HOW TO MANAGE DIGITAL PHOTOS

March, 2013

Google's Picasa software lets you organize, edit, and upload your photos in quick, easy steps. Download Picasa at http://picasa.google.com.

Two things to know

As you get started, there are two things you should always remember:

1. Picasa does not store the photos on your computer.When you open Picasa, it simply looks at the folders on your computer and displays the photos it finds. It displays the file types that you tell it to find, in the folders that you tell it to search.

2. Your original photos are always preserved.When using editing tools in Picasa, your original files are never touched. The photo edits you make are only viewable in Picasa until you decide to save your changes. Even then, Picasa creates a new version of the photo with your edits applied, leaving the original file totally preserved.

Use Picasa to view photos already on your computer, or to import photos from your camera.

Add photos already on your computer

Once you've downloaded and installed Picasa, you have total control over the photos that Picasa displays. Picasa shows you the photo and video file types that you tell it to find, in the folders that you tell it to search.

Control the folders that display Control the file types that display

Click Tools > Folder Manager Click Tools > Options (PC)or Picasa > Preferences (Mac) to control which file types are displayed

Import new photos

Of course, not all your photos reside on your computer. You can import photos into Picasa from many sources, including cameras, CDs, memory cards, scanners, webcams, and more. Photos you import are saved on your computer and displayed automatically in Picasa.

1. In Picasa, click Import.
2. Select the source of your new photos (e.g. your camera) from the 'Import photos from' drop-down menu at the top.
3. Select the destination folder on your computer for your new photos, from the 'Import to' drop-down menu at the bottom.
4. If you'd like to upload the photos you're importing to Picasa Web Albums at the same time, select the 'Upload' checkbox.
5. Select the specific photos you'd like to import and click Import Selected, or click Import All to import all the photos displayed.

Organize your photos

The folder list on the left is the hub for Picasa organization. By scrolling through this list, you can access all photos displayed by Picasa. To understand Picasa organization, you need to understand the following three collections:

Folders

Folders in Picasa represent the folders on your computer. You control the folders that are scanned and displayed by Picasa. Changes you make to folders in Picasa affect the corresponding folders on your computer's hard drive. For example, if you delete a photo in a Picasa folder, that photo is also deleted from the computer.

Albums

Unlike folders, albums exist only in Picasa. Albums allow you to create virtual groups of photos taken from multiple folders on your computer. Albums display those photos without actually moving the photo -- it's like a playlist for photos. When you delete or move photos from an album, the original files remain in their original folders on your computer.

People

In this collection, you can organize your photos by what frequently matters most -- the people in them. Picasa uses facial recognition technology to find and group similar faces together across your entire collection of photos. By adding name tags to these groups of faces, new people albums are created. These people albums are just like the albums above: when you move or delete faces, the original files stay put.

Picasa has many more ways to help you organize your photos. Here are some of the features for you to explore:

Resize photos: One of the most popular -- and most hidden -- features of Picasa is the ability to resize photos. Use the Export button to quickly resize your photos.

Make a collage: Make a collage and share it with your friends and family. Experiment with six different types of collage, and maintain total control over your collage content and layout. To add this button to your photo tray, click Tools > Configure Buttons.

Print photos: Use the Print button to print your photos at home.

Add captions: Adding captions can help tell the rest of the story. While editing a photo, click the text below that says 'Make a caption!'. Captions are displayed in Picasa, Picasa Web Albums, and other IPTC compatible programs.

Back up your collection: Protect those precious memories. Use Picasa to back up your photos to an alternate drive or back up your photos to a CD or DVD.