Digital Photography
Created by Joel May November 2007
revised January, 2009

Part VIII - Viewing and Distributing Your Photos Using Picasa

  1. Create a Web Album

    1. You will need a Google account to use this feature
    2. To open a Google account, go to this web address and provide the requested information
    3. To create a new web album, just follow these steps:
      1. Log in to your Picasa Web Albums homepage at http://picasaweb.google.com using your Google Account username and password.
      2. Click "New Album" in the top-right corner of the window.
      3. Enter an album title and description and specify if you'd like this web album to be "Public" or "Unlisted."
        1. Public albums appear on your "My Photos" and "My Public Gallery" pages. These albums can be viewed by anyone who knows the URL for your public gallery. This URL is easy to share - it's short and based on your Gmail username: http://picasaweb.google.com/Username/AlbumName
        2. Unlisted albums do not appear in your public gallery; only you can see them on your My Photos page. All unlisted albums have an Authorization Key in the URL; the key is a combination of letters and numbers which make the URL very difficult to guess. Only people with whom you share the specific URL can see the album.
        3. You can see all your own albums, both public and unlisted, on your My Photos page.
        4. You can change these settings at any time by selecting an album, then clicking "Edit Album Properties" under the album photo on the left.
        5. Please remember, however, that this is a photo-sharing service and, in general, we recommend that you don't post any photos on Picasa Web Albums that you prefer not to share.
      4. Click "Create."
    4. You can start uploading photos to your new album immediately.
      1. Select the photos you want to upload. To select multiple photos, press the Ctrl key while clicking the photos.
      2. Click the Hold button at the bottom of the window. The selected photos appear in the Picture Tray in the lower-left corner.
      3. Once you've selected all of your photos, click Web Album. If you're not signed in to your Google Account, you'll be prompted to sign in.
      4. Select the web album you'd like to add photos to or create a new one (see I.C above). The Upload Manager displays the status of the upload.
      5. When the upload is complete, click View Online to launch the album in your browser.
    5. In Picasa Web Albums, you can search the following items:
      1. photo tags
        1. You can label photos in Picasa Web Albums with a “Tag” that will allow you and your friends to easily search for that photo
        2. Log in to your Picasa Web Albums account at http://picasaweb.google.com using your Google Account username and password
        3. Click the photo you'd like to tag
        4. Click the “Add a Tag” link in the lower-right corner of your account
        5. Enter the tag into the text box and click “Add.” If you’d like to add multiple tags, just enter a space after each individual tag
        6. To search for a photo with a tag, just type the tag in the search box that appears in the upper-right corner of the Picasa Web Albums screen. Photos with matching tags will be displayed in the "My Photos" section.
      2. photo captions
        1. To create a caption for a photo, double click on the desired photo and place your cursor in the text titled, "Make a caption!" You can then type your caption in the space provided.
        2. If you'd like to delete a caption, simply click the trash can icon to the right of the caption text.
        3. To edit a caption, place your cursor at the beginning or end of the caption and use your keyboard's arrow keys to change the cursor's position. It's not possible to use your mouse to re-position the cursor to the middle of the text
        4. Please note that captions will only be displayed in Picasa and other IPTC compatible programs. Also, your captions won't be displayed when you print, email your photos, or run the auto-slideshow.
      3. album title - given when the album was created
      4. album description - optionally given when the album was created
      5. album location -optionally given as "Place Taken" when the album was created
    6. There are three ways to search for photos in Picasa Web Albums
      1. My Photos: Once signed in, you can search across your own public and unlisted albums. To make your photos easier to find, you can add tags (descriptive keywords) to individual photos.
      2. My Favorites: Sign in and search the public photos of friends on your Favorites list. If you're not signed in, you can search the public album you're currently viewing.
      3. Community Photos: Search the photos of any Picasa Web Albums user who has marked albums as public and searchable. You can change this setting at any time by going to Settings and unchecking the box next to Make my public albums searchable.
    7. To copy a photo to another web album, follow these steps:
      1. Click the photo you'd like to copy.
      2. Click the "Copy to another album" link on the right side of the page
      3. Create a new album location for your photo, or pick from existing albums by selecting "Choose an existing album."

