Get photos from files and folders

You can bring photos into the Organizer from a hard disk or optical disc drive in your computer, either by dragging them from Windows Explorer into the Organizer Photo Browser, by browsing to them using the File >  Get Photos And Videos >  From Files And Folders command, by searching your computer using the File >  Get Photos And Videos >  By Searching command, or by selecting the Add Unmanaged Files To Catalog option available in the Folder Location view of the Photo Browser.
Note: After dragging photos from Windows Explorer into the Photo Browser, Windows Explorer may become unresponsive until the photos have been imported. You may, however, toggle to any Photoshop Elements dialog box that opens during the import by pressing Alt-Tab, or by clicking the Organizer icon in the Windows taskbar.

Browse to files on your computer

  1. In the Organizer, select File >  Get Photos And Videos, and then choose  From Files And Folders from the menu.
  2. In the dialog box, navigate to the folder that contains the files you want to bring into the Organizer. Use the Look In menu and the other navigation controls along the top and left.
  3. Hold the pointer over a file to display information about the photo, or select it to display a preview.
  4. Do one of the following to select photos:

    • To get a single photo, select it.

    • To get multiple photos, Ctrl-click to select the files you want. Or, click the first file, and then Shift-click the last file in the list that you want.

    • To get all the photos in a folder, navigate up one level from your current level in the Get Photos From Files And Folders dialog box and select the desired folder. To get photos from subfolders within the folder, select Get Photos From Subfolders.

    You can import a PDF file or a Photoshop Elements project in PDF format. Text in imported PDF files becomes part of the image (you can’t edit the text).
  5. Click Get Photos. The photos appear in the Organizer.

    Importing photos by using the Look In menu and clicking Get Photos

Search for files on your computer

  1. Choose File >  Get Photos And Videos >  By Searching.
    View full size graphic
    Searching for photos on your computer

    A.
    Search location

    B.
    Search button

    C.
    Import selected folder from the Search Results window

    D.
    Preview lets you view photo thumbnails.

    E.
    Search Results window

    F.
    Folder selected for import

    G.
    Thumbnails of photos in selected folder

  2. Select a search option from the Look In menu.
  3. Select options to limit your search:
    Exclude System And Program Folders
    Excludes folders from the search that are unlikely to contain your photos.

    Exclude Files Smaller Than
    Includes files large enough to be full-resolution photos. Enter a minimum file size, in kilobytes, in the KB text box.
    Note: By default, removable media (such as CDs and DVDs) and network drives are not searched.

  4. Click Search. The search may take a while. Click Cancel if you want to stop the search.

    The search returns all folders that contain photos and video clips.

  5. Click a folder to select it. To select more than one folder, press Ctrl and click another folder name. You can preview the items in a folder by clicking the folder name in the list.
  6. (Optional) Select Automatically Fix Red Eyes to fix photos with red eye problems as they are imported into the Organizer.
  7. Click the Import Folders button. The photos appear in the Photo Browser.
    Note: If the photos you import have tags attached to them, the Import Attached Tags dialog box appears.

Add files from specific folders

  1. In the Organizer, from the  Display menu, select Folder Location.

    The folder hierarchy panel opens on the left side of the Photo Browser.

  2. In the folder hierarchy panel, browse to the folder containing the files you want to import.
  3. Right click the folder, and select Add Unmanaged Files To Catalog.

    The Getting Photos dialog box will report whether files were imported.

  4. Click OK.

If files were imported, the folder’s icon changes from an Unmanaged Folder icon  to a Managed Folder icon .

Related Information

  This page on the Web