Split Photos now in 1 Library into 2 Libraries in Organizer

Dave, I'm happy to give you some suggestions, but I still don't really know how you intend to use the filters or how you think you would extract one set of files to place in another catalog.  If your genealogy images are all over the place, at some point you are going to have to select them to either tag or delete from one of the two catalogs.

So, here are a few more thoughts and questions for you:

• You say you have tagged genealogy photos by family name etc.  Are you using keyword tags or do you use face recognition?  Either way will work but face recognition may make the process easier for you.  It is hard to say since I don't know the source or content of your genalogy photos. 
• Are your genealogy photos scans of old photos or recent images of current family members?  Or both?
• I guess my most important question is how do you plan on viewing or using the genealogy photos once they are properly organized?  For example, will you want to view all photos of the Smith family or all photos of the Smith and Brown clans, or perhaps all dead ancestors?  There are various ways to do all of this but we need to know how you are planning on using all of this genealogy information.
• As for the photos that you describe in the Personal category, you mention household repairs and a flood as examples.  If these are photos that you took for insurance purposes and only wish to archive them for historical purposes without having to view them when browsing through your catalog, you might want to consider hiding them from view.  To do this, select the photos and press Alt+F2.  You can select multiple photos using Shift or Ctrl + Click (or Ctrl+Shift+Click for multiple contiguous and non-contiguous images).  You then have various options in the View menu to show or hide Hidden Files.

I'll await some more information from you before giving any further suggestions.

The problem with having separate catalogs is that you have to go through the steps to open each one to find the photo you want to work with.  Having a properly tagged catalog allows you to easily find each photo, no matter whether it is in your personal category or your genealogy one.

But if you want to have two catalogs, I suggest you do the following:

• Go to File>System Info and a dialog will open with the location of your current combined catalog folder

• Navigate to that folder in Windows File Explorer and copy and paste the folder to the same main folder.  You should now have the Original and a Copy of your catalog in the default location. Rename the catalogs e.g. to Personal Catalog and Genealogy Catalog.
• Open the Personal Catalog in the Organizer and delete all of your genealogy files from the catalog.  (Do not delete the files from the hard disk when asked.)
• Open the Genealogy Catalog and delete the personal files from that catalog.

@davidl64396196 said I'd like separate my personal photo from my genealogy photos, but currently they are all in the same catalog.

To give you better advice, we would need to know what you intend to do with the separate sets of images.  In other words, why do you feel a need to separate them.

Without knowing more, I would recommend that you keep both sets of images in the same catalog.  It is fairly easy to separate them by simply creating a keyword tag for each kind of image geneology/personal.  Whenever you want to filter the photos, you can simply choose one of the tags.  Other possibilities include putting each in an Album, or if you don't use the Mark as Hidden feature, you can mark the visibility of one set as hidden and then use the Edit>Visibility choices to show or hide the hidden set.

Hello!

I have a slightly different scenario and would appreciate your opinion.  I'd like separate my personal photo from my genealogy photos, but currently they are all in the same catalog.  Do you have any suggestions for this?  Assistance is greatly appreciated!  Thank you!

Dave

"Could you verify these are my steps? 1. Make sure my external drive is seen as same letter on both computers. 2. Create a backup from either machine. 3. Restore that backup onto an external drive on my laptop. How do I keep the directory structure the same but on the ext HD? 4. Step 3 gives me a second catalog on the laptop so I should use manage catalogs to delete the first catalog still installed on the D drive? 5. If that process works then I close photoshop & eject the drive. I put the ext HD on the desktop machine. 6. Then how do I tell the desktop to use the new catalog on the ext HD? It's already installed so I can't do a "restore". Hope you can clarify. Thanks & happy new year."

Steps 1 to 3 are correct. If you check the option to keep the same structure, the current tree structure will be kept even with the useless steps in the full 'pictures' tree. The structure will be simplified if you don't check that option, keeping your own hierarchy without intermediate empty folder steps. If you check the option for the same stucture, you'll be able to simplify it later by moving parts of the folder tree in the left folder panel. What is important is to create the master folder (such as 'My Photos' just before the root folder of the external drive, preferably before starting the restore process.

