PSE 15 How Do you create a group of JUST your favorite pics?

[deanw0507]

Hello,

I am trying to create to separate groups within my catalog.  I use Windows 10.

I want a group of my FAVORITE pics ONLY, all together.  I tried to create such a group via using 'image tags'.  If the pic I was looking at was one of my favorites, I would type into the 'image tags' area, the word FAVORITE.  I thought this would create a way for me to quickly get to my FAVORITE pics by clicking on the tag titled "Favorite" (the tags that are in the far left pane).

I'm finding out it is not that easy.  I have photos ALREADY in there that I never named as a FAVORITE.   I was doing version sets and stacks.  It appears that if I tag one of my photos that are in a stack or a set as a FAVORITE -- then ALL the pics that are in that stack or set get put into my FAVORITE tag group.

For example, let us say that I have a Stack.  In that stack are 400 pics.  Of the 400 pics, I really liked FIVE of them.  So, I tagged them via typing into the image tags area with the word FAVORITE . . . thinking JUST those five with be in the group of FAVORITES that I was producing.  However, it appears that ALL 400 in that Stack went into my FAVORITES group.  Thereby, making my idea of how I was going to get JUST my favorites together in one group impossible.

What are the steps I need to take to do this?  Unstack everything?  Get rid of slide shows, version sets.

I tried to move pictures out of the group, but they just got reassigned to my Pictures folder on my HD.  I guess the next time I boot up PSE, they will not be in that group.

There has to be an easy step by step way to do this.  I am working entirely too hard for nothing but frustrating results.

I have about 25,000 images.  They are in slideshows, version sets, stacks, etc.

I simply want a user-friendly way to move my favorite pics into a place where I can safely access all of them.

In my 'perfect world', I am looking at my pics in via the media browser.  I see a pic I really like.  I want to put it in a group of JUST my other favorite pics, how do I do that (especially given the facts that I tried to explain above regarding version sets, moving pics, slideshows, many things already being tagged, etc.

Thank you very much.

Dean

[MichelBParis]

Dean,

Unfortunately, you have found an old and severe limitation in the way the Organizer uses tags when you have stacks or version sets:

Photoshop Elements 6/7/8 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

This is an old and critical limitation and I am pretty sure it won't be changed in future versions.

I could suggest a way to display only the favorites in the browsing space: that would be to set the favorite as top of stack or top of version set, and to add the picture to a dedicated album. You would only see those favorites in the browsing space; you could also export them without the 'non-match' linked items or print them. That partial workaround would not effectively select only the 'best matches' but it may help for exporting, printing and visual browsing.

To summarize, a common practice is to:

- add 5 stars rating (and/or a 'favorite' tag)

- avoid non necessary stacks

- be sure to set the best as top of stack/version set

- include it in a dedicated 'favorite' album. When you include a file in an album, the stack or version set is in the album, but hidden. If you change the top of stack/set from the browsing space, that change will appear in the album.

[deanw0507]

More on this later . . . but one cannot even do a search/find based on the numbers of stars a pic has been ranked?

[MichelBParis]

deanw0507  wrote

More on this later . . . but one cannot even do a search/find based on the numbers of stars a pic has been ranked?

If the files are not in a stack or version set, you have three ways:

- clicking on the stars and the operator sign on top right of the display

- Using the menu Find >> By details >> rating (you can even create a 'saved search)

- From the new advanced search since PSE15. Click on the magnifier glass on top right and on the tool vertical strip on the left tool panel.

Of course, if you have stacks, you'll get the above limitation that 'non-match' items will also be shown in the interface. The album workaround would show only 'best match' items. Good for exporting copies or printing but NOT in other cases like if you want to move raw files in version sets to another drive for instance. You would have to 'expand' version sets, highlight the raws and move them manually. By the way, that may explain why Lightroom does not allow stack components in different folders.

Depending on what you want to do, there may be other logical workarounds... but I have never seen any of such solutions since the link to John R Ellis's faqs. For instance in the example of moving raw originals to another drive to recover diskspace, you could try:

- outside of the organizer: moving the raw files to a new folder

- Menu File >> find missing files, select all

- move them to the new folder/drive.

- reconnect guiding the process to search in the new folder.