for your input. I am in the process of renaming all my folders of photos by date (yyyy-mm-dd) and short descriptive word(s). I have removed all photos from the organizer but not from my computer. They are going to be saved on an external 1TB HD. However, I do not see a way of importing them into the organizer except by connecting either my camera to the computer with a cable or connecting the memory card via a card reader.

As an aside, I have come across a significant number of duplicates and some that I should never have saved, so will probably free up some storage space.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

To import into the Catalogue, open Organizer, select Files, Import, browse to the folder where the files are, select all the files there, and Import. Do that for each folder. As the process is working you will see a thumbnail of each photo on the screen as it’s being imported. What you see on the screen in the Organizer is just a thumbnail and not a duplicate photo. In the Catalogue, the thumbnail is part of the data for each photo's location.