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Question

Catalog Location for Photoshop Element 2021 in Windows 10

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
February 28, 2021
5 replies
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I just purchased and installed Photoshop Element 2021 and then uninstalled PSE 15 - my previous version that I was using. In the installtion process, I selected the option to convert my Catalog that was in use at that time. Everything looks good and everything works just fine.

In my Windows 10 desktop PC, I have a 100 GB SSD (C) and a much bigger mechanical Hard drive (D). To save space, I installed the Photoshop Element 2021 in my 😧 Drive.

After the installation, I chnaged the Catalog name to make it more meaningful to me to reflect the starting point for my PSE 2021. And, that chnage was accepted, and I have no trouble in opening and accessing all of my current information, and it uses the RENAMED Catalog.

Now, I am trying to locate where it stores that Catalog. I have looked around everywhere using Window's File Explorer, but can not locate my newly named Catalog.

I sure could use some help in locating this Catalog so that I can make sure to protect it and manaully back it up whenver I wanted.

Thank you so much.

Installation

This topic has been closed for replies.

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PKFloAuthor

Inspiring

Thank you all very much for all of the helpful information. As a result, I understand the Catalog structure, and its usage and management much better.

With this post, I am closing this topic.

Again, thank you everybody.

Walter_H

Legend

@PKFlo, Help>System Info... will show you the location of the catalog file.

--Walter in Davie, FL

MichelBParis

Legend

A few ideas about where to store catalogs:

- Necessary to know: use the menu Help >> System Information to read where the catalog is stored.

- Phil is right: that location is hidden by default and you have to make those folders visible.

- Is it a good thing that the default location is hidden? That prevents many beginners to fiddle with the catalog folders without knowing what they are doing. However, you'll discover that you'll have to know that information some day later, as you have found.

- Is it a good thing to use the default location? Knowing that you can move or copy the catalog folder anywhere else from the Windows Explorer is the most important thing, and that is not known to many users. Storing everything in the default location may help get catalogs together. Storing copies or moving catalogs is extremely useful, especially if you want to use the catalogs and photo files on an external USB drive to share between two PCs. You can choose the fastest drive if you want, but don't expect a big difference.

- Big catalogs may grow much more than the space needed for the Elements software itself. So why risk installing your software in D (without knowing the consequences) when you save more space by storing the catalogs on your D drive?

- What makes a difference with working with catalogs is having more than the minimum RAM requirements. Having a SSD makes a difference for storing your scratch disks (preferences, performance). Having the media files and catalogs on a non SSD drive, even a USB external drive is perfectly ok. Storing them on the SSD does not help, on the contrary.

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PKFloAuthor

Inspiring

MichelBParis and Somya Agrawal, thnak you for your wonderful, detailed very helpful advise. I have followed your instructions and have been able to make the move of my Catalog to my Custom location. And my PSE 2021 is working correctly.

But, I wanted to share something that's occurring that I was not expecting.

My Catalog NOW shows up in my File Explorer in BOTH Places - the Default Loaction in C: Drive, as well as in my Custom Location in 😧 drive. And, when I open my PSE 2021, whether I click the Catalog name on bottom right of the Organiser or access vis File/ Manage Catalogs, the Catalog Name does show up as my Catalog in USE and my new Custom Location appears greyed out having replaced the Defult location that it used to show. The Default location does not appear.

Does this make sense to you?

Again, thank you both so much (and I did not Somya's correction).

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PKFloAuthor

Inspiring

Thank you so much Somya. Yes, I understand your explanations. I also thought it was using the Default drive catalog since its Date was most recent and Size was bigger than what is shown for the Catalog in my Custom location in 😧 drive.

But, why the Catalog Manager window shows the Location D:/Adobe/Elements Organizer Catalog/ Elements Organizer/Catalogs --- EVEN IF IT'S GREYED OUT! What does this imply? What is the purpose of showing this Location when we know that location is NOT being UISED!

It would be lot clearer if this would clearly show the DEFAULT LOcation in C: so that there is NO CONFUSION.

Sure would appreciate your thought on this.

Thanks a lot again.

By @PKFlo

Everything you are seeing is the consequence of the following reasons:

- having twice the same catalog folder with the same name on two locations; why this duplication? I am pretty sure that the organizer does not create such duplicates, but we have to live with that hard fact.

- The 'default' location is on the 'C' drive if you install PSE on C. If you choose to install PSE on 'D', I don't know if the 'default' location will be on 'D'. I doubt it, and you can check by creating a new test folder in 'Catalogs accessible to all users'. By the way, that is a good reason not to install PSE on 'D', because you never know what will stay installed on C... So, until we agree on that point, stating 'default' location may mean C or D, ambiguous...

- The screenshot of the catalog manager needs to be understood:

If you choose the 'Catalogs accessible to all users', the full path with indication of the drive is not shown, because typical beginner PSE users are not supposed to fiddle with them, and the location is hidden.

If you choose a 'custom' location, the indication of the drive is mandatory.

- To make matters still more complicated, keep in mind that if you tick the radio button to show 'catalogs accessible to all users, a list of catalogs witll be shown with maybe the [current] one.

Only the last used 'custom' catalog will be shown on the bottom in the 'custom' location and only if the radio button is set on custom.

-

Please refer to your screenshot of the catalog manager.

You have chosen the radio button to display the catalogs in the default location.

Somya, you ask: "having twice the same catalog folder with the same name on two locations; why this duplication?"

I DID NOT CREATE the Catalog in Custome location in D:. I used the "MOVE" Process to move the Catalog in the Default Location in C to my desired custom location in D:. So, I MOVED and NOt created it in D:.

Anyway, it is very confusing. Wish, there was a clearly written narrative on everything about Catalog Management - Default and all...

Thank you.