Upgrade from PSE4 to PSE6

[aquila]

My concern is the Organizer. I've kept version 4 as a backup after reading about the crashes of version 6. Does this mean that I need to commit to one Organizer or the other or will I still be able to access the same Organizer file from both PSE4 and PSE6? I did some research before posting and found a link to a tech note saying to select all thumbnails in the Organizer and then Edit > Update. Is that all there is to it or have I missed something?

Thanks,
Judy

[efarnstrom]

Here is a link that you should be aware of.

http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=kb402592&sliceId=1

I have both v5 and v6 on my computer. I did not convert the catalog to v6, because I have over 27,000 items in it. I learned that large catalogs in v6 do not play well with the companion program Premire 4, since they share the same catalog.

V6 is using a new type of database for the catalog, so you are just fine with keeping the old one with the older software. I keep v5 and use it when I need to find an image in its catalog. Then I go to v6 and import just that image to the new catalog.

I then only use v6 to import new photos from my camera or scanner, so it is not necessary to continually backup the old catalog.

I know this is fussy, but it is working for me.:rolleyes:

[aquila]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. So they CAN both use the older Organizer. That works for me. (At least until I can be sure that all I have to do is "update" the thumbnails. I could do that some night just before bed and let it go for as long as it takes. I've just been afraid to even start up version 6 for fear it would overwrite my current Organizer. I have the images backed up but I'm not sure how well the catalog tags etc are saved and although I only have about 4000 images, I would NOT like the task of re-tagging them for the newer version.

Do you know if the "Backup" in PSE6 more reliable than it was for version4?

I see you and I have the same camera. I like mine a lot.
Judy

[efarnstrom]

Glad this was of some help. One thing that I was scared of was the 'collections' not transferring into albums. I have a lot of collections. As far as creations, I only use the slideshow facility, and it looks like it will convert them.

As I said, I don't intend to convert. You use the phrase "update the thumbnails" instead of convert the catalog. I am not familiar with that term. It would seem that selecting thumbnails and Edit>Update will not convert a catalog from v4 to v6.

Adobe instructions are:

Follow the steps below to convert a catalog that was created in an earlier version of Photoshop Elements.

In the Organizer, choose File > Catalog.
Click the Convert button.
Select the catalog that you wish to use from the list. Select "My Catalog" if you used the default catalog in the earlier version of Photoshop Elements. See the note below if you do not see the catalog you want to convert in the list.
Click the Convert button.
After the conversion process completes, click Done.
In the Catalogs box of the Catalog Manager window, select the name of your catalog (for example, "My Catalog").
Click the Open button. Incidentally, you cannot use both v4 and v6 at the same time. You can work with either one or the other.

Adobe:
After you convert a catalog with Photoshop Elements 6, you cannot use the converted catalog with earlier versions of Photoshop Elements or Photoshop Album. However, when the catalog is converted, it copies the data into a new catalog file; the original catalog file is not changed. You can continue to use the original catalog in the earlier version of Photoshop Elements or Photoshop Album. Keep in mind that changes you make to the converted catalog in Photoshop Elements 6 do not affect the original catalog.

Hope everything goes well with your conversion.

EDIT: Regarding the back-up question: I don't use the back-up facility within the organizer. I have another back-up program that I use.

[aquila]

I'm so glad you posted again. I misunderstood and thought that a converted catalog was the same file changed (updated). Now I understand that a copy of the original is updated/converted. Now I have to wonder.... When I upload my images from my camera, which version of Organizer catalog is going to claim them? My guess is that I have to find a way to "turn off" the first catalog from grabbing the new images in my photo folders. It seemed so much simpler when I thought all I had to do was "update thumbnails". (A term I picked up in one of the other tech notes someone previously posted on upgrading the Organizer) I guess I have some new homework to do.

If I understand correctly, it should be safe to open PSE6 to start learning my way around it (as long as I don't do anything with the Organizer part). I want to avoid having to maintain two sets of catalogs. I will convert to version 6 once I know the newly imported images will go into those catalogs and not the first versions.

Thanks so much for the information,
Judy

[efarnstrom]

In your old version, go to
Edit>Preferences>Camera or Card Reader>Download Options. If the box for auto launch is checked, uncheck it.

In your new version go to
Edit>Preferences>Camera or Card Reader>Download Options. If the box for auto launch is not checked, check it.

Next time you connect your camera you should be receiving in the new catalog.

Let me know if you have other questions.

[TonyW]

In fact you don't need to turn off the other auto launches if you don't want to. Elements is smart enough to know that there is more than one active and will give you a dialogue box that lets you pick which one you want to use. So if you want to you can choose which version of the Elements Catalog you want to put a new image into. Probably not a good idea but I actually do that for some images as I have multiple versions of Elements on my computer and keep some old pictures in older version catalogs that I haven't got round to converting.

Tony