Places Tag in Elements 14/15

[scubagal57]

I had hoped when I upgraded to Elements 15 that I would be able to add Place Tags to my photos, but again, I have to put them on a map, which I don't do. WHY can't I simply have the option of organizing the way I want to? Has anyone found a solution to this other than putting the "Place" photos in "Other" like I am currently doing?

[SK Prairie Chicken]

My solution may be a bit basic but it's been working for me for years (since long before Places was map based).  Under the Keyword Places category I create keywords that suit my needs, then further break them down by year.  So, for example, I have Keyword Places, then Arizona 2016

California 2016

Caribbean (under which I have additional keywords such as Antigua 2013, Barbados 2015, etc.)

Spain (under which I have additional keywords 2013 Spain, 2014 Spain, etc.)

When I import a new batch of photos, typically from one Place, I just select all, & tag them with the appropriate keyword.  Simple & quick.  I rarely use the Places option on PSE.

[scubagal57]

Thank you for the quick reply but that doesn't quite answer my question. I am not able to add anything to keyword tag "Places". As soon as I try to add a place to it, such as NC Blue Ridge Parkway, I immediately get sent to the map. Thus, I have given up and resorted to adding my travel photos to keytag "Other" which I can add to with no problems.  For large files of photos from other countries I put them in albums, but I like to sort my smaller files from states close to home with keyword Tags.

[susant14532844]

I think they were saying create a new category in the PSE tag "KEYWORDS" (PSE has four main tags builtin -KEYWORDS, PEOPLE, PLACES, EVENTS)  and then create a "places" tag (PSE has .already created colour, nature, other and photography here). And then create your specific place names and not to use the built in PLACES keyword that comes within the program. 

I think this is what you may be doing under the other category, Just taking it to a bit more specific with the places name.  Unfortunately you can't use the main "PLACES" as it brings to the maps. 

I am fairly new to PSE but this was my experience and I prefer not to use the maps also.  I don't call my tag places, but use the main word "Locations"  and go from there. 

[MichelBParis · Accepted solution]

susant14532844 wrote:

I think this is what you may be doing under the other category, Just taking it to a bit more specific with the places name. Unfortunately you can't use the main "PLACES" as it brings to the maps.

I am fairly new to PSE but this was my experience and I prefer not to use the maps also. I don't call my tag places, but use the main word "Locations" and go from there.

Yes, you can still use your places as usual in the older versions. The trouble is only in the word 'places': when converting older catalogs, the softwares converts your 'standard type' keyword category as a special one with links to maps. If you rename your keyword category before the conversion ("Locations" or "MyPlaces" or...) the software will consider that category as a normal one.

To summarize:

- if converting from an old version catalog (up to version 10) rename your 'Places' keyword category before the conversion. If you have recently converted, remember you can convert again from the catalog manager.

- if starting from scratch, create a new category in the normal keyword section as indicated by Susan.

[scubagal57]

Thank you to everyone for your help. I finally realized after playing around with the keytags and reading your helpful emails that I can actually add a new category, in addition to the four which come written in the program, which I have now done. I will convert all my old "Places" photos over to that new category so I can keep them together. All these years and I never realized that. Thank you to everyone!!

[Old_Sooner]

This solution is of no help unless you know you need to do this before the conversion and you don't have your old catalog to go back to the earlier version.  Adobe needs to fix this.

[MichelBParis]

Old_Sooner wrote:

This solution is of no help unless you know you need to do this before the conversion

Not exactly. You can always convert an old catalog. And it's a really bad idea to remove old versions and catalogs before being sure the new version fits your need.

Furthermore, this is a good opportunity to remind all users that only keeping the latest verion of your backup is not enouth safety. Migrating without a backup is taking a big risk.

...and you don't have your old catalog to go back to the earlier version.

No comment.

Adobe needs to fix this.

In that case, I agree that providing a way for backward catalog conversion would have been helpful after all the complaints in PSE11.

We are now at version 15, don't dream too much.

[Old_Sooner]

Well, I don't disagree much with what you have said.  However, the obvious solution for Adobe Elements is to either revert the "Places Tags" procedure back to the same as used for the "People" and other major tag items or to optionally to allow the old method to be used instead of the map selection method.  I have used this program for many years, through several versions and I am currently pretty irritated that I have spent so much time bothering to label and tag over 16,000 photos by a method that no longer exists.  I really don't want to set up a parallel tagging set under "Other."  If there is a way to remove previously created tags from the "Places" category and move them to the "Other" category I cannot see it.  I guess this would also solve the problem and allow one to escape from the hard-wired map method.

Right now, I am dreaming of a new version, something like Version 3 or 7, I guess.

