Lost Photos

[Robert John S.]

Lately many of my photos are "missing".  They have a ? in the upper corner.  Some I have checked and the photos are present in my Pictures file but PS does not find them.  How do direct the "find" feature to look in the correct file?  The 'find photos' function is not very user friendly.

[Greg_S.]

The first question we have to ask is why did the files become missing?   Also, what OS and version of Elements are you using?

What folder structure do you have for your catalog photos?

Have you changed the folder location or renamed any files outside of the Organizer?  (This should never be done if you are using the Organizer to collect your photos.)

How many files are missing?  (Select Find>All missing files from the Organizer's menu.)  Does this help you identify why the files are missing? 

After filtering the catalog to all missing files, select one and click on the Location link in the Information panel to determine where Elements thinks the file should be located.

Then double-click on the missing file and the reconnect dialog should pop up. Browse to the actual location of the file and reconnect them.  Any missing files in the same folder should reconnect automatically (but not always).