Move pictures from one catalogue to the other without loosing keywords/tags

[Dick Sleiffer]

Hello, I have in PSE2022 two catalogues. now I would like to move pictures from the one to the other catalogue. I tried to do this via "import from files..." but the picture gets imported without the keywords/tags. How can I move from one catalogue to the other without loosing this key information? I hope someone knows it.

[MichelBParis]

You can save metadata like tags, captions, notes or ratings into the files themselves (in the metadata header for jpegs, tiff, psd.. or in sidecar xmp files for raws).

Shortcut: Ctrl W on the selected files.

When you import those files in another catalog (or in a different managing software), those metadata will be imported.

In Elements they will appear in the category 'imported keywords'.

You can't recover other organization features like albums, stacks or version sets. Those are only kept in the catalogs;  and Elements can't export parts of catalogs like Lightroom can do.

Edit: You can't recover, sorry for the typo, thanks Greg for correcting.

[Dick Sleiffer]

Dear Michel,

The ctrl-W action works. but when I move the picture, the keywords are no longer attached to the picture. the keywords do appear in the list of keywords. What do I do wrong?

I move the pictures in the following way: in the catalogue I select show all files and than import media into a file. Is that the correct way?

Thanks

[MichelBParis]

Dear Michel,

The ctrl-W action works. but when I move the picture, the keywords are no longer attached to the picture. the keywords do appear in the list of keywords. What do I do wrong?

I move the pictures in the following way: in the catalogue I select show all files and than import media into a file. Is that the correct way?

Thanks

By @Dick Sleiffer

When you have added the tags and captions with Ctrl W in the catalog to be imported (all files selected), you switch to the big catalogue and import from files and folders.

You only want to import the selected files in the small catalogue, not all your files including those already in the final catalogue.

It's easy if those files are already in different folders from the already catalogued ones (folders known by dates for instance). Is this possible for you ?

If the files are in subfolders totally mixed with files already in the catalogue, you can import all your folders at the same time, knowing that files already in the catalog will be skipped at import time. Of course, that will take more time for filtering the new files.

In both cases, the 'import' job will 'get' the files in the new catalog, including the written metadata, tags/captions. The new tags will be added to the tags list (in the 'imported keywords' category') while the already existing ones will be used if you check all in the list of found tags at import.

[Dick Sleiffer]

Dear Michel,
In my question I have used the wrong words. When I say file, I really mean
Folder in which are several files/pictures.
Sorry

--
Vriendelijke groet
Dick Sleiffer
06 107 40 935

[Greg_S.]

Just to correct Michel's typo. error, saving the metadata to files with the Ctrl+W command does not transfer the album  and stack information imported to a different catalogue.  I would also add that face recognition information is not transferred via a file import.

However, when you import the files with saved metadata, you should be presented with a dialog that allows you to map the keywords to existing keyword tags in the target catalogue.  If you decline the option, the tags will be imported, as Michel says, to the Imported Keywords category.  You can then move the tag to your desired tag structure.

[Greg_S.]

. . .  and one other point.  Do you have a good reason to maintain separate catalogues?   It is not a recommended approach for most users.

[Dick Sleiffer]

Dear Greg, Mid 2020 my computer slowed down enormously when I worked in PSE13. Than I created a new catalogue and imported picture as from that moment to the new catalogue. It went indeed a bit faster but not impressive. Now I have PSE2022 and thought to move the pictures from the new catalogue into the old one which makes searching for specfic pictures easier. But it is a timeconsuming activity so I stopped doing that. I hoped that whole files could be moves, but that does not work.

thanks anywey