Issue
When you open the Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 Organizer, your catalog from an earlier version of Photoshop Elements does not open, and you do not see your photos.
Solution
Solution 1: Manually locate and convert your catalog.
Follow the steps below to convert a catalog that was created in an earlier version of Photoshop Elements.
- In the Organizer, choose File > Catalog.
- Click the "Convert" button.
- Select the catalog that you wish to use from the list. Select My Catalog if you used the default catalog in the earlier version of Photoshop Elements. See the note below if you do not see the catalog you want to convert.
- Click the "Convert" button.
- After the conversion process finishes, click "Done".
- In the Catalogs box of the Catalog Manager window, select the name of your catalog (for example, My Catalog).
- Click the "Open" button.
Note: If you saved your catalog in a folder other than the default location, it will not appear automatically in the Convert Catalog window. Click the Find More Catalogs button and then select the folder where your catalog is located. Catalogs located in the chosen folder will be added to the list of catalogs that can be converted. This step is necessary because Photoshop Elements 6 only looks for catalogs in the default locations used by earlier versions:
- Photoshop Elements 3.0, 4.0, 5.0 and Photoshop Album Starter Edition 3.0:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\Catalogs - Photoshop Album and Photoshop Album Starter Edition 1.0 and 2.0:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop Album\Catalogs
Allow the Show Previously Converted Catalogs option to show catalogs that have previously been converted or that were backed up by an earlier version of Photoshop Elements or Photoshop Album. The Catalog Converted window does not show these catalogs by default. (For example, if you upgraded from Photoshop Elements 4.0 to Photoshop Elements 5.0, a backup copy of My Catalog.psa was created and named My Catalog-1.psa. The My Catalog-1.psa file will not be visible in the Convert Catalog window unless the Show Previously Converted Catalogs option is enabled).
After you convert a catalog with Photoshop Elements 6, you cannot use the converted catalog with earlier versions of Photoshop Elements or Photoshop Album. However, when the catalog is converted, it copies the data into a new catalog file. The original catalog file is not changed. You can continue to use the original catalog in an earlier version of Photoshop Elements or Photoshop Album. Keep in mind that the changes you make to the converted catalog in Photoshop Elements 6 do not affect the original catalog.
These are the default catalog locations in Photoshop Elements 6:- Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\Catalogs
- Windows Vista: C:\Program Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\Catalogs
Solution 2: If you haven't converted a catalog manually, then download and run the e6FirstRunConversionfile below.
The e6FirstRunConversion file modifiesone registry entry to allow Photoshop Elements 6 to find and open your catalog from a previous version. This file only works if the most recently-opened catalog is not a Photoshop Elements 6 catalog. If the recently-opened catalog is a Photoshop Elements 6 catalog, thee6-first-run-conversion file will have no effect.
Note:Back up your registry before making any changes to it. See below for steps on how to back up your registry.To back up your registry in Windows XP:
- Choose Start > Run.
- In the Open box, type "regedit" [without the quotes]. Click "OK" to open the Registry Editor.
- Choose File > Export, and select a name and location for the back-up registry. Select All in the Export Range section, and click "Save".
To back up your registry in Windows Vista:
- Choose Start and type "regedit" [without the quotes]. into the "Start Search" field.
- Click regedit.exe and give Vista permission to open the file.
- Choose File > Export, and select a name and location for the back-up registry. Select All in the Export Range section, and click "Save".
Run the registry file:
- Click the e6FirstRunConversion.reg link to open the download manager.
- Click "Run", and then click "Yes" to the warning message.
- Open Photoshop Elements 6.0.
Additional Information
The registry entry value reset by the e6-first-run-conversion fileis in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\6.0\Organizer\FirstRun key. The Data value 0x00000000 (0) changes to 0x00000001 (1).