[ronanxyz]

Very well said, it is too late to do anything about it by the time you realized it's screwed up. Adobe has to have a lot of very miffed PSE users...! If they would just let you move & rename your Places Tag the problem would be solved. But no if you want to use places in a useful manner you have to create a totally new name under key words and rebuild your whole file structure identical to the useless one you have and then slowly transfer over to the new location! Hour and hours of totally unnecessary work in my opinion!

[ronanxyz]

I am another baffled and mifted..PSE15 user I have 25,000 photos tagged from numerous previous versions of PSE 7, 11, 14 and now I just upgraded to PSE15 thinking it was an upgrade, what were they thinking. My places file tree is now basically useless as I can not add anything (tags) to it anymore, just use the existing ones in it. Years of tagging out the widow! I have little to zero use for the gps map tagging system. My Place tree is/was right there, zip boom done. You spoke of the catalog manager for recently converted catalog changes...? Is it possible to convert my catalog and rename my Places tag and have it recognized under other Tags...? I really really don't have the time to create whole new tree under other and retag everything again..! Any help appreciated.

[MichelBParis]

Did it work in version 14?

Did you try the suggestions in the present discussion?

[ronanxyz]

Manage catalog just has new and convert and I don't no what or how ether one works..? I don't want to screw up what I do have by learning the hard way/pressing the wrong button. Thus my quire here. PSE 14 would let me make tags that showed up in my file tree but it forced you to do it through the maps route, and it would not let you make any subcategories, so tagging just turned into making one big long list in your places tree!

[ronanxyz]

You must not have tried to add any new tags to your places file tree lately because that wonderful easy simple file system all of used to break down and tag our photos in places through all the various version no longer works at all. You are forced into a map base tagging system now! The only way you can actual get a new tag to show in your tag tree at all is a work around by custom naming and existing map tag!!! Even then the tag is just thrown into your tag tree in no particular order and can not be moved or have a sub category added.

[pwhelan81]

Amazing to read a thread like this and note that Adobe is SO DEAF to feedback.  I am still using photoshop 6.0  and have downloaded and tried to look at versions of photoshop over the years, but never found any compelling reason to upgrade, plus the facial recognition slowed my computer to a crawl, so i always gave up and reverted back to using the old version.  with PSE 2021 and a fast computer, i decided to try again.  after a week of analysis of >25,000 photos, it had done its facial recognition job and i spent a lot of time helping it learn by combining faces....i was beginning to think that i was going to give Adobe some money this time....then i tried to deal with Places. 

The Map based Places functionality is very poorly conceived in my opinion and i understand from reading these forums that PSE 2021  is six versions into this map functionality.  I attempted to add an existing place to the map it creates a NEW HIERACHY?   I had an existing place in my hand built tree at United States> Louisiana > New Orleans >  Jackson Square.  When i right click Jackson Square and place it on the map,  it builds a completely separate Hierachy matching exactly the one I have (which is stupid) but then refuses to call it Jackson Square...instead it calls it French Quarter and changes all the photos i had tagged with Jackson Square to French Quarter....what the?  I tried to place Mulate's restaurant and it calls it "Central Business District"  i know someone will say well you can rename it...but if you add another site in the same area...you are back to the same issue.     Try as i might to trick it to do what i want i can't get it to accept how I want this organized.

So i thought no problem I'll just keep managing my places manually.  They all came over from the old version and i can see the tree there.   Then i discover, YOU CAN'T manually add places without placing them on the map.  

I have read suggestions that tell me i could recreate my places hierarchy under tags and manage it there....ok ridiculous amount of rework,   it also ruins the one feature of newer versions of PSE i like about places, when you drag a lower level of the places hierarchy onto the photo, it automatically adds the tags above it

This is SO EASY to resolve,  just add the option to "Add places not on map" CHECK,  DONE .  Clearly they already support such places as they already exist in the imported hierarchy.    Does adobe ever talk to people who are curating a lifetime of 10's of thousands of photos?  Apparently not. 

[paleolith]

Has anyone cracked the database structure to determine how to alter it to change Places to an ordinary Tag? I've used SQLiteSpy in the past to make updates that PSE can't do, for example moving part of the image collection to a different path.

Last year I moved from PSE7 to PSE2020 -- all in all a mixed bag, I figure I lost as much as I gained. PSE moved my Tag Places to the new map-based places without asking me. (One of my tags is "in the air". Where's that on the map. OK, I'm preaching to the choir here.)

Unfortunately I didn't notice this problem for a long time -- I noticed the separate Places hierarchy but for a long time I didn't need to add new places. Hey, who went anywhere new in the past year? I have over 120 Places tags, tagging over 12,000 photos. Creating a new hierarchy and retagging them all ... ugh.

Edward