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cz35895897
Inspiring
January 11, 2026
Answered

How to find and delete offline photos from the organizer catalog

  • January 11, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 97 views

I often check original photo files on an SD card or USB stick using Elements Editor to see how I modified them from the originals. This has the side effect of adding them to the Organizer catalog which i dont want. In My PSE 2018 I then simply had to search/find for missing files, all the offline files would appear as missing, and then i would simply hit delete and remove them from the catalog.

No so in Organizer 26. When I search for missing files, the offline files are no longer considered missing.  Thats fine, but how do I identify the offline files? Clicking on Organizer - Filter - Local Media, still shows files with non C: drive locations. The Find menu does not seem to have any filters to accomplish what I want to do. So does anyone have suggestions for what can be best summarized as "identify all files in the catalog with non C: drive locations" and then remove them (from catalog only, not the physical location) task?

Correct answer Greg_S.

I don't understand how simply opening (checking?) the files on a USB stick or SD card in the Editor could result in the files ending up in the Organizer's catalog.  You have to be doing something more than what you have described in order for that to happen.

As for your question about how to find and remove files that exist on your USB stick or SD card, you should use the My Folders panel to navigate to the drive where the files are stored and select and delete them from the catalog if they have in fact been imported into it.

1 reply

Greg_S.
Community Expert
Greg_S.Community ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
January 13, 2026

I don't understand how simply opening (checking?) the files on a USB stick or SD card in the Editor could result in the files ending up in the Organizer's catalog.  You have to be doing something more than what you have described in order for that to happen.

As for your question about how to find and remove files that exist on your USB stick or SD card, you should use the My Folders panel to navigate to the drive where the files are stored and select and delete them from the catalog if they have in fact been imported into it.

    C
    cz35895897Author
    Inspiring
    January 13, 2026

    clarification: This behavior definitively occurs in Elements 2018, but Not in 2026. With your tip I was able to find the offline files quickly, although sometimes only the folder name from the stick shows up without the drive letter.

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