You are right that a second catalog is created in the process (located just under your 'My Photos' folder). No need to delete the original,  except later when you want to recover disk space. The catalog manager lets you choose the catalogs: they have the same name, but the original is on C, the other is in the external drive, and shown in 'custom' location.

Step 5 and 6: yes, you close the organizer, eject and plug the catalog in the second computer. The normal way is then to use the catalog manager to 'open' the new catalog. You select the radio button 'custom location' and browse to the catalog location.

I prefer to simply double click on the 'catalog.pse18db' database file. That opens the organizer with the newly created catalog. The catalog manager will remember the catalog location next time.

You test and verify that everything works as expected. Then you can think about removing the old catalogs and libraries from your computers.

The backup and restore process from the organizer as described above is the only simple way to share the same library (media files tree) and catalog.

Let's dismiss the idea to only 'move' the library without the catalog. The command 'move to removable drive' is a legacy feature from the times of CDs. Nobody uses it nowadays since it's so much easier to to simply drag and drop folder trees from the left folder panal to another drive or master folder. If your library is under a single master folder, you can drag that master folder directly from the original situation to the final external drive. Not quite as safe as a backup/restore, but that works. Then you need to make your catalog folder available for both computers. You have to find the catalog location (menu Help >> System Information), then you copy that folder on the final drive. You can copy move a full catalog folder where you want, it's contents don't change. Same result as the backup/restore.

About the default location of your library: I consider the default choice to store it in the Pictures system library makes things very confusing with a very long path and two ways to access a file (from the Pictures shortcut or the full path). My advice is always to store your library on a custom master folder just under the rood drive.

For the default location of the catalog folder in a hidden location, there are pros and cons, but anyway that does not work if you want it accessible by two computers.

So, you can either use the above moving solution or the recommended backup and restore, in both cases you are the master of the new location. If you want a 'cleaner'  folder tree than the default one in Pictures, you can drag and drop your tree from the left folders panel in tree view.

Also, once you have made the move by backup and restore, keep in mind that your library+catalog is working on the external drive, but

- the previous libraries and catalogs are still working on both computers

- they are no longer in sync

- you also have a full backup for safety.

So, it's your choice to keep the old catalogs and libraries (as sort of backups) or to remove them.

Another safety possibility is to store backups from the external drive to folders on your computers...

But the main rule is that what you do in a catalog is ignored by the others. Concentrate on the common external drive and be sure to backup regularly.

It looks like we share an identical situation. I have two Win PCs (250 miles away from each other).

By the way, I am not an Adobe employee (that would appear under my name in this forum). I am only a PSE user like you and my profile is accessible if you double click on my name.

I have been working with Elements since PSE2. At first I used the backup and restore method when moving from one home to the other. I soon found that it's more convenient to store both my photo library and my catalog on an external drive. I only have to plug in that drive alternatively to each computer with the same PSE version. Of course, I also do regular backups from the organizer.

You start by doing a backup to an external drive and restore on the final external drive (preferably for safety, use two different drives). The only requirement is that the final drive must have the same drive letter in both PCs.

When using the catalog manager, the catalog will appear under 'custom' location.

About the maximum number of files you can conveniently manage with the organizer, it's funny to read that faq from the time of PSE8:

http://www.johnrellis.com/psedbtool/photoshop-elements-faq.htm#_Limits_on_the

Now with the available amount of RAM and 64-bits processing, 50 000 items is under average, 100 000 to 150 000 is common and there is no reason not to go for much more. However, I don't use face recognition, and older Elements versions had difficulties managing catalogs over 70 000 items with FR. Other users in this forum (like Greg_S) can give more info about big catalogs and FR. Anyway, your library can happily grow like mine (90 000 items).

Very simple:

Forget this generally horrible idea.

http://www.johnrellis.com/psedbtool/photoshop-elements-faq.htm#_Splitting_and_rearranging

You have a very small library, so it's possible to split it by the second method in that faq.

However, deleting thousands of photos in one batch is very long and will often fail, needing to delete by smaller batches.

The worst idea is to think that splitting catalog will make the organizer more responsive.

The best idea is to think that you only need a single keyword to dissociate virtually two 'libraries'.

Another important question is that you can create two differents catalogs pointing to the same physical files. That avoids duplication, but what you do in a catalog is ignored by the other. The result is often a lot of disconnected files in the other catalog.