  2. Send Photos by E-Mail

    1. A One-Time Startup Tasks
      1. In Picasa, Open the Tools menu and and chose Options > Email
      2. Make the following settings
      3. In the section labeled Email Program, choose Gmail, Outlook, or Picasa Mail if you use one of those clients; or choose Let me choose each time I send pictures if you some other client.
      4. In the Output Options section, leave the When sending more than one picture and When sending single pictures settings as they are (480 pixels )
      5. For the When sending movies setting, choosing First frame will send only the first frame of the movie and the email attachment will be small. Choosing Full movie will attach the entire movie to the email. A 30- or 60-second movie doesn't present a problem, but a 1-minute movie results in a file of about 1.7MB, so use the Full movie option with caution.
      6. Leave the Send as HTML storybook box unchecked.
    2. If you use Outlook Express as your email client,
      1. Open the Tools menu in that program and choose Options > General
      2. In the Default messaging programs (at the bottom of the dialog box) ensure that Outlook Express is listed as your defaul email program
    3. If you use AOL as your email cliant,
      1. Sign on to AOL (version 7.0 or higher)
      2. Type "Preferences" into the keyword box, and click "Go."
      3. A "Preference" box will appear. Click the "Association link" to select America Online as your preferred application for web browsing, email, and newsgroups.
      4. The "Associations Preferences" box will appear. Click "OK."
      5. Close the "Preferences" box and return to Picasa.
    4. If you use a different email client, check the FAQs on that client's web site, Picasa's help screens and/or use Google to get information. NOTE: It may not be possible to use Picasa in conjunction with all email clients.
  3. Now the hard work is done! To email a picture or groups of pictures
    1. Select the photo or photos you want to upload. To select multiple photos, press the Ctrl key while clicking the photos.
    2. Click the Hold button at the bottom of the window. The selected photos appear in the Picture Tray in the lower-left corner.
    3. Once you've selected all of your photos, click the Email button.
    4. You'll be asked which email client you want to use, choose the appropriate one.
    5. An email form will open with the picture(s) already attached. Address it, add a Subject and a message and send it.

  • Print Photos

    1. The “Print” button lets you print the photos in the Photo Tray using a local or networked printer.
      1. Click “Print” to open the print screen and select a print layout size. The choices are:
        1. Wallet size (9 per sheet)
        2. 3.5" X 5" (4 per sheet)
        3. 4"X6" (2 per sheet)
        4. 5"X7" (2 per sheet)
        5. 8"X10" (1 per sheet)
        6. Full Page or 8.5"X11" (1 per sheet)
      2. Picasa will automatically size the photos in the Photo Tray to those proportions.
      3. These buttons make it easier to print multiple photos on one page. For example: if you have four photos in the photo tray and select 3.5" X 5", Picasa will fit all four of the photos on a standard 8.5 x 11 page.
      4. NOTE: To print a contact sheet, you must first add all the desired photos to the Photo Tray. Once all your selected photos are in the Photo Tray, open the Folder menu and choose Print Contact Sheet.
    2. The remaining buttons to the left of the photo pane perform the following functions:
      1. "Shrink to Fit" - resizes the photo(s) to fit the print layout size chosen
      2. "Crop to Fit" - removes an area of the photo(s) to make them fit the print layout size chosen
      3. "Printer" - if you have more than one printer connected to your computer, use this to choose which printer to use
      4. "Printer Setup" - displays the current printer setup and allows you to change the settings
      5. "Copies per photo" - sets the number of pages of photo(s) to print
    3. The “Review” button in the lower right corner of the print screen helps you review all your print settings before you print.
    4. The "Print” button sends the photo(s) to your printer.
    5. The "Cancel" button undoes everthing you've just done.

  • Order Prints

    1. You can order prints from a variety of vendors by following these steps:
      1. Select the photos you'd like to print. Your selected photos will appear in the Picture Tray in the lower left corner.
      2. Click the "Order Prints" button at the bottom of the screen.
      3. Choose the vendor that you wish to use from the list. Currently the list includes:
        1. PhotoStamps
        2. Kodak EasyShare Gallery
        3. Walgreen's Photo Center
        4. Shutterfly
        5. CVS Photo Center
        6. Ritz Camera
        7. SnapFish
        8. and many more -- the list changes with each new version of the program
        9. NOTE: you can use PrintRates.com to find the least expensive vendor and to read users' reviews about their quality and service levels
      4. Sign in using your username and password for that particular site. Note: this is not the same as your Picasa account. If you don't have an account with that vendor, click "Create an Account."
      5. Once you sign in, Picasa will transfer your selected photos to the print processor's site.
      6. Follow the instructions located on the site to complete your order.

