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bealbd
Participating Frequently
July 18, 2020
Question

Photoshop Elements Organizer Using Date Modified to Import Photos, not Date Taken

  • July 18, 2020
  • 9 replies
  • 4198 views

This problem has started recently, but is causing a major problem. I have an iPhone X and am trying to import photos using Elements 18. It now imports to a folder, who's name is based on Date Modified, not Date Taken. I get 5000 photos imported into folder 20200527. Not sure why the camera thinks they were all modified on that date? Anyhow these photos are duplicates of ones that I have previously imported. I wish Elements was using Date Taken to create the folder, but it is not. Any help would be appreciated.  

 

I just tried importing using Windows Explorer and it works as expected, so the problem is with Elements. 

 

    9 replies

    Greg_S.
    Community Expert
    Greg_S.Community Expert
    Community Expert
    April 18, 2023

    @Oliag000 said:  PSE 2023 still does not make it possible to import and organize photos according to date taken. 

     

    You are mistaken. More than 99% of my photos have been imported and organized by date taken (and my catalog has about 250k files).  Occassionally, imported files (in my case, from iPhones) are given the wrong display date and are sometimes placed into the wrong date-taken folder.  However the correct date taken is always available and can be used to correct the display or holding folder.

     

    You haven't given us any details of your workflow, so it is difficult to tell where the problem lies.  If you are using  Import>From Camera or Card Reader, the dialog includes an option to create a sub-folder with a date taken name:

     

    This article explains how Elements uses dates.

    O
    Oliag000
    Participant
    April 25, 2023

    That is exactly the dialog that I am looking for when trying to upload iphone photos.   I am new to the Mac so that may be my problem.   If I try to upload using upload from camera or card reader the display states that there are no new photos to upload.   I think the Mac assumes it is uploaded already.   If I then try to upload or organize from Import using files using Photo files I do not get the dialog box with the option to create subfolders according to date taken.    Am I missing something?

    O
    Oliag000
    Participant
    April 18, 2023

    For years I organized my photos on a pc using Lightroom.   It was very easy to import and organize photos according to date taken and all of my photos are organized that way.  Recently I decided to switch to a MacPro and Lightroom is no longer available without a subscription so it was reccommended that I use PSE.   PSE 2023 still does not make it possible to import and organize photos according to date taken.   I really hope that this is changed soon.   At this point I am going to use my old computer to organize my photos!  PSE is pretty useless to me and I would not have purchased it if I had known...

      Greg_S.
      Community Expert
      Greg_S.Community Expert
      Community Expert
      January 2, 2023

      @JohnBengtson, you haven't told us which version of Elements you are using.  But as far as I know, nothing has changed with respect to this random problem. 

      I don't know whether this will work, but you can try copying the files from your iPhone to a USB thumb drive (using your OS such as File Explorer on Windows).  Then use the Adobe Photo Downloader to Import>From Camera or Card Reader and copy the files to your computer.  If you decide to try this suggestion, please let us know if it works.

      J
      JohnBengtson
      Participant
      April 10, 2023

      Greg,

        Sorry I missed your response, I'm using PSE 2020.

        I tried your suggestion of using File Explorer to copy files from my now-new iPhone 14 to a thumb drive, and it works for small sets of files (like 10-20), but if I try to copy more files than that it'll freeze and stop.  So I pretty much never get all the files, and I'm not willing to do multiple rounds of this; way too much work for what should just work.  Anyway, looks like this is more an iPhone vs. Windows issue since I can't even reliably copy files from my iPhone using basic Windows tools.

      S
      scmgjm
      Participating Frequently
      April 11, 2023
      I have the same problem with dates, but also the same problem where the files on the iphone8 will not copy over to Windows 10/11, even outside of photoshop.
      I found this earlier today. Item number 2 fixed my copy problem.

      https://osxdaily.com/2021/08/21/fix-device-unreachable-error-iphone-windows/
      [https://cdn.osxdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/fix-device-is-unreachable-iphone.jpg]<>
      How to Fix “Device is Unreachable” Error with iPhone & Windows - OS X Daily<>
      4. Download and Keep Originals. If turning on iCloud Photos didn’t resolve the issue, you’ll need to make sure that you’ve set your iPhone to download and keep originals of all photos stored on iCloud.
      osxdaily.com

      I changed from 'automatic' to 'keep originals' and I can now copy from the iphone to PC.

      I'm not sure if the HEIC and HECV format may continue to give me problems in photoshop, but at least I can copy off the phone.

      Good luck.

      __________________________________________________________ steven_mcdaniel@hotmail.com
      Greg_S.
      Community Expert
      Greg_S.Community Expert
      Community Expert
      October 18, 2021

      @bealbd Elements has just released version 2022.  As far as I know nothing has changed with respect to this issue.

       

      I suggest you download the free 30 day trial and see for yourself whether the upgrade is worth it.

        B
        bealbdAuthor
        Participating Frequently
        November 8, 2021

        FWIW, Elements 2022 does not fix this problem. This is really hard to understand that Adobe hasn't fixed this problem. I am going to turn off High Efficiency and see if this helps. I am pretty certain that this will not fix the problem with it downloading to same 5000 pictures, everytime I do a transfer 😞

        M
        Michael245438569wt2
        Participant
        May 21, 2022

        Thanks for saving me the upgrade cost. This is very frustrating. The other issue I have is the organizer will hang and lose connection during the import. Usually hangs on one file. This has been going on for far too long, and I refuse to upgrade until resolved, and even looking for other alternatives to PE

        B
        bealbdAuthor
        Participating Frequently
        October 18, 2021

        Does anyone know if this problem is fixed in Elements 2021? I hate to pay for an upgrade that doesn''t fix this incredibly annoying problem.

