PSE6 catalog

[areader50]

Hello, I'm just starting out with this hobby. I've played with PSE for a couple of years now so I'm fairly familiar with at least the basics and a small amount more. (Geez, will I ever become completely knowledgeable as several of you in this forum seem to be?!)
I've just moved up to PSE6 from PSE5 this week and am not familiar with it at all yet. My first scrapbooking project will be to make a book of our trip to Europe this summer. After that, I will start entering and organizing all of our old family pictures onto my computer. Unbelievable, but my girls are in college and, except for the past couple of years; I'm just starting back at their baby pictures. I have quite a bit of organizing!
Here's my dilemma: I’ve read all of the past posts in the forum about organizing in PS or out and I’m still not quite sure what to do! It looks like PSE6 has definitely made some changes to the catalog, but does that make it faster or easier to work with? Will I be able to put in large batches at a time? If I do choose an outside organizer, is easy to put pictures onto PSE6 to edit and then back again?
Since I will be just starting all of my organizing of pictures and really have hardly any scrapbooking supplies yet, now is the time to choose
Thanks for helping me jump this hurdle. I’m anxious to read your comments. I’m ready to just dive in and have fun with this!

[troush]

The organizer is just a catalog that points to the photos on your hard drive. I still organize by folders:

My Pictures\2006\01 January
My Pictures\2006\02 February
...
My Pictures\2007\01 January

Etc. The reason I do, is that I don't always use PSE for stuff, and can use the Folder location view in the Organizer to see where my photos are, and then find them easier. Some people say don't worry about it, but it just helps me.

The Editor is separate from the Organizer. The Organizer is your catalog. The Editor is what you use to fix your photos. You don't have to use the Organizer at all.

There are some good new changes in the Organizer - the smart albums and albums concepts are one of them. I think the Organizer is a great way to get started, especially if you don't have any organization yet.

My first thought, import into the Organizer in small batches.

-Trish

[Sonita]

I do the same as Trish. From what I've read, the Organizer can be a pain.

[troush]

I actually use a "Digital Asset Management" (DAM) program for organizing called IMatch, and then the PSE Editor for editing.

IMHO, the Organizer is really only a "pain" if you don't use it for all your access to your photos. If you move/delete/rename an image file outside of the Organizer, then it loses track of it. I've heard it opens much faster in 6.0.

I'd probably use it if I hadn't already started using IMatch the year before PSE 3.0 came out.

-Trish

[scrappinB]

I am just starting to put my pictures on my computer. They are in Picasa and my pictures. Should I only put them in the organizer.
If so, how do I do that and be sure that I do not lose any
Thanks
scrappinB

[troush]

scrappinB,

The Organizer (or Picasa, or IMatch, or ACDSee) is just like an old File Card Catalog at the library. The Card Catalog contained a card on each book which told you some basic information about the book and where to find it. The Organizer is the same. It contains a thumbnail of your original, and copies some of the basic data of the original. It tells your computer where to find it, too.

To "get images into the Organizer" you can do a File->Get Photos and Videos->From Files and Folders (for PSE 6.0) and then navigate to the folder(s) that has your image files.

I recommend only using one "organizer." If you move or delete a file in one, the others won't know what you did. Picasa has its weaknesses, but is very fast. Organizer is tied directly into the Editor and will keep version sets and stacks - very handy features. ACDSee is known for being able to manage lots of files. IMatch is more professional level, but very customizable. Also, always use whichever organizer you decide to use to manage your images. Again, if you use Windows Explorer to move, rename or delete a file, the "organizer" won't know what happened.

-Trish

[Jan]

Hi areader50,
You're in luck... Linda's new training CD for Elements 6.0 is being released later this month, and it will contain a kit for a complete travel album.

[scrappinB]

thanks for this info.
Next question: Do you do the same thing with the digi layouts as you accumulate them.
scrappinB

[troush]

For me, I have my photos organized by year and month. I also keep a 2007 scrapbook pages folder, that I just use to keep all my scrapbook pages I created this year (next year I'll create one for 2008). I do read them into IMatch, and tag them with a "My Scrapbook Pages" tag, and if they are related to a specific event that I already have tags for, then I'll tag it with those too.

-Trish

[Patty D]

I'm in the middle of doing an update for my book regarding the differences between the Organzier in PSE 5 & PSE 6 which will soon be on my website. I can tell you that pretty much all that has been done is to change the color and location of things that I use for digi-scrapping. They have probably added some things that I don't use.

Here is some of what I've got so far:
Collections are now called Albums. The advantage of using an Album/Collection is that you can change the order that the images appear.

