Elements Organizer Catalog

Question

I have a question regarding the Organizer (Photoshop Elements 2026 - Windows 11). I am having a lot of trouble with the folder structure hierarchy,. I purchased Elements 2026 last year and installed it on a new computer. I restored the catalog but I think I clicked keep original folder structure, or something to that effect. It seems that my photos are stored in two locations, which is not what I want. This is the current folder structure: C:/Users/Myname/Documents/Pictures/Adobe/My Catalog 20251130/Users/My Name (original Computer user name)/Pictures/Adobe. All the photos can be found in explorer under Adobe in either path. But if I change the name of a folder within the Organizer program, it only changes the name in the second Adobe Folder. The first Adobe folder is where I add new photos etc. How can I safely move the catalog so that it only recognizes the first Adobe folder. 80,000 photos and I do not want to lose tags or any work done up to this point. I want t to operated out of the first user folder. There should not be two different user folders. Thank you.

Greg_S. · Answer

Are the photos organized in a hierarchy e.g. by date or subject? If so, are you saying that you have a duplicate structure for all folders?

And do you have a different user name for each computer?

Did you transfer your photos to the new computer using some other backup software. And did you then restore your catalog to what you assumed would be the original structure on the new computer? If you have different User Names on each computer, this may not have been possible.

In any event, try the following:

First, make sure that the My Folders Panel on the left is in Tree View. (Click the small icon next to the My Folders heading and change the view if necessary.)

Next, in the My Folders Panel, right-click on the C drive icon and choose Show All SubFolders from the context menu.

Next, right-click on several random photos and choose Go to folder from the context menu. Which folder structure are the files in? If you click on the other folder structure, does the same photo appear? Presumably, the answer is no.

Next select a sample photo and click and drag it in the My Folders panel to your desired folder structure. Do you get a message that the file already exists in that folder or are you able to transfer the file?

If the catalog photos actually exist in both folder structures, one way to solve the problem would be to delete the add-on folder structure and contents, using Windows Explorer. You would then be able to reconnect the photos to your desired structure. But I shall await your answers to my questions before giving you further advice. I will be traveling for a while, so I may not be able to get back to you immediately.

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