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J
jbroses
Inspiring
January 6, 2018
Answered

Elements 2018 Organizer does not display imported photos

  • January 6, 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 5031 views

I recently purchased a physical copy of Photoshop Elements 2018.  I installed from CD and would like to use Organizer to view, edit,and organize my photos. 

I have attempted to import photos from a single folder (with many subfolders) on my Windows 10 PC many times.  For the first several times, the import window would do its thing, count the files imported, and otherwise look like it was working, but on finishing, Organizer would only show the message "No media available. Click 'Import' to add media" in the main window.  This happened no matter how many times I imported photos.  My settings were all fine - showing all files, "All Media" was shown with no signs, viewing all media types.  I tried creating a new catalog, closing and reopening and restarting.

I then gave up for a few days, and opened Organizer again recently.  Now, a VERY small subset of photos shows up in Organizer (none of the images in the parent folder, and only 3 of 42 subfolders).  Again, I've tried importing, and again it looks like it's working, but nothing happens ultimately - the new folders and images do not appear.  I've double checked that I'm importing correctly AND the main folder is a "watch folder."

Today, I closed the program, rebooted the machine, and re-opened with the same result.

Elements Organizer shows version 16.0 and is up-to-date.  My PC is also up-to-date.

I just bought this software suite and am a bit mystified.  Any advice would be much appreciated.

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer jbroses

    Try using the menu Edit >> Preferences >> General. Click the button to 'Restore default settings' an restart the organizer.

    (Reinstalling does not remove the previous preferences (which may have been corrupted).

    I don't know what next to try. Are your files on a normal internal drive?


    I just spent over 5 hours on the phone with Adobe Tech Support - an amazing rep named Neeraj Rai.  He was a total pro and just would not stop until he identified the issue - ~5 rogue files in my library of over 13,000 that were causing the import to fail.  He offered to continue to troubleshoot exactly what about those files were causing the issue, but I let the poor guy go.  I mean, five hours is crazy.  So now everything appears to be working just fine.  I am totally relieved.

    Thanks for the help!
    Jon

    2 replies

    markwclark
    markwclark
    Participating Frequently
    February 18, 2024

    I initially had the same problem. Did all the usual things - installed and uninstalled - stopped Watch Files etc. Eventually picked up a tip from MIchelBParis below. Looked up media types in view menu and lo and behold "photos" was not ticked. I then ticked it and all my photos promptly appeared. Organiser was as shocked by this as me and crashed! However all was fine when I rebooted. I swear I was not the one who had unticked photos in media types - as I didn't know it was there at the time! While typing this comment just got a message saying Organiser had crashed. Looked at it. Everything gone! Am currently reimporting and hoping issue resolved!

    MichelBParis
    MichelBParis
    Legend
    January 6, 2018

    Organizer would only show the message "No media available. Click 'Import' to add media" in the main window. 

    When do I get such a message?

    If I browse the folder tree in the left panel, only folders and subfolders containing files already imported in the catalog will be shown.

    If I right click on the master folder and select 'show all files' from the contextual dropdown menu, then, all the subfolders including empty ones in the catalog will be shown. If Iclick on such a folder, I get the above message.

    So, can you describe exactly your own steps to get this message?

    If you try to import again from a subfolder, you'll get a message telling you the files are already in the catalog.

    In your case, to make troubleshooting easier, I would disable the 'watched' folders temporarily.

    If new files are present in the selected folders, importing again will find the new files and ignore the registered ones. No need for watched folders.

    J
    jbrosesAuthor
    Inspiring
    January 6, 2018

    Hi Michael,

    I no longer get that exact message, as Organizer now shows images from 3 of the imported subfolders (but not the other 39).  So there ARE images in Organizer, but FAR fewer than the total that should be present.

    I am able to expand the subfolders in the main subfolder, but when I click on each subfolder, I get the message "No files from this folder have been imported into Elements Organizer.  To add any files, right click on the folder and select "Import Media" "

    I have turned off watch folders as you suggested, re-run the import, and have the same results. 

    Any further thoughts are appreciated.

    MichelBParis
    MichelBParis
    Legend
    January 6, 2018

    I don't see what could be preventing the import from some of those subfolders.

    I would create a new (test and temporary) catalog and try to import from the master folder with those ignored subfolders. Will this result in the same imports or will this be different? That could give a clue.

    I suppose the media files are of common photo or video formats?

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