Help! Where did my files go??

[charlotteinkennesaw]

Hi, I am trying to upload some pictures to Flickr and I am having trouble finding my files on Windows>My Pictures. I went back to Elements Organizer and Editor and open files and see them there when I look in My Pictures, but then when I go back to Flickr, they are not there (well some are, but not the ones I want.:mad: This started happening right after I began shooting in RAW. I know that probably is just a coincidence.
I edited a photo and then hit "save as">My Pictures and it is not there.
Also something has been strange: when I open up an image from the RAW folder to edit, i get a message asking if I want them to search for missing files. I am looking at it , so what is missing? I let it do its thing and then it asks me if I want to delete...What?

:(:(:(

[Karin Sue]

What you are seeing is a thumbnail in Organizer. When you import a photo into Organizer from files or folders it makes a reference thumbnail and remembers where your original is stored. It does not make a copy of the original. You scan through the thumbnails in Organizer to choose the one you want to work with. Then Organizer goes off to open the original for you. If you have moved/renamed/deleted the image Organizer will be unable to find it and it becomes a "missing file."

Importing from camera or card reader will put copies in a subfolder of the Adobe folder in My Pictures. It is important to understand that there are no copies of photos "in" Organizer. Don't make the mistake that some people have made and delete your photos from your hard drive because you have put them in Organizer. You can move them offline onto cds if you run out of space. Moving them to an external hard drive is an even better option.

First thing to do is check your recycle bin in case your original got tossed.

Check location in the properties of the image in Organizer. This will let you know where Organizer first found the photo and expects it to be. Try to remember if you moved or renamed the folders/images.

You might want to check out photofanatic.com. It is the companion site for a good Organizer book. Written for v.3 but the concepts hold up. Organizer is great once you understand it but it can get you in trouble if you don't.

[dj_paige]

Another possibility is that your thumbnail cache is corrupted and is no longer displaying the proper thumbnail. Overnight, this is easy to fix. Select all photos with Ctrl-A and then Ctrl-Shift-U to regenerate the thumbnails. Since this takes a few hours, start this before you go to bed.

[charlotteinkennesaw]

Karin Sue,
I looked in my recycle bin and didn't see anything I was looking for. I don't delete anything unless I hate it.:)
If I import from my card reader , the files should be on the hard drive> "My Pictures", at least they always have been.:(
I might try what Paige suggested tonight.
Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

charlotte



What you are seeing is a thumbnail in Organizer. When you import a photo into Organizer from files or folders it makes a reference thumbnail and remembers where your original is stored. It does not make a copy of the original. You scan through the thumbnails in Organizer to choose the one you want to work with. Then Organizer goes off to open the original for you. If you have moved/renamed/deleted the image Organizer will be unable to find it and it becomes a "missing file."

Importing from camera or card reader will put copies in a subfolder of the Adobe folder in My Pictures. It is important to understand that there are no copies of photos "in" Organizer. Don't make the mistake that some people have made and delete your photos from your hard drive because you have put them in Organizer. You can move them offline onto cds if you run out of space. Moving them to an external hard drive is an even better option.

First thing to do is check your recycle bin in case your original got tossed.

Check location in the properties of the image in Organizer. This will let you know where Organizer first found the photo and expects it to be. Try to remember if you moved or renamed the folders/images.

You might want to check out photofanatic.com. It is the companion site for a good Organizer book. Written for v.3 but the concepts hold up. Organizer is great once you understand it but it can get you in trouble if you don't.