Each image you import into Organizer already has a file name.   If you look at the snapshot of Windows Explorer below, you can see the file names for the images we imported.

You will then see the Rename dialogue box.

To rate images, you'll use the Information Panel.   It appears with the Tags panel on the right side of your screen. To access it, click the Information tab, as shown below.

Now simply click on a star. Click on the first star on the left for a 1 star rating, the 2^nd star for a 2-star rating, etc.

Now, if you go to View>Details to view the details of a specific image, you'll see the star rating as well as other information:

To view the smart tags for an image, click the Media tab, then go to the search box in the upper right hand corner (shown with a red border in the snapshot below).

Click in the search box. This will bring up a series of icons that appear along the left side of the Elements window, as shown below.

Hover your mouse over the top icon. This is the Smart Tags icon.   You will then see the smart tags assigned to your images.

We are going to click on "animal", because we see it has seven images with the "animal" smart tag.

Elements then brings up the images with the "animal" smart tag.

To remove a smart tag from an image, click the arrow to the left of "Grid" to go back to Grid view.

This will take you back to grid view, but you will only see the images with the "animal" smart tag.

Select, then right click on the image for which you want to remove the smart tag.

A stacking icon will appear in the upper right hand corner of images that are stacked, as shown below.

This makes the image full size.

You will then see icons lining the right side of the Organizer window. This should look familiar. We saw these icons earlier in this lesson with smart tags.

As an example, we are going to search by folders. To do this, we hover the mouse over the Folders icon.

As you can see above, we have two folders.    To see the images in a folder, click on the folder.

When you find the image you want, click the arrow to the left of "Grid" to view the images in the Media Browser.

Select a search option from the dropdown menu to search for images that match the search criteria.

If you want to compare two images, start by selecting on of the images in the Media Browser and viewing it in full screen mode. (View>Full Screen).   

You can have two images displayed side by side – or top and bottom.    Select which one you want to use to compare images.

Elements will then pull up the next photo in the slideshow and place it beside the current image.

Creating Catalogs, Albums, and Collections

In Elements, individual images can be organized by using tags, ratings, and other methods.   By assigning tags, ratings, etc. to images, you can organize individual images into clusters and stacks.   We discussed these methods in the last few lessons.  

That said, Elements starts to organize your images in their entirety the second you import them into Organizer. When you import images into the Organizer, all your images are automatically added to a catalog.   Think of the catalog as a shoe box where all your images are placed.    You can then create additional catalogs for images. For example, you could create a catalog for nature photography, your children, business, etc.   You can also create albums within catalogs to further segregate and organize your images. 

NOTE: Elements doesn't store actual images. This is very important to realize.   When Elements adds your images to a catalog, it's adding links to the images you imported.   The links point to the location of the image on your computer.   This is why all images that you import must first be moved to your hard drive. 

About the Catalog Manager

All catalogs are created, deleted, and managed in the Catalog Manager. To go to the Catalog Manager, go to File>Manage Catalogs. 

You can see the Catalog Manager dialogue box below. 

Creating a New Catalog

Most people who use Elements keep all their images in one catalog. This isn't because only having one catalog is easier or more efficient.  Instead, it's because the catalog isn't something you think about as you use Elements, because the initial catalog is created for you.   When you think about organizing your photos into groups, you think about creating albums, not catalogs.

However, creating different catalogs and then creating albums within the catalogs helps you to better organize your images. You can create different catalogs for different purposes.   As we mentioned earlier in this lesson, you may want to create a catalog for business, family, insurance, travels, and the list goes on.    You can then organize the images in the catalogs into albums.   Albums in a business catalog may contain work events, employees, etc.  

To create a new catalog, go to the Catalog Manager.

Click the New button in the Catalog Manager.

Pick a name for your new catalog. Put a checkmark in the box if you want free sample music to be automatically included in your catalog.

Click OK.

Elements creates the new, empty catalog for you in Organizer. As you can see in the snapshot below, Organizer is now void of any images or media.  

You can then import images into the catalog as we learned to do earlier in this course.

Convert Catalogs

In addition to creating new catalogs, you can also convert catalogs from previous versions of Elements or Photoshop. 

To convert a catalog created in a previous version of Elements or Photoshop, go to the Catalog Manager.

Click the Convert button in the Catalog Manager.

Select a catalog by clicking on it, then click the Convert button.

As you can see in the snapshot above, no catalogs are displayed.   If this happens to you – or you don't   see the catalog you want listed, click the Find More Catalogs button.

You will then see the Select Catalog location dialogue box.

Locate the catalog on your computer, then click the Select Folder button.

Switching Between Catalogs

In the last section, we created a new catalog. The new catalog is the one that's now visible in Organizer.   To view a different catalog, go to the Catalog Manager.

Click on the name of the catalog that you want to view, as pictured below.

As you can see above, the catalog displayed in Organizer is marked as the current catalog. 

Click on the name of a different catalog that you want to view, then click the Open button.

Backing Up a Catalog

You can backup catalogs whenever you use Elements to make sure you save changes to photos or to the catalog. It's a good idea to have backup copies of your catalog.

To back up your catalog, go to File>Back up Catalog.

You may see the dialogue box pictured below if you've moved any images since importing them. 

Click Reconnect to find these images so that Elements can create new links to them.

Next, you will see the Backup Catalog Wizard, as pictured below.

The first thing you need to do is to select if you want to do a full or incremental backup.

• A full back up backs up your entire catalog.

• An incremental back up backs up all new or modified items since the last back up. An incremental backup is quicker.

Select the type of backup, then click Next.

We're going to select Full Backup.

Select the location where you want to back up the file. We've chosen our hard drive.

Next, select your options in the Options section of the dialogue box shown above. 

• In the Name field, you'll see the name of your catalog.

• Choose a backup path. To do this, click the Browse button and select the location on your computer where you want to save the backup file.

• If there is a previous backup of this catalog, click Browse to find the location.

Click the Save Backup button when you're finished.

Creating Albums

Albums can be created within catalogs to further group and organize images. To create an album, go to the Import panel on the left side of the Organizer window.   Earlier in this course, the Import panel showed us all the files we imported, as shown in the snapshot below.

As you can see above, we are viewing imported folders in the pane.  

Click Albums (to the left of folders) to view and create albums.

You will then see any albums that you've created listed in the pane.

To create a new album, click the green plus (+) sign.

Go to the Panel bin on the right to enter information about the new album.   The Panel bin is pictured below.

In the Album Name field, enter in a name for the album. 

In the Category dropdown, select a category.

Next, drag and drop images from the Media Browser into the Panel bin.

When you're finished, click OK.

Managing Albums

Managing albums simply means to edit the contents of the album. Editing might mean adding or removing images.   It might even mean deleting the album.

To manage an album, simply select the album name that you want to manage.   In this example, we're using the album entitled Sample.

Right click on the album. You'll see the dropdown menu below.

If you want to add or remove images, select Edit.   You can also choose to Rename or Delete the album.

Let's edit the album, and click Edit.

As pictured below, the Edit Album pane appears in the Panel Bin.

To add an image, drag the image you want to add from the Media Browser to the Panel bin.

To delete an image from the album, select the image thumbnail in the Panel bin, then drag it to the garbage can icon. 

Click OK when you're finished.