Picasa Tip: Automatic Updates

Do you know what version of Picasa you have?  And by 'version', I'm not just talking 2 or 3.  There is also a 'build' number that represents updates to the version.  It's important to get the latest builds because they are created to fix bugs and add new features.  To find out what you have, you click on the Help menu and choose About Picasa.  So, for example, my Picasa is currently version 3.0 and build number 57.52. 

Google updates Picasa all the time. You have the choice to 1. let it update automatically, 2. to ask you first, or to 3. only update manually. You make this choice by going to Tools / Options and click on the General tab.





My recommendation is to set this option to update Picasa automatically.  You will then see a message when you open Picasa that updates are ready to be installed.  If you're not sure that you've received all the updates, you can use the Help / Check for Updates Online. 

Picasa 3 Out of Beta?

To get the new version of Picasa ... Picasa 3 ... you will have to go to the website (www.picasa.google.com) and download it.  This is not an 'update', it is a new program.  When you download it, Picasa 2 on your computer will become Picasa 3 - it updates it and keeps all your photos, edits, albums, and settings in tact.

With my latest update to build 57.52, Picasa 3 logo on my computer no longer includes the Beta designation.  It sure looks to me like it has been released from Beta, yet I can find no mention of this in any of Google's blogs or news items. If you don't know about the term, Beta, it's how software companies indicate that they are still testing the software.  They are saying that it is not yet finished. If it is released from beta - they are saying that it *is* finished.  That doesn't mean it is bug-free.  New bugs will always be discovered.

That's why it's important to do your updates!

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Picasa Tip: Add a Watermark to your photos

 

Just because you want to share your photos on the web, it doesn't necessarily follow that you want people to take them without giving you any credit.  Yet, that's exactly what can happen, oh so easily.  Any picture you see on the web can be 'grabbed.'  Then it can be used by others who may even claim that the picture belongs to them.




Although there are some techniques for preventing copying of your photos, the best you can usually do is to add a 'watermark' to the photo itself.  The watermark is text which lays on top of your photo and at least identifies it's source.  Picasa 3 now offers the ability to add a watermark to every photo uploaded to your web albums.

Don't know about uploading pictures to Picasa Web Albums?  Here's a member Tutorial Video Intro to Picasa Web Albