Organiser is and repeating folders randomly.

[Nick Peachey]

I upgraded PSE to 18.0 July 20  and after  importing photos I found that there were duplicates and many disconnected files. I have look on you tube to find ways of understanding the  folder list and tree but can make no sense of it. Before I uninstall it I thought I would try to delete folders and begin importing to a blank as it were. Unfortunately the delete folder option is greyed out. Is there a solution or do I simply uninstall to see if that works.I am using Mac Big Sur os.

[gfmucci]

I'll take a stab at it given that I went through a dozen hours or more of understanding what appears to be ideosyncracies of the Catalog and general Elements file system when upgrading from E9 to E2021.

First rule:  Never move Picture/Photo folders or files around via Windows (outside of the Elements Organizer.)  Always use the Folder Tree within the Organizer when deleting or moving image files around.  The Windows method will disconnect photo files from the Catalog.  The Organizer method assures files stay connected to the Catalog info.  This should avoid if not solve the "disconnect" problem.

Second rule:  Understand which Drive and Folder all your "Saves" and "Imports" are going to. If you save to multiple locations, especially edits, things could get dicey.

Third rule, rather a "tip":  I got duplicate images in my Organizer when I downloaded from my camera into the organizer with more than one of the boxes in the download window checked. Check only ONE of the file source boxes.

Let me know if any of these attempts at helping helped. 

[Nick Peachey]

Thanks for your response, sorry for the delay in replying. It is helpful to know I can delete and move files within Organiser without damaging things. I cannot reconnect files from within Organiser, so I have made a folder in Pictures for Elements where I can store copies of images. I and grateful to be in dialogue about this . Thanks again.