Post by michelb on Nov 24, 2016 16:50:03 GMT
One of the strong points of the organizer is the ability to 'convert' a catalog to a newer format.
There is no 'backward' conversion from the catalog manager.
So, what can you do if you want to install your library and PSE15 catalog on a second computer with only 32-bits, or even with Vista or XP?
The obvious answer is to:
- write metadata to files
- copy the library tree to the new destination
- Use a copy of an older PSE to import in a catalog of the old format.
In doing so to XP and PSE6, I have discovered an interesting feature of the organizer. You can save your keywords and categories tree to a text file, and import that text file to create the tags/categories hierarchies in a catalog of a prior version. This features does work 'backwards'. When you import your files, the keywords are automatically attached to the right existing tag, instead of falling into the do-it-all 'Imported keywords' category.
Important note: the feature is broken in PSE14, even importing from a PSE14 version. The issue is resolved in PSE15.
Other tips:
- albums won't be recreated, it may be necessary to assign a special keyword the all members of each album to be able to recreate them in the new catalog.
- the supported file types are different between Elements versions.
- a PSE6 version like me can import .pdf files or EPS ignored by PSE15 and will skip newer raw formats. This may be useful.
- If you want to keep only files present in the PSE15 catalog, create the library copy via a backup/restore from your PSE15 to an external drive.
- If you want a 'lighter' library version with only the 'top of version sets' files and ignoring the original raws or keeping only files over a given rating, do a catalog folder copy from the explorer, 'flatten version sets' and delete low rating images.
As a result, you should have recovered totally your media folder trees, all your keywords, captions, notes, ratings; for albums, you may recreate them if you assigned special keywords to their items. You won't recover projects...
I recommend an external drive as the destination. You'll be able to take advantage of the power of your new computer for the import task and the creation of thumbnails. When the catalog is ready on your new computer, you simply copy the folder on the second computer or on the external drive.
There is no 'backward' conversion from the catalog manager.
So, what can you do if you want to install your library and PSE15 catalog on a second computer with only 32-bits, or even with Vista or XP?
The obvious answer is to:
- write metadata to files
- copy the library tree to the new destination
- Use a copy of an older PSE to import in a catalog of the old format.
In doing so to XP and PSE6, I have discovered an interesting feature of the organizer. You can save your keywords and categories tree to a text file, and import that text file to create the tags/categories hierarchies in a catalog of a prior version. This features does work 'backwards'. When you import your files, the keywords are automatically attached to the right existing tag, instead of falling into the do-it-all 'Imported keywords' category.
Important note: the feature is broken in PSE14, even importing from a PSE14 version. The issue is resolved in PSE15.
Other tips:
- albums won't be recreated, it may be necessary to assign a special keyword the all members of each album to be able to recreate them in the new catalog.
- the supported file types are different between Elements versions.
- a PSE6 version like me can import .pdf files or EPS ignored by PSE15 and will skip newer raw formats. This may be useful.
- If you want to keep only files present in the PSE15 catalog, create the library copy via a backup/restore from your PSE15 to an external drive.
- If you want a 'lighter' library version with only the 'top of version sets' files and ignoring the original raws or keeping only files over a given rating, do a catalog folder copy from the explorer, 'flatten version sets' and delete low rating images.
As a result, you should have recovered totally your media folder trees, all your keywords, captions, notes, ratings; for albums, you may recreate them if you assigned special keywords to their items. You won't recover projects...
I recommend an external drive as the destination. You'll be able to take advantage of the power of your new computer for the import task and the creation of thumbnails. When the catalog is ready on your new computer, you simply copy the folder on the second computer or on the external drive.