Move metadata & tags to original file

Question

I installed PE 4.0 a year ago, and organized my many photos that I had taken since 2001. I always saved the original photo files to one master file, with subfolders by year that the picture was taken. I then would use the camera software to rename the files which I then saved in various folders (for business: by client name; and for personal photos: by event or subject). I did not have a lot of hard drive space, so I  often backed up and copied files to off-line media. Now that I have installed a much larger hard drive, I have moved all of my photo files onto the hard drive. <br /><br />I would now like to take all of the metadata & tags associated with these copied photos (almost 10,000 photos) and move it to the original photo(s) so that I can then delete these copies of the originals that are spread all over the place.<br /><br />I could <GET> the original files and bring them into the collection. I could then retag and retype the information on every photo, over to the original file and then delete the copy. Does anyone have any suggestions on a faster method of moving all of this date to the original files?

Answer 1

I started by importing all of my existing photo files into PSE and tagging them and adding captions. Before PSE, I would download my photos using software that came with my camera. My first camera was a Kodak easyshare. It would download the files from the camera to a folder: "Image Transfer/Photos <year>/<date of download>/DSC00xxx.jpg". <br />It would then open the files for editing. I would rename the photos and file them under sub-folders in "Business" and "Personal" folders. I backed up the original "Image Transfer" files frequently. <br />When I installed PSE 4.0 a year ago, I imported the photos in the "Business" & "Personal" files, rather than the original files in "Image Transfer". At various times I have had corrupted files and had moved some photos without using PSE. I have "re-connected" several times, not always to the copy that was originally used, but sometimes to another copy stored elsewhere on the hard drive or sometimes to the original photo in "Image Transfer". <br /><br />In the process of adding a new hard drive a few months ago, I moved files and copied files and backed up files all over the place. I now have copies of all of my 10,000 photos in PSE, or should I say at least the thumbnails, with all of the tags and metadata. I have had to "re-connect" many of the files. I now have most of the thumbnails connected to a photo file, but often that file is a copy of the original and the  copies are spread out over many files (the original "Business" and "Personal" files as well as various other copies or backups that I have spread over 3 hard drives).<br /><br />I would like to take each thumbnail and have it point to the original photo file  (under "Image Transfer/Photos 200x/<date file originally saved>/DSC .......), rather than the copy. I could then get rid of all of these other files spread over the hard drive. Remember that the original files have no tags or captions. How can I get the tags, captions and metadata moved or copied from the copy over to the original?<br /><br />I hope that this is clearer.