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S
seniornewbie
Known Participant
April 10, 2023
Answered

conceptualizing Organizer

  • April 10, 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 707 views

I still get confused sometimes when trying to conceptualize Organizer. Also I have yet to try to 'tag' photos. My understanding is that the Organizer 'registers' photos and videos from one's hard drive and then lists them in a 'catalog database'. A few questions: 1. If the catalog lists them does each photo look like the original but actaully isnt? 2.when you look at 'tree mode' in the catalog is that the same as looking at the tree mode in explorer and will they have the same folder names?   2. if I have photos and videos in various places on my hard drive (due to being unorganized) does the catalog organize them for me if I try importing everything? 3.if the catalog does the organizing and I want to create projects with different groups of pictures does the catalog find them in the various locations on my HD and visually create them in the catalog? Im sure my questions show how Im confused. Thx for any answers

 

Correct answer Greg_S.

Lets see if we can clarify this for you:

 

  •  If the catalog lists them does each photo look like the original but actaully isnt?

Yes.  When you view the photos in the grid, you are actually looking at a thumbnail representation of the photo.  So, for example, you can delete a photo thumbnail from the Organizer catalog grid, but the actual photo file is still stored on your computer hard drive unless you also choose to delete the file.

 

  • when you look at 'tree mode' in the catalog is that the same as looking at the tree mode in explorer and will they have the same folder names?

Yes.  Enough said.

 

  • if I have photos and videos in various places on my hard drive (due to being unorganized) does the catalog organize them for me if I try importing everything?

Yes.  You can sort the display of your photos in several ways, using the Sort by: dropdown menu above the grid e.g. by date or file name. 

You can also organize the photos using the search features of the catalog.  The Organizer analyzes your photos using artificial intelligence and applies Smart Tags to most photos.  These tags are surprisingly accurate and allow you to use the program's search features to find your photos with various objects in them.  You can increase the accuracy of a search by tagging the photos with tags that are meaningful to you.  You will then be able to easily find the photos that you have tagged.   Similarly, if you use the face recognition features to tag people in your photos, you will be able to easily find photos with those people in them.

 

  • if the catalog does the organizing and I want to create projects with different groups of pictures does the catalog find them in the various locations on my HD and visually create them in the catalog?

Yes.  For this type of project scenario, creating Albums is probably the best method.  Once you place a photo in an Album, it doesn't matter where the photo is stored on your computer, the Organizer will display all of the photos together in the grid.  And you can place the photos in whatever order you desire in the grid by using the Album Order under the Sort by: menu.  Simply click and drag the photo around in the grid to your desired display order.  The photos are not moved from their original storage on your hard drive.

3 replies

Glenn 8675309
Glenn 8675309
Legend
November 10, 2025

I've always told users (Who tend to not be "young bucks") to think of the Organizer like an old card catalogue in a library.
There is a card for each image:  That card contains all in the info about that image- It's location, it's size, the date the image was created, and a thumbnail of each image.   

Just like a book sitting on a shelf the actual file can be moved checked out, or even stolen, yet the card in the card catalogue stays there.  The card catalogue thinks that book is located at 745.51-- but the book was pulled from that location, and left on a table in the back of the library. 

Sammy (a patron at the library)  comes in one day and decides to not bother with the card catalogue, and decides to rearange the books on the shelves alphabetically, but leave the card catalogue untouched.   Think of the sammy example as manually moving images listed in the card catalogue, but not updating the card itself- the image becomes "disconnected" from the card because Sammy didn't update the change on the card first, before moving the book.   

After doing this rearranging of 15 shelves- but not updating the cards in the catalogue, Sammy has made things a hot mess and the librarian (the Organizer) thinks all these books are missing because when she checked the books were not where the card catalogue says they should be. 

S
seniornewbieAuthor
Known Participant
November 10, 2025

Thanks I kinda knew this stuff already but I like your excellent analogy. It makes it easier to visualize. By the way, as a child I remmeber the card system and I used to like the sound of that little thump when they proceesed each book. 🙂

Greg_S.
Community Expert
Greg_S.Community Expert
Community Expert
November 9, 2025

@seniornewbie I don't recall seeing your AI reply when you originally posted it, but I just took a look at each answer and they are all either flat out wrong, misleading or don't answer the question that was asked.  So, yes, be careful when looking for AI information about Elements. 

And don't be concerned about asking simple questions on this forum.  That's why we are here.  IMO, there is no such thing as a stupid question - but there may be a few foolish answers, particularly those generated by AI.  While this may improve over time, I don't think that AI is going to take away my (volunteer) job.  😇

S
seniornewbieAuthor
Known Participant
November 10, 2025

Thanks, youre right AI is kinda stupid at times. Ill ask a simple question like how to add a moving title to part of a video clip and it will give what seems like straight forward steps,  but something will be wrong. When I point it out, it responds with something like-"your correct, version 20.0 doesnt have that feature so" (do this). Then it becomes a rabbit hole. I will ask same question to Adobe user guide and its even more frustrating. It will say something like I can do what I asked but then it'll say something like you can also do (this other thing) then explain steps to do this other thing without explaing how to do what I originally asked.  More rabbit hole frustraton.  They both kinda suck. WHat is a simple clear cut way to add titles to a timeline and do what i want with it. When I try to add txt it becomes embedded in default text. Complete kindergarten question but its amazing how a beginner cannot find a simple answer. Its mostly my fault because I have not practiced some of this stuff to get into muscle memory. Hope to devote enough time in future to not ask these routine questions.

Greg_S.
Community Expert
Greg_S.Community ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
April 10, 2023

Lets see if we can clarify this for you:

 

  •  If the catalog lists them does each photo look like the original but actaully isnt?

Yes.  When you view the photos in the grid, you are actually looking at a thumbnail representation of the photo.  So, for example, you can delete a photo thumbnail from the Organizer catalog grid, but the actual photo file is still stored on your computer hard drive unless you also choose to delete the file.

 

  • when you look at 'tree mode' in the catalog is that the same as looking at the tree mode in explorer and will they have the same folder names?

Yes.  Enough said.

 

  • if I have photos and videos in various places on my hard drive (due to being unorganized) does the catalog organize them for me if I try importing everything?

Yes.  You can sort the display of your photos in several ways, using the Sort by: dropdown menu above the grid e.g. by date or file name. 

You can also organize the photos using the search features of the catalog.  The Organizer analyzes your photos using artificial intelligence and applies Smart Tags to most photos.  These tags are surprisingly accurate and allow you to use the program's search features to find your photos with various objects in them.  You can increase the accuracy of a search by tagging the photos with tags that are meaningful to you.  You will then be able to easily find the photos that you have tagged.   Similarly, if you use the face recognition features to tag people in your photos, you will be able to easily find photos with those people in them.

 

  • if the catalog does the organizing and I want to create projects with different groups of pictures does the catalog find them in the various locations on my HD and visually create them in the catalog?

Yes.  For this type of project scenario, creating Albums is probably the best method.  Once you place a photo in an Album, it doesn't matter where the photo is stored on your computer, the Organizer will display all of the photos together in the grid.  And you can place the photos in whatever order you desire in the grid by using the Album Order under the Sort by: menu.  Simply click and drag the photo around in the grid to your desired display order.  The photos are not moved from their original storage on your hard drive.

    S
    seniornewbieAuthor
    Known Participant
    April 10, 2023

    thank you sir

    S
    seniornewbieAuthor
    Known Participant
    May 1, 2023

    I didnt know for sure where to share this revelation I experienced so Ill put it here. I seem to be a chronic newbie because it is so frustrating to have a simple question in mind when working on a project and not easily finding the answers. As many newbies and others know, looking for answers to specific and even simple questions can be very time consuming. If it wasnt for this community I probably would have given up on this software. But sometimes I hesitate to nickle and dime the community to death with simple questions. So recently I have discovered what I consider to be a user friendly way to get to the heart of any question I want without bothering anyone. The other day I tried asking a specifc queastion to an AI page (ChatGPT free version). To my amazement the question was immediately answered and focused totally on my question. I asked another question and I was blown away with the responsiveness and specificity to my question. Im assuming the answers are correct. AI will never replace human beings (I hope) but it sures seems like a simple way to get immediate answers. Im attaching an example of 3 questions I asked and the AI answers. 

     

    so if I move and rename files on my hard drive the organizer will show the new names and location?
    ChatGPT

    If you move or rename files on your hard drive outside of Adobe Elements Organizer, the software will not be able to locate the files in their original location. However, you can manually update the location and name of the files within Adobe Elements Organizer.

    Here's how to do it:

    1. In Adobe Elements Organizer, select the files or folders that you want to update.

    2. Right-click on the selection and choose "Update Folder Location" or "Update File Name" from the context menu.

    3. Navigate to the new location or enter the new file name in the dialog box.

    4. Click "OK" to update the location or name of the files.

    Once you've updated the location or name of the files within Adobe Elements Organizer, the software will be able to locate and manage them in their new location or with their new name.

    Note that if you move or rename a large number of files outside of Adobe Elements Organizer, it may take some time to manually update the location or name of each file within the software.

     

    if I move and/or rename files on my hard drive will organizer know this?

     
    ChatGPT
    If you move or rename files on your hard drive outside of Adobe Elements Organizer, the software may not be able to locate the files in their original location. However, Adobe Elements Organizer has a feature called "Watch Folders" that can automatically detect changes to files and folders on your hard drive and update its internal database accordingly.

    Here's how to set up Watch Folders in Adobe Elements Organizer:

    1. Open Adobe Elements Organizer and go to Edit > Preferences.

    2. In the Preferences dialog box, click on the "Media-Analysis" tab.

    3. Under "Watch Folders," click on "Add Folder" to select the folder(s) that you want Adobe Elements Organizer to watch.

    4. Click "OK" to save the changes.

    Once you've set up Watch Folders, Adobe Elements Organizer will automatically detect any changes made to the files in those folders and update its internal database accordingly. This includes changes to the file name or location, as well as any new files added to the folder.

    Note that it may take some time for Adobe Elements Organizer to update its internal database after detecting changes to files and folders on your hard drive. Additionally, if you move or rename a large number of files outside of Adobe Elements Organizer, it may take some time for the software to detect and update all of the changes.

     
     

    will it update files within files

     
    ChatGPT
    Adobe Elements Organizer can detect changes to files within subfolders or nested folders if you have set up the "Watch Folders" feature for the parent folder containing those files.

    For example, if you have a folder named "Photos" that contains subfolders for different events or dates, and you have set up "Watch Folders" for the "Photos" folder in Adobe Elements Organizer, the software will detect any changes made to files within those subfolders.

    However, if you move or rename files within a compressed file format like a ZIP or RAR file, Adobe Elements Organizer will not be able to detect those changes since the software only analyzes the file structure on your hard drive and does not decompress or extract files from compressed file formats.

    So, if you want Adobe Elements Organizer to detect changes to files within nested folders, make sure to set up the "Watch Folders" feature for the parent folder that contains all of the nested folders.

    (back to me)-- I realize more advanced users would know the answers to these questions but Im hoping the newbies will have another resource to assist them. Thanks for reading.

     

     

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