Yes. There is no need to use the Organizer. You can simply use the Editor on a stand alone basis. From a folder simply right-click on an image and choose Open With >> Photoshop Elements Editor

The Organizer doesn’t work like Bridge. It makes links to the photos you wish to manage.

Ocoee wrote:

 

I don't want to import, I just want a folder view like bridge.

There may be a problem of vocabulary here. In Elements, you don't really 'import', which would mean copying the pictures files. You 'get files from...' English is not my native language but here I would use 'register' instead of import. The principle is very simple : there are several ways to 'register' files, which means creating a list of picture files with their location on your computer and their properties. You can decide which files or folders you want to organize, you can use other tools to automatically scan all your computer or only given folders.

Once the files are registered, a thumbnail is created for quick visual search and a lot of exif metadata is written in the database for powerful searches. So, the answer is obvious : you can't 'browse folders' if the files are not 'registered'.

Can't I just view my folders and pics, ?

To do that, I would be extremely happy simply with the Explorer/Finder and the editor as default editing software.

...and if I want to create a new group or album do that later on as needed basis?

If you are able to select a set pictures for a given creation project (by folders for instance), you can create a special catalog  and 'register' only those pictures. Then you have all the tools to group pictures, rate them, write captions, notes, stack them, export them in another format, create books, slideshows, cards etc. So you could either work mainly in Explorer or any other free browser and for some special tasks, use the Organizer.

But I don't think such an 'hybrid' organizing method is going to last long. Either you won't get enough experience with the Organizer to take full advantage of its power, or you'll soon discover that you have to be coherent and use it 'fully'. That also mean being able to use its important backup/restore feature and being able to move the catalogs and all your 'libraries' to other drives or computers with newer versions of the software.

Yes that is correct as long as the images are not also in iPhoto.