The Name of the Open Catalog is now found at the bottom of the screen instead of at the top (shown circled in red).

The option to display your images by Import Batch or Folder Location has been moved. Click on the “Display” icon to find this option.

The slider to increase/decrease the size of your image thumbnail has been moved from the bottom of the screen to the top (see white arrow).

The Star Tags have been changed in version 6. The Organizer used to have a set of tags for 5-1 stars as a default. These came in handy when I’d take several photos of the same thing that were each a little bit different. I’d find the best one and tag it with the 5 Star tag. Now the stars are located below the image. Click on the appropriate star to tag it, or select several photos at a time and click on a star to tag several. To find all of the 5 star tags click on the 5 stars on the top right of the screen. Right clicking on the image also allows you to add star tags. I think this new system is much more complicated than it needs to be. You’ll have to fool around with it a little bit to get it to suit your needs.

Fix will display several of the Quick Fix type options available to fix your photos in the Organizer. Some of these options were and still are available by clicking on the Edit tab, or right clicking on the image thumbnail.

Create & Share were also in version #5. If you want to order photos, photo books, calendars through Adobe and Kodak this is the place to do it.

Page 48
Organizer Catalogs
Since I am the only person who uses my computer I have all my Catalogs Accessible by All Users. You may want to change this option.

If you are used to working between two catalogs as I suggest (photos & scrapbook supplies) be aware that the open button has been moved from the top of the dialog box to the bottom. This takes a little bit of getting used to.

Converting a Catalog
If you have upgraded from an older version of Photoshop Elements and used the Organizer you will need to convert the catalog. This is easy but may take some time depending on the size of the catalog. Choose File>Catalog>Convert and choose the catalog you wish to convert for use in version 6. Click on Convert at the bottom of the screen. Click on Done when you’re finished.

Be careful if you choose to go back to version 5 and work with the Organizer. If you import images into the Photoshop Elements 5 Organizer it will not appear in the version 6 Organizer. They are two different catalogs once converted.
Collections are now called Albums. The advantage of using an Album/Collection is that you can change the order that the images appear.

The Name of the Open Catalog is now found at the bottom of the screen instead of at the top (shown circled in red).

The option to display your images by Import Batch or Folder Location has been moved. Click on the “Display” icon to find this option.

The slider to increase/decrease the size of your image thumbnail has been moved from the bottom of the screen to the top (see white arrow).

The Star Tags have been changed in version 6. The Organizer used to have a set of tags for 5-1 stars as a default. These came in handy when I’d take several photos of the same thing that were each a little bit different. I’d find the best one and tag it with the 5 Star tag. Now the stars are located below the image. Click on the appropriate star to tag it, or select several photos at a time and click on a star to tag several. To find all of the 5 star tags click on the 5 stars on the top right of the screen. Right clicking on the image also allows you to add star tags. I think this new system is much more complicated than it needs to be. You’ll have to fool around with it a little bit to get it to suit your needs.

Fix will display several of the Quick Fix type options available to fix your photos in the Organizer. Some of these options were and still are available by clicking on the Edit tab, or right clicking on the image thumbnail.

Create & Share were also in version #5. If you want to order photos, photo books, calendars through Adobe and Kodak this is the place to do it.

Page 48
Organizer Catalogs
Since I am the only person who uses my computer I have all my Catalogs Accessible by All Users. You may want to change this option.

Installing My Instant Tag File to Save You Hours of Work
Page 50
With the Organizer open click on the bright green + symbol under the word Keyword Tags, choose From File and loc To Install my instant tag file go to the book DVD and Open the Photoshop Elements File, inside that file is a folder called Organizer Tags, and inside that one is a file called Tags. This is the file you need. In earlier versions when I installed these tags it was lightening fast but in version 6 it took about 3 minutes or so.

If you are used to working between two catalogs as I suggest (photos & scrapbook supplies) be aware that the open button has been moved from the top of the dialog box to the bottom. This takes a little bit of getting used to.

Converting a Catalog
If you have upgraded from an older version of Photoshop Elements and used the Organizer you will need to convert the catalog. This is easy but may take some time depending on the size of the catalog. Choose File>Catalog>Convert and choose the catalog you wish to convert for use in version 6. Click on Convert at the bottom of the screen. Click on Done when you’re finished.

Be careful if you choose to go back to version 5 and work with the Organizer. If you import images into the Photoshop Elements 5 Organizer it will not appear in the version 6 Organizer. They are two different catalogs once converted.

Patty Debowski