        G
        Gemknight
        Participating Frequently
        July 21, 2021

        same issue. Importing from a iphone 12 pro and the media is getting imported into folders that are not the date taken, but the date modified. This ruins then my catalogue because i'll have photos and videos from the same day separated by another day's media.

          Greg_S.
          Community Expert
          Greg_S.Community Expert
          Community Expert
          May 12, 2021

          @scmgjm, thanks for your responses to my questions.  But I am a little confused.  The OP created this discussion because he was using the Organizer to import files from his iPhone.  Since the problem was with the folder date for the imported files, I am assuming the import was via the Adobe Photo Downloader which creates the OS folders with the wrong dates.  If you already imported the files to your computer, it would be the program/app that you used for the import that would create the wrong date of the folder. 

          S
          scmgjm
          Participating Frequently
          July 21, 2021

          Sorry for the long gap in response.

           

          The import program is always the Adobe Photoshop Organizer.

          I launch Adobe Photoshop Elements 2021 (same problem in old revisions) on Windows 10 Home.

          Then I choose 'Organizer'.

          'Import from Camera or card reader ' using a USB to lightning cable.

          Then I choose my iphone.

           

            Greg_S.
            Community Expert
            Greg_S.Community Expert
            Community Expert
            May 12, 2021

            AFAIK, nothing has been changed with respect to this date problem with imports from iPhones.  However, having said that, I haven't noticed it with respect to any recent imports from my iPhone X. 

            The Date Taken information is still available in the file's metadata and can be accessed from the Info panel.  And as far as I recall, the correct Date Taken data is displayed in the Media grid.  Since you have a recent experience with the problem, please give us as much detail as you can about your experience, and I will bring it up again with Adobe.  I would need at least the following information:

            1. What model iPhone are you importing from?
            2. What format are you using to take the photos (HEIC or JPEG)?
            3. What are the settings on your iPhone for import to PC (Automatic or Original)
            4. How are you importing to the Organizer - using the Adobe Photo Downloader or Import from Files and Folders or Bulk Import?
            5. Are any of the photos that are being imported not taken with your iPhone device - IOW, are they photos that have been received from other apps or messengers?  Or have any of the photos been saved to the iCloud and imported from there?
            6. Is the problem consistent for you?
            7. Have you transferred photos from an old phone to a new one?  If so, when you open the APD, select your iPhone and click on the Select Folders icon, do you have two DCIM folders listed:

            Thanks for any information you can provide.

             

            S
            scmgjm
            Participating Frequently
            May 12, 2021
            Thank you for the detailed questions and the time you are taking with this.


            What model iPhone are you importing from? iPhone8 but also fails from my wife's iPhone8Plus


            What format are you using to take the photos (HEIC or JPEG)? HEIC now but failed in the past as JPG also

            What are the settings on your iPhone for import to PC (Automatic or Original) Automatic

            How are you importing to the Organizer - using the Adobe Photo Downloader or Import from Files and Folders or Bulk Import? Imported using Organizer - Import from Files and Folders

            Are any of the photos that are being imported not taken with your iPhone device - IOW, are they photos that have been received from other apps or messengers? No

            Or have any of the photos been saved to the iCloud and imported from there? No

            Is the problem consistent for you? Yes, AFAIK

            Have you transferred photos from an old phone to a new one? No

            If so, when you open the APD, select your iPhone and click on the Select Folders icon, do you have two DCIM folders listed:

            Regards,
            Steve


            __________________________________________________________ steven_mcdaniel@hotmail.com
            Greg_S.
            Community Expert
            Greg_S.Community Expert
            Community Expert
            July 18, 2020

            I agree there is a problem (but I'm not sure it's totally Adobe's fault).  It is somewhat random. 

            What settings do you have on your iPhone for Camera>Format (High Efficiency or Most Compatible)?

            And what settings do you have for Photos>Transfer to Mac or PC (Automatic or Keep Originals)?

            If you format your photos/videos with High Efficiency and transfer with Automatic settings, a new copy of the file is created on your computer and the Date Taken setting seems to be lost.  I think that's why you have 5,000 photos placed into a single folder.  Was that the date of the transfer to your computer?

             

            I have sometimes found that the correct Date Taken is shown in the images metadata (viewed in the Organizer's Properties panel) and have been able to move the image into the correct Date Taken folder.  But not always.

             

            I recently bought a new iPhone and moved the contents of my old phone to the new one.  When transferring from the new phone, the date of the phone transfer became the date taken.  There are also other problems when files are transferred to your phone via other apps.

            In short, there is no consistency between any software in what fields are used to establish the photo's "date." 

              B
              bealbdAuthor
              Participating Frequently
              July 20, 2020

              iPhone Settings:

              Camera>Format - High Efficiency 

              Photos>Transfer to Mac or PC - Originals

               

              So, when I use Organizer to transfer the photos from my iPhone to the computer, it now creates the Folder name using the date of the Date Modified field, not Date Taken (these photos have been imported to Organizer previously into the correct folders, hence the duplicates, but in different folders). Organizer does not use the date of the downloading for folder names. I have no idea why I have more than 5000 photos on my camera with the same Date Modified date. The Date Taken field is correct (see previous attachment). When I use Window Explorer (not Organizer) to import those photos from my iPhone, Windows uses the Date Taken field to group these same photos.

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