How do I import just one folder from my External Hard Drive?

Report · Jul 08, 2018

I use PSE 15. In my Import Media window of the Organizer I see the following, in this order with the Pictures folder being the first one that you see:

Pictures (on my internal C drive)

C: (my internal drive)

E: (my external HD)

Ex HD Pictures Black Passport (a folder I created on my EX HD – it appears like it might have been a back up or something but the Organizer tells me that I have never ran a back-up).

So, that it is it. Just 4 folders. I want the last one (‘EX HD . . . Passport’) to be the first one that I import into PSE. However, it will not let me. It has to include the WHOLE E drive into the import process. I do not want the WHOLE E: drive, I just want the part of it where I have been storing my images. Right now all I want is to import the last folder, all by itself, but PSE will not let me. It comes as a PACKAGE DEAL. A deal that I do not want. Is there any way I can just get my ‘EX HD . . . Passport’ folder to import its contents into PSE? Thank you for your time and attention.

Report · Jul 08, 2018

Dean,

It has to include the WHOLE E drive into the import process. I do not want the WHOLE E: drive, I just want the part of it where I have been storing my images.

No, the import dialog lets you import only a part of your folder tree on any drive. Click on the 'Import' button, 'From Files and folders'. You browse to the master folder you want to import, you check the option 'Get photos from subfolders', that's all.

Ex HD Pictures Black Passport (a folder I created on my EX HD – it appears like it might have been a back up or something but the Organizer tells me that I have never ran a back-up).

No doubt it is a folder you have created. It may be a backup folder you have created from the organizer. The organizer can't tell you if you have ever run a backup, at most it won't find the backup folder. You can easily recognize a backup folder because it contains renamed copies of all your files, with names starting with 'B00...' and other subfolders and files. Two files are crucial for the backup: catalog.pse16db and backup.tly.

If that's not the case, it's not a backup folder.

Also note that even if a backup is a package, you can see its contents as explained above. You can even use the 'Import' function, but it will import the renamed media files and you won't be able to manage those renamed copies. A backup folder is only useable by the 'Restore' function.

It comes as a PACKAGE DEAL. A deal that I do not want. Is there any way I can just get my ‘EX HD . . . Passport’ folder to import its contents into PSE? Thank you for your time and attention.

If it's a backup folder, you have to use it to restore everything. You may restore on another drive or under a new master folder where you want. Once the restore is done, you can 'Import' selectively a part of the folder tree. Remember, importing from files and folders does not copy anything in the 'organizer'. It only registers and indexes the chosen files which stay where there are (or have been restored).

If it's not a backup folder, it may be a copy you have made of a folder tree. Then the 'Import' function should import (index) those files or at least provide an error message.

Edit:

If that folder is really an organizer backup and if it is the only media which contains given photos, you'll have to 'restore' all somewhere. If you want to include a part or all of those photo files in your current catalog, you'll simply import them from files and folders. Once they are imported, you can use the drag and drop function of the organizer in the left folder to move that folder tree where you want.

If the restore 'all' has restored other files than those needed, you have to move the 'imported' files tree elsewhere. They will still be connected in your catalog. The remaining folder tree part of the full restore can be deleted from the Explorer.