Are you upgrading to the new edition of Photoshop Elements? Sonja has some questions about the Organizer workflow and I thought I'd answer them today.

Hi Melissa, I need your help or at least some advice.

I did your Get Organized course for my digi supplies and loved it! Now I have a chance to start fresh...I just got a new laptop and installed a new version of PSE on it. Very excited about this of course (I was on version 6...) but before I start moving all my digi files and photos I was wondering if you have some tips or links to tips on how to start right from scratch.

For example: Is it really worth having PSE import all my pictures? I always move them to my external hard drive after about half a year and then I lose all the links anyway.

And with my digi files it seems that although they are 'in' PSE Organizer I still need to open them from their file folders. Or am I doing something wrong?

Sonja, Netherlands

Wahoo! A new version of Photoshop Elements is always fun. I have explained my scrapbooking workflow here, and I'm happy to answer more of your questions today.

Keeping your Photos Connected on an External Hard Drive

If you still want to scrap from those older photos, you can actually move them to an external hard drive (EHD) from within PSE Organizer and you won't reconnect the file. Even if you do disconnect them, you just need to link up the first file in each folder and they'll all reconnect. If you ever have the EHD unplugged, the photos will have a little icon in the top left to say they are disconnected, but you can still tag them etc. Then when you plug in the EHD again all will be just fine.

Just go to folder view, and drag the folders over just like you would in Windows Explorer/Finder to move them to your external hard drive.

Using Organized Supplies in Photoshop Elements Editor

If you want to use the digi files from within Organizer, just select the files you want to use, right click on them, then Edit and Adobe Photoshop Elements Editor will open them all in PSE for you.

I personally use the place command quite a bit (is that what you are using?), so I often am browsing to the folder so I'm guaranteed to end up with a smart object. PSE has a drag and drop inconsistencies, but in Photoshop Elements 15 you can actual select if you want to use smart objects. If you want to just drag and drop your elements/papers in, you can do it straight from the photo bin.

Another way to use the Organizer is to create an album of your supplies for one layout. Then you switch back to the Editor and add them to your layout by selecting the Photo Bin menu and then Show Files selected in Organizer.

Hopefully this helps... if you have more questions about the Organizer, leave me a comment below.