Can I export subfolders from Elements Organiser?

[davids22356166]

Is there any way to export a folder and all its subfolders from Elements Organiser 2019? When I export a folder, it only exports the files in the main folder, but not any subfolders. How do I include these, and retain the folder structure?

Thanks,

David

[Monte307]

If you are simply exporting copies of the files and folder structure (i.e. you are not changing the file type / renaming the files, etc.), you can do it without using Organizer.  Select the root folder to be copied and do a copy/paste (see attached example done on a Mac). 

 

[Greg_S.]

If you are simply wanting to move the folder structure in the catalog, you should not follow Monte's suggestion.  Using that approach will mess up your catalog and the files will all become missing.  To reconnect them can be a huge chore.

If you are doing a true Export as new file(s) to copy the folders to a new location, then Monte's advice will work (and you can use Windows File Explorer for that purpose too).  I know of no way to Export/copy photos in a folder and sub-folder in the Organizer.

[MichelBParis]

As already answered, there is no way to "export (=copy) files while keeping the folder structure from within Elements. That's not a surprise since the organizer is there to use its own logic of keywords, stacks, version sets and albums; it's also there to let the user forget about folders organization. The "export keeping folder structure" is something which would be  feasible with Lightroom Classic which allows exporting kinds of "subcatalogs".

What is a pity though is that you can't easily export all files in a folder AND in its subfolders easily.

My workaround:

- Ideally run a full backup, or at least do a copy of your catalog folder for safety.

- Run a search for missing files to be sure there are none.

- Outside of the organizer, rename the source folder temporarily.

- Run a new search for missing files

- Add a common tag to all files (which will include files in the subfolders' in the catalog.

- rename the master folder back to its former name.

- check that there are no missing files now.

- use the new tag to select all the files and use the normal 'export' feature.

[davids22356166]

Thanks to everyone who has tried to be so helpful. I forgot to mention the most important detail - which is that I want to export the files so I have a copy of the JPEGs with the tags attached, so I can use them in other software. I'm not sure any of the suggested methods would achieve that. So I am just exporting one folder at a time, as and when, while doing other things. It won't really take that long, and it's fine as a one-off exercise.

[Greg_S. · Accepted solution]

@davids22356166, yes, that was an important detail to leave out.  So, if you intend to use the keyword tags in other software, be sure to write the metadata to the files before you export them.  (Select the files and use the Ctrl+W command.)

Also, note that there is no standard as to how different software treats metadata like keywords.  So, your other software may not recognize the keyword tags generated in the Organizer.

[davids22356166]

Exporting them does actually add the tags without needing to explicitly add the metadata. But now that I know about the Write Metadata command, I don't need to export them at all. I can just add the tags to the existing files. Really useful answer, thanks.