Keeping Photo downloader open

[weyburn bartel]

Hi there, just discovered this forum (well I should say I've just read about it in Scott kelby's book!) and wondered if anyone can tell me if it is possible to keep the photo downloader from shutting down each time a batch of photos are downloaded to my PC? So there is no confusion - say the SD card has 200 shots but I want to load groups by location or day etc. After each group downloads and is deleted the Elements downloader vanishes and I have to bring it back up and link to the card reader again. Annoying and time consuming :(-any ideas? Thanks

[weyburn bartel]

Hi there, just discovered this forum (well I should say I've just read about it in Scott kelby's book!) and wondered if anyone can tell me if it is possible to keep the photo downloader from shutting down each time a batch of photos are downloaded to my PC? So there is no confusion - say the SD card has 200 shots but I want to load groups by location or day etc. After each group downloads and is deleted the Elements downloader vanishes and I have to bring it back up and link to the card reader again. Annoying and time consuming :(-any ideas? Thanks

Hate bumping threads but just to reassure me could someone post an answer if only to say they don't have this problem. If anyone else did have it, have they managed to get round it? Please tell me if it's a normal occurrence or not or if I'm just not doing something correctly.
Many thanks in anticipation,:)

[Barb O]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I am responding because I don't want you to think that you are being ignored. I don't have a direct and specific answer - but please post some more information and then perhaps I or someone else will have specific suggestions.

I suspect that you activate the downloader automatically when you insert my SD camera card in the card reader - yes?. Also I am guessing that you are probably using PSE version 7: yes?

You say that you want to bring the photos in by group based on day or location. Is this because you want to have separate Windows folders for the Day or for the Location?

And what type of files are you importing? Are these photo files in jpg
format, or photo files shot in the camera's RAW format? Are there any video files?

General comment -
Given the PSE Organizer and its tagging function plus its Date selection and sequencing functions, you probably do not need to have Windows folders based on these characteristics.

However, many people (including me) do keep some type of a basic folder organization even when using the PSE Keyword tags - so I do understand why you might want to do this. My questions are in order to understand to understand your objectives: they do not imply that you should not have these folders.

[lisabee]

Hi and welcome to the Village :).

I just had a look at the downloader in PSE5, while I can see that you can choose a custom name for the photos downloaded, I can't see that it has the ability to pick and choose which images to download.

Personally I can't see that in the long run it would take any longer to download them in one go and then sort them into relevant folders, just my opinion, someone else may know if it is possible. :), sorry I can't be of any help,

Lisa

[weyburn bartel]

Many thanks Barb O and Lisabee for your responses. In answer to your questions:
i) I'm using PSE6 and yes the downloader is activated automatically.
ii) You're right Barb about my wanting seperate folders for location but also subject matter. As I was using Windows before I got PSE I guess I still have a mindset about folders within My Pictures
iii) Files are in both JPEG and Raw as I tend to have camera set for both at same time.
iv) I need to think about how I would store pics if not in folders. I also use Picasa (I used it long before I got PSE ) and still find it great for browsing. I'm not sure it would would work so well without folders?
v) Lisabee asked about selection - I do that purely by highlighting which pics I wish to load into defined folders which I title eg "2009-05-06 Surrey hills" It's me that's doing the picking and choosing.

I need to think about how I would cope without folders ,do you have any suggestions? Do you just have a mass of pictures in My Pictures or do you have as Barb suggests some sort of filing system independent of PSE?

Thanks for the welcome and any thoughts you may have:)

Weyburn

[Barb O]

Weyburn,

I use a camera card reader (instead of connecting a camera to the PC/laptop) for transferring my photo files to my computer. Often I just insert the camera card and then use Windows Explorer to copy the photo files from the camera card to whatever Windows folders I wish. Then I do a File > Get Photos from Files and Folders to bring those photo files in to the PSE Organizer.

Are you comfortable using Windows Explorer to copy your photo files to your computer and to your specific chosen folders? If yes, that might be the simplest solution.

It is possible to disable the Adobe downloader so that it does not run. I don't have PSE 6 installed here to give you specific instructions on disabling the downloader: however if no one else posts specific instructions for v6 I can probably track down that information.

Note: I do not have an RAW format photo files. I think that the process that I described above will work just as well for RAW files - but I can not be sure.

Additional comments about Picasa and the PSE Organizer on the same computer:

1 -- It will be much better if you initially place your photo files in the correct folder when you first load them on to your computer.

Moving photo files in PSE 6 can be problematic (there is a bug that will delete one of your photo files if you accidentally attempt to move a file in to a folder that already has a file of the same name).

Moving photo files using Windows Explorer (or another program) after these photo files are entered in the PSE Organizer can also be problematic - because many, many times the Organizer can not find the moved photo files in their new location.

2 -- I have read posts on multiple forums from people who use Picasa to manage their photos and Photoshop Elements to edit their photos. So that is probably a possibility for you.

[weyburn bartel]

Barb, many thanks for your reply. It's helped me focus on what I really need to do.
I'm already using Explorer (Ialso use the card reader not a cable) and feel comfortable with that so will switch off the downloader.

Your comments re Picasa and Explorer have made me decide to stick with them plus PSE6 for editing ( or ACR with RAW) ( no problems downloading RAW files)

I do experience problems reconnecting to Organiser but thats because I have 2 external hard drives foor backups and delete files frommy limited capacity laptop.

Many thanks again:)
Weyburn

ps Any thoughts on why my recycle bin fills up with copies of files I have not deleted? Seems to be everything I have looked at in Organiser or worked on in Editor!!:confused:

[weyburn bartel]

Errr, having browsed some of the other threads I'm finding out so much more about file moves and copying thro' PSE6 that I may stick with it as my browser.
"A flexible mind is a healthy one -if somewhat stretched at times." - Weyburn Bartelski ,today!

Weyburn

ps What a fantastic website!