Participating Frequently

Question

No file browser in PE2020 like there was in PE3 ?

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
February 15, 2020
5 replies
847 views

My old computer had the very old Elements 3 version and it had what was called File Browser. It showed all of the photos of any selected folder or in Pictures files in numerous thumbnails on a single page. Individual photos could be selected from those thumbnails to view or work on. They would open the photo processing page when the photo was selected for viewing.

I can't find that feature in the 2020 version. When I go to the Editor site it just opens the photo processing page and I would have to drag photos there from my photo files but they aren't shown in Thumbnails so I can only go by a date or image number on the list. That way I'm not sure which photo I am selecting until after it pops up. I'd like to see a thumbnail file of my photos somewhere so I can select a specific one if I want for processing.

In PE3 File Browser was shown in Preferences and on the Window list. It does not have those on those same locations on PE2020.

Anybody know how to come up with something like that on the 2020 version?

This topic has been closed for replies.

Greg_S.

Community Expert

Wayne, I think you have missed some of the screenshots I posted earlier because you are viewing the replies via email which don't contain images.

So, if you take a look at my earlier post, you will see the All Media button which will take you from a folder view to a view of all photo thumbnails in your catalog. You can display the order of the thumbnails either by oldest/newest date or by file name, using the Sort by dropdown menu which is next to the All Media button shown in my screenshot. Have you tried using the All Media view and if so, does it serve your purpose? In the All Media view of the Organizer, sorted by date, all of the files that were taken in July 2011 will be displayed in sequence without regard to which folder they are in. So, it won't matter if you have numerous folders named with a particular date and sequential number (as shown in your screenshot). All of the photo thumbnails will be viewable.

As for your own screenshot, what I am seeing is a number of folders that have probably been created when you imported the files into the computer when using the Adobe Photo Downloader, or possibly by whatever program you used to transfer the files from your old to new computer. Since you appear to be in the Folder "List" view, it is impossible to tell where those folders are located on your computer. I suggest you go to the Tree View which you can access by clicking the "hamburger" icon next to the Folder panel title. See the following screenshot:

Alternatively, you can select an image and look in the Information Panel on the right hand side. It contains a link to the Location of the file on your computer. Here is a screenshot:

Your screenshot also shows that you are in Adaptive view of the grid. If you press Ctrl+D, you will be in the Details view. If you go to the View menu, you can display the date and name of the photo (as shown in my screenshot).

Hope this helps your understanding of how the Organizer now works. Let us know if you have any other questions.

W

wayne92Author

Participating Frequently

OK, In the screenshot here I am in All Media mode and the Tree View. I was aware of the Information feature from playing around with things a bit. When I put a click on an individual photo thumbnail it shows that info there. I'm good with that.

I find that when in this Tree View that it removes all of the individual photo links from the list and only shows all of the folders, which can be opened to dislay all the thumbnails in that folder. That works the same way as being in the List View.

Most of my photo files in PE3 in my old computer were in folders there already. The way it worked when I downloaded photos from my camera to the computer they were automatically placed in folders with a date attached of when they were taken. I could then add a title to the folder so I would know what was in each one. Those are the titles that show in the Folder list in Organizer. I transfered everything from my old Mac to the new one by using their Migration Assistant feature.

A side note to this stuff is that most of the individual photos I had and could see in PE3 Pictures are not shown in the Organizer lists here, in either setting. I expect the reason for that is because the ones missing here were from old film scans. The ones I do see listed are from digital camera shots. Those also happen to be some I had selected from the folders and just put them over there for easy viewing on PE3 Pictures mode. All off the thumbnails of the individual photos were displayed on a single page. When I scrolled down the page past all of the individual photos it then show all of the folders in order from oldest to newest as I went down the page. They just showed a folder image and with the date and whaterever title I had given each one.

When the photo files were transferred over here they do all show up in the Mac Pictures file, so I haven't lost them and I don't really care much about not seeing them Organiser. Those photos were processed long ago and I can locate them in Mac Pictures for viewing or email attachments if I wish.

I'm not going to worry much more about this stuff. I did a bit of a test in Editor Expert and see that it works much like what was in PE3 so that should be easy enough for me to use.

Greg_S.

Community Expert

OK, Wayne, no problems. We will try to walk you through this. From your description, I better understand what you are seeing. But I would still like to see your screenshot as I have never seen photos outside of a folder displayed in the Folders View. To post a screenshot in a post here, click on the picture icon shown here:

You can then browse for the screenshot file to upload to your post.

In the meantime, I suggest that instead of using the Folders view, go to All Media. That way, all of the photos in your catalog can be viewed via their thumbnails, no matter which folder they are in on your computer. You can sort the photos via date (Newest or Oldest), File Name, or by Import Batch (i.e. the date when you imported the files to the Organizer).

W

wayne92Author

Participating Frequently

[image: Screen Shot 2020-02-15 at 7.19.30 PM.png]

Well, I did this by replying to the email so it didn't work. I then tried doing it here as you described and it does load the photo in my comment but for some reason it only loads a very small slice of the screenshot and doesn't show you what I am talking about so I deleted it from the comment. It only showed a small clip off one thumbnail in the whole picture.

I could send it in an email attachment if I had an address other than the one to Adobe since that one doesn't allow it to work that way. I did a test email to myself and the screenshot photo does work correctly there.

Greg_S.

Community Expert

When you post the reply in the forum, the whole photo will show.

Greg_S.

Community Expert

Wayne 92 said:

I also have several photos
posted as individual ones [not in folders] and those only show the date
each photo was taken so I can't know what they are without opening them.
That's too tedious.

I think you are missing something here. The Organizer shows thumbnails for each photo in the catalog. Where are you only seeing the file name. Please post a screenshot so that we know what you are talking about.

W

wayne92Author

Participating Frequently

For some reason I can't get the Grab function to work in my new Mac. It
doesn't pop up when I click it on the desktop icon like it did on my old
Mac. So I don't know how else to get the screenshot.

When I go to the Media page on Organizer it shows Albums and Folders on the
left side of the screen. I have no Albums so that doesn't show anything in
the position. In Folders it shows all of my folders with the names and
dates of each one. I can click on any folder and it will load the
thumbnails from that folder.

Farther down the list it then shows links to individual photos that aren't
in folders. If I click on one of those it will give me the thumbnail but
that is only the one photo, and I don't know what it is until I do that
because there is no name attached to it. Those were only loaded with IMG
numbers and that doesn't show in the Folders list either. The date the
photo was taken is the only thing to go by without opening the thumbnail.

Greg_S.

Community Expert

Wayne 92 said:

I'd like to see a thumbnail file of my photos somewhere so I can select a specific one if I want for processing.

As Michel has described, the best way is to use the Organizer. But if you want to use a File Explorer window to see a thumbnail of your photo files, go to the View menu and select Extra large icons:

MichelBParis

Legend

The file browser was replaced about fifteen years ago by the Organizer which is the PSE Elements companion. The organizer is not a 'basic' browser, it's a power management tool working with catalogs and databases.

My suggestion: have a look at the videos and tutorials about the organizer.

https://helpx.adobe.com/elements-organizer/user-guide.html

W

wayne92Author

Participating Frequently

OK, thanks. I see that that works for the photos I have posted in
folders. I can see the name and date of the folder and click on that to
view the thumbnails in it. That will work. I also have several photos
posted as individual ones [not in folders] and those only show the date
each photo was taken so I can't know what they are without opening them.
That's too tedious.

Fortunately most of my photos are in folders so it won't be too much of a
hassle to select an individual photo for viewing/processing. I have over
9000 photos that I transferred over to the new computer but only a few
hundred are not in folders.

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