How do I create a new Collection?

[Dogberry]

I assume it's something simple I'm missing, but how do I create a new collection (say, "Vacation") in the Navigation pane? PSP Pro X9

[JoeB]

I realize that I don't know the answer to your question because I don't use the Collections option in PSP's Manage mode. I just use the Computer file tree because I find it easy and convenient. For example, on one of my drives I have a My Pics folder. Then (to use your example), I'll have a sub-folder named "Vacations". In that sub-folder I'll create a different sub-folder for different vacations - e.g., 2016_07_04-10_Washington Trip; 2016_12_23-28_Xmas With Parents; 2017_02_17-23_Ski Trip Denver, and etc. Then I just download my pics from those trips into the correct folders. While my folder naming allows sorting by date they could be named to allow sorting by activity, location, or whatever. I've never seen how using Collections makes things any easier unless they take tagging into account, and to me that's just as time intensive as just creating sub and/or sub_sub folders for sorting different activities during those different time periods or vacation (or any other other) categories such as "Family Gatherings", "Sports Events", "Nature Studies", etc. There's no reason some photos can't be in "Vacations" (and/or a subfolder of it) as well as in "Nature Studies" or it's subfolder if the images were of animals, vegetation etc., taken during the vacation.

Maybe I'm just too used to using the regular file tree that has always been part of Windows Explorer. But I'm open to hearing the disadvantages of my approach and the advantages of using Collections.

[brucet]

I'm afraid I'm with JoeB on this one as well. I use a number of different editors/programs and having just one of them sorting them isn't convenient. I also simply use folders to sort everything so that I can find them regardless of what program I'm using. However I would imagine that collections is a great tool is PSP is your sole reference point.

regards

[LeviFiction]

So Collections. These are fun.

In PSP you have Smart Collections, Folders, Tags, People, Places, Calendar, and Ratings. Each refer to a different kind of collection. It's not like in say Google Photos where you create an album of specific photos from the whole slew of photos available. It's very programmatic.

The first method is adding photos from Folders. If you scroll open the folders area (white arrow to the left of the folders icon) you'll see an option for "Browse more folders" when you click on this it asks you for a folder and that folder gets added to your collections for folders. But these represent actual folders on your harddrive. You cannot add custom folders.

With these images you can add tags, and ratings, and identify people, and if they have geo-location information you can also see them in the Places section. These collections are auto-populated (except for people) by the information you add to the photos that were added with the folders, or that were already in the photos. Calendar lets you find any photos that were made on a specific day.

Finally that leaves the top section "Smart Collections" - These are filters. You get to tell PSP what to look for in a photo (of those already available in the Folders collections). You need at least one filter, but you can have many to really narrow down the results.

Examples of filters include:
Image Name (if it includes, does not include, is exactly, is exactly not, starts with or ends with, a specific string)
Tags
Edited Dates
Taken Dates
File Type
File Size

By mixing and matching these you can find all photos tagged as "outdoors" that contain "ducks" in the name, and were taken sometime August. Really narrow it down.

But this all requires that you have included the folders with the photos for PSP to add to its database. That you made use of tags, naming conventions, etc. Really get into the nitty gritty of managing your photos with the management options inside PSP.

It's not really useful for the casual user.

If you want to create a temporary collection of photos, you can use the photo tray. The photo tray lets you drag in photos from anywhere, and place the into a specially named tray. I think it's somewhat temporary and not meant for long time use. But great for small projects.

[Dogberry]

Thanks for the replies. I was afraid those would be the answers I'd get.

It sounds as if Collections are essentially worthless, for what I want to do, which is to simply gather a group of photos permanently into one collection. Filters are fine, but not the same thing. I use the Trays all the time, for short-term project work, as you say. But they're very limited.

I've been using PSP for many years, and as an editor it has become very powerful; I like it very much. But as a photo workflow/navigational/cataloging tool, it's painfully limited and clumsy. I've been just using the system directory/file structure all along, but now, after so many years, the number of photos and folders is becoming more unwieldy and difficult to work with. I'd like to be able to collect lists of specific finished, processed photos into collections (or albums, or whatever) to keep them organized, without having to move them physically within the disk structure. I see that it can be done, with considerable effort, using filters (so-called "smart collections"), but that's such a laborious, clumsy, arduous, non-intuitive way to go about it.

I've read that other software uses Collections the way I envision them, as virtual folders you can create, name, and drag photos into and out of at will. I'm very reluctant to add another application to my workflow (I already use Capture NX-D for RAW processing, being a Nikon shooter), and it's very disappointing that PSP, which is so great in many ways, remains so neolithically backward as an organizational tool.

[nickg150]

I for one find the lack of virtual albums/collections very frustrating.

Having moved over from Picasa where creating virtual albums allowed temporary or long term collections to be put together (virtual referencing rather than copying) this appears very limiting in PSP especially where other inexperienced users want to put together collections without destroying your carefully organised folders etc. Just a useful feature. Yes there are work-arounds e.g. using specific tags, but I am thinking of ease of use here.