File Name of Image Displayed in PSE 8 does not match File Path Name in Windows 7

Question

I recently got a new computer  .I upgraded on my Windows XP computer from PSE 5.0 to PSE 8.0.  I then moved my files to the new computer running Windows 7 following the instructions I received on an earlier post.  I copied the catalog folder and the picture folders on the C drive from the old to the new computer (catalog folder to location specified in System Info;  images to My Pictures).   Everything appears to have worked beautifully without having to go through a big Reconnect struggle.  The organzer appears to have found all of the images and I can bring them up in Editor as well.  However, when I look at the properties of a given image the full file name displayed is what it was on XP, i.e., C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\My Documents\My Pictures\<folder name>\<file name> rather than the path as it is in Windows 7, i.e., C:\Users\<user name>\My Pictures\<folder name>\<file name>.  I am new to Windows 7 so maybe I am missing something unique to Windows 7 but I would appreciate any information.

Answer 1

You're observing the special folder aliases that Vista and Windows 7 create to preserve backward compatibility (Microsoft keeps changing how and where users' documents are stored).   On Windows 7:
C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\My Documents\My Pictures
is a special kind of alias to the folder:
C:\Users\<user name>\Pictures
(And C:\Users<user name>\My Pictures is yet another kind of Windows 7 special alias, a "library", that includes the folder C:\Users<user name>\Pictures.)
Whenever an application like PSE refers to the old location, C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\My Documents\My Pictures, Windows automatically translates that under the covers to C:\Users\<user name>\Pictures.   But Windows Explorer is configured to prevent you from accessing C:\Documents and Settings\ interactively -- only programs like PSE are able to do that.  Microsoft wants users of Windows Explorer to always use the "new" name,  C:\Users\<user name>\Pictures.
In your case, your catalog contained the old XP folder paths, and Windows is automatically translating them on the fly to the new paths, unbeknownst to PSE.
Like most such backward-compatibility hacks, this does not work perfectly.  PSE thinks that the old path and the new path refer to two completely different folders.  I'm not positive, but I think there are opportunities for PSE to get confused by that.   When you import new photos, they will get recorded in the catalog under the new folder paths.
In my previous recommendation for how to move to the new computer, I had assumed that you would most likely be changing user names and photo locations, and thus you would be forced to do a Reconnect, and you wouldn't have encountered this.  If I had thought you weren't going to need a Reconnect, I would have recommended not using this method but rather using Backup/Restore (my first recommended method)  -- my bad.
It may well be that your current catalog and PSE will work well enough.   But there is at least a small risk that down the road PSE will get confused by the old and new folder names.  The easiest way to avoid that risk would be to start over and use the Backup/Restore method for moving your catalog, whch is more effort on your part.  But because I don't fully understand the risk, I can't tell you whether you should be worried about it.   Definitely do some testing: editing, importing and editing new photos, use Display > Folder Location view, try renaming and moving old photos to new folders, try the Photo Downloader, etc.