Select the picture containing the object.
Last updated on
Sep 16, 2026
Learn about the different search options available to find your media files in Elements Organizer.
Visual similarity search
For search based on visual similarity, Elements Organizer uses information in the photo such as the color and shape of objects during search. Use visual search to quickly search images containing similar objects, colors, or shapes. You can also choose to specify the relative importance Elements Organizer should assign to colors and shapes when searching photos.
Visual search helps you quickly identify similar photos for tagging. You can also create a Saved Search using the search results.
For more information, view Creating and editing Saved Searches.
Object search
In object search, you initially select the object in a photo that you want to define as the search object. Elements Organizer uses the search object to assign priority when searching photos.
For example, to search for photos containing your pet dog, select the face of your dog in one of the photos. When you search photos, Elements Organizer assigns a higher priority to photos containing your dog.
From the Find menu, select By Visual Searches > Objects appearing in photos. The single image view is displayed with a marquee.
Drag and resize the marquee to select the object.
Select Search Object.
Scenes containing the object are displayed. The percentage similarity is shown on each of the thumbnails.
(Optional) To add more photos to refine your search, drag a photo to the Search bar.
(Optional) To remove a photo from the search options, double-click the photo in the Search bar.
(Optional) Use the Color-Shape slider to specify the relative importance Elements Organizer must assign to colors and shapes when searching pictures.
Duplicate photo search
Duplicate photo search is especially useful in locating photographs shot in the multi-burst mode. Elements Organizer searches for and stacks photos based on their visual similarity and the time they were captured. You can then proceed to select images in the stacks or reclassify images.
Select the album from the right pane in which you want to manage duplicate photos.
From the Find menu, select By Visual Searches > Duplicate Photos. The search results are displayed.
Photos that did not have identical matches are found in the Unique Photos stack. You can drag-and-drop photos from this stack to any of the other stacks.
Use the following options based on your requirements:
- Use the checkbox to select photos you want to manage.
- To move photos between stacks, drag a photo from one stack to another.
- To stack selected photos, select Stack.
- To unstack the selected photos, select Unstack.
- To expand a stack, right-click it and select Expand Photos in Stack.
- To collapse an expanded stack, right-click a photo in the stack and select Collapse Photos in Stack.
- To remove a photo from a stack, right-click it and select Remove Photo From Stack.
- Select Stack All to stack all suggested duplicate groups at once.
- To unstack all photo stacks in the current selection, select Unstack All.
- To set the photo displayed when a stack is collapsed, right-click the photo and select Set As Top Photo.
- To remove selected photos from the catalog, select Remove From Catalog.
- To view an image in Single Image view, double-click the image.
- To display filenames while reviewing photos, choose View > Details, and then choose View > Filename.
Show only the closest matches
Show only the closest matches has been introduced in Elements Organizer 2027
By default, Elements Organizer shows groups of near-duplicate photos. To narrow the results to only those photos that are exact duplicates, select the Show only the closest matches checkbox.
Note
Selecting or clearing the Show only the closest matches checkbox resets any manual changes you have made, such as moving a photo from one group to another, so set this option before you begin organizing your stacks.
Detect duplicates while importing
You can have Elements Organizer look for duplicates automatically as soon as new media is added. In the import dialog, select the Automatically Suggest Photo Stacks option, and duplicate detection begins as soon as the import is complete.
Note
Duplicate detection is supported for photos only.
