Offline photos are OnLine

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
May 2, 2021
3 replies
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I have just bought 2021 PS E&P.

I probably have several questions mixed in together here...

I had my 1TB USB drive in the computer with my pictues on it and decided to import it.

That worked OK.

But then I learn that there is the option to import with type offline.

Well that seems good in that I hve sevaral USB keys, drives etc. which often connect as drive E: for example and PS seems to like to use the same drives letters, so gets confused unless its offline. Makes sense.

How can I convert my E drive that PSO thinks is not a USB drive into an off line type config. I just want to import the thumbnails, not the photos.

I have done some testing and I cannot seem that any of the helps line up with the software that I have.

For exmaple when I try to Camera/cards it does not find the E. Drive that I have.

Do I have to delete the catalogue for E currently then go back and import again properly. Can I convert to Offline, from on line.

I cant see any helps on this type of topic. Seems odd as PHO have been around for a while I think ??

Thanks

This topic has been closed for replies.

MichelBParis

Legend

First, you write;

"But then I learn that there is the option to import with type offline."

That's true, but that's only an old optional legacy feature used when CDs were the only external media to store your images. Storing 'offline' means keeping the photo files in their original media (the CDs) and keeping the catalog on your computer. The situation is the same today with your external USB drive, except that no relatively small 'previews' are created on your computer and files are seen as 'missing' or 'disconnected' if the external USB is absent. That was important when you had your library stored in many CDs.

External USB drives are now considered just like any internal drive. The option to store the 'previews' for offline media is still there for CDs, DVDs and other media like photo cards or even thumb sticks. Thumb sticks can be considered either like external or internal like the USB drives. I don't use networks, but I believe that they can be managed as 'offline', not sure at all.

It's an option you can tick if you choose to 'Import' from camera or card reader'.

So today, practically nobody uses that legacy feature. With external media, either you use USB external drives which are considered as internal by PS, or you 'Import from camera or card reader' which downloads the files where you want on your computer. If the external USB drive is not connected, it's not 'offline', the files are 'missing' or 'disconnected' until you plug in the external drive.

Then:

If you describe exactly which workflow you want to use to manage various external drives, we can help you about good management practices.

D

defaultxlrv44lqhucgAuthor

Participant

Your answer is helpfull thank you. I didnt see any of that anywere.

The problem from my novicle point of mind is that it appears that when I plug in another drive and then import it from the same drive letter it is being identifyed as being from Drive E: Which is true. But which physical drive archive. My Work Picture Drive, Famly Picture drive, Active Files Drive. with differnt media types eg. Various USB Drives, several USB Sticks. It doenst really identify where it is from, which drive.

Then part B would be so lets say I want to use two drives at the same time. But I have imported them all as Drive E: But now with two drives one is Say E: and the other is drive F:. What happens now ?

Regards

MichelBParis

Legend

So, the issue is to manage different external drives in a way where the organizer and Windows always identify together the external 'volume' instead of assigning the first available letter when you plug it in.

The organizer uses not only the drive letter identification, but also the internal serial number or the name of the volume.

Only the letter changes when you plug it in.

That's something you have to take into account. The general solution is to use the Windows Explorer function to assign a different drive letter, leaving the first drive letters free for other device types. Start with the letters M, N, P for instance.

(Do a Google search for that feature).

Your catalog stores a description of each volume, internal or external, drive or partition, in a dedicated table storing the three above identifiers. The main one is the serial number. That means that if you have two volumes with different serial numbers but with the same current letter drive, the catalog will recognize the right volume... in optimal situations.

If you copy your folder tree from a disk to another and assign the same letter, the organizer will recognize that it's a different drive and show all your files as disconnected. You'll need to reconnect all, which may be next to impossible.

- So, the first thing to do is to assign new letters in the second part of the alphabet to each new external media.

They will keep their letter in all circumstances.

- To move your catalog to a different drive, use the backup and restore recommended workflow:

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop-elements/kb/backup-restore-move-catalog-photoshop.html

Or in the folder panel in tree view, move the folder tree to the new drive.

- The best practice is to have a single catalog unless they don't share any common media. A single catalog can reference many different drives. If you don't have enough letters (many cardss or sticks), you should consider moving their contents to different master folders on an USB drive.

- When you use the backup and restore process, the catalog folder is also restored in the destination drive and folder. You can move it back to the default location on your computer if you want.

- If you restore a catalog referencing several volumes (drives or partitions), the restore will be on your destination drive, each original drive being restored under its master folder. That makes the number of drive letters more manageable.