Importing tags

[paulk8822716]

I have 'tagged' thousands of photos in my APPLE MAC PHOTOS app, i.e. 'Add a title' and 'Add a Description' and 'Add a keyword'. Surely Photoshop Elements is able to import these tags. It's not that difficult is it?

Adobe have tried to respond but the answer I keep getting is from a non native English speaker and unfortunatley the nuances are lost in translation.

[MichelBParis]

Tha organizer will recognize the tags saved in the original file from any extenal tools of softwares provided they use the standard field locations in the metadata header of the media file. If they are not, for instance if the tags are saved in a proprietary database catalog, they can't be read. One instance is if your tags are saved in an organizer catalog, they won't be available to any other software. You have the option in the Organizer to 'write metadata to files'. It's the same for many third party file managers;

If you keep using the organizer without writing the metadata to files you can either:

- convert the catalog for a new Organizer version. The new catalog will have all your tags.

- backup and restore to a new computer or drive, which will also restore the catalog with the tags.

If you want to import anything in a new empty catalog, then the tags must have been written to files.

What is simple is that if the metadata tags are not saved in the file themselves (or xmp sidecar files for raw files), no software can retrieve them, with the exception of Adobe Lightroom which can convert Organizer catalogs.

[paulk8822716]

Sir, This is a very comprehensive answer but sadly a little beyond my level of knowledge and understanding of the technicalities of metatdata. I import my photographs into my Mac’s PHOTOS application. As far as I can see the only way I can ‘tag’ photos is to right click on them and select ‘Get info’.

This brings up some information about the photo such as the camera that took it, the aperture, speed, etc (which I assume is the metatdata), and allows me to manually type in a ‘Description, a ‘Keyword’ and a ‘Title’. I am guessing that your narrative suggests that this ‘user added’ information, because it’s not part of the metadata that was autogenerated when the photo was taken, will not come across when importing into Elements Organiser. Is that the case?

If so, I will have to write off all the endless hours I spent tagging my photographs in PHOTOS.

[MichelBParis]

I don't use Macs, so I must answer general questions about transferring metadata and your post shows that you have understood how that works. The information from the camera is always available for other editing or browsing sofwares, so let's see for the captions or titles, the info you enter yourself.

I think that your 'Photos' app writes your personal information directly in the photo files themselves. As far as I know, the issue is not the ability for Elements to recover that info, it's that you'll have to choose if you manage your photos with  'Photos' or with the Elements Organizer. Expert Mac users will probably give more advice for that choice.

If you decide to use the organizer, you'll have to 'Import' the files on your computer into a catalog which is a database storing only links to the locataion of the files, the metadata including your tags, and a small "thumbnail" to browse and retrieve your photos. The catalog does not contain photo files, only links.