  • Post Photos to a Blog

    1. To publish a photo from Picasa to your blog using "BlogThis!", do the following:
      1. Select the photo(s) in Picasa you wish to add to your blog in Picasa. It is possible to send and publish up to four photos in a single post to your blog.
      2. Click the "BlogThis!" button.
      3. Enter your Blogger.com username and password. Check the "Remember me" box if you want to save your login information.
      4. Click "Sign In."
      5. Select the blog you wish to publish to from the drop-down. You can also select a photo layout and image size. Click the "Continue" button.
      6. A Blogger editor page will open displaying your photos on an HTML page.
      7. If you wish to include captions with your photos, click the "Edit HTML" tab and enter your caption text under each photo -- between the final and . (To learn more about adding captions to photos see I.E.2 above)
      8. Click the "Save As Draft" or "Publish" button. Your blog will open with your photos added at the top.

  • Create a Collage

    1. To create a Picasa collage:
      1. Select the photos you’d like to include in your collage. Your selected photos will appear in the Photo Tray in the lower-left corner of the screen. Note: The photos Picasa uses in your collage are actually copies of your original photos. Your original photos remain untouched.
      2. Click "Collage." Note: If the "Collage" button is disabled, you will need to first select photos for your collage.
      3. Choose from the "Type" and "Options" drop-down menus to preview your collage.
        1. By clicking directly on the collage preview, you can change the order of your photos.
        2. To shift the layout of a Picture Pile collage, press the Shift key while clicking on the collage preview.
      4. Choose a folder from the “Location” drop-down menu. Your collage will be saved to this folder.
      5. When you're satisfied with your collage, click "Create"

  • Create a Gift CD

    1. When creating a gift CD/DVD of your photos, you have several options; you can include only the photo files, you can include a slideshow or a copy of Picasa .Note that it's not possible to copy audio files or include music on your CD or DVD.
    2. To create a gift CD/DVD:
      1. Select the photos you'd like to copy to the CD/DVD.
      2. Click the "Gift CD" button at the top of the screen
      3. In Box 1
        1. Click "Add More" to add additional pictures for inclusion on the CD/DVD
        2. Check "Include Slideshow" to include an auto-running slideshow.
        3. To resize the photos, click the Photo Size drop-down menu and choose a new size. If you don't want to resize your photos, choose Original Size.
      4. In Box 2
        1. Enter a name or title for your CD/DVD.
        2. To include a copy of Picasa, select Include Picasa.
      5. Insert a blank disk.
      6. Click Burn Disc.

  • Create a Screen Saver

    1. Picasa includes its own screensaver which displays photos using various visual effects while your computer is inactive.
    2. You can configure the screensaver to show photos from various sources, including:
      1. Picasa's special Screensaver and/or Starred Photos albums
      2. Specific folders on your computer
      3. Albums in your Picasa Web Albums account
    3. The screensaver must be activated before it will run. There are two ways to activate the screensaver from within Picasa:
      1. Go to "Tools" > "Configure Screensaver".
      2. Select photos you would like to display in the screensaver and go to "Create" > "Add to Screensaver".
      3. Both methods will launch the "Display Properties" control panel so that you may further configure the screensaver.
      4. On the "Screen Saver" tab, the Picasa Screensaver is selected for you automatically.
      5. Press the "Settings" button to launch the Picasa Screensaver's configuration dialog. In the dialog, you will see two tabs, one called "Photo Sources" and one called "Visual Presentation."
        1. On the Photo Sources tab, use the checkboxes to turn each photo source on or off. Once a source is turned on, the "Configure" button for that source will become active. Press the "Configure..." button to see options specific to that photo source.
        2. Visual Presentation tab allows you to choose the visual effect the screensaver uses to present your photos. Use the drop-down box to choose an effect. A preview of the effect will begin to animate. Some effects allow you to specify a time interval between transitions. In this case, a slider will appear which you can use to modify the time between transitions.
    4. The screen saver will now run after observing no keyboard activity for the number of seconds you have chosen.

  • Other things you can do with your photos

    1. You can use your individual photos or collages on mugs, aprons, greeting cards, playing cards, banners, cutting boards, bumper stickers, quilts, throw pillows and more. For detailed instructions on ordering these photo products, see http://www.dmoz.org/Shopping/Gifts/Personalized/Photo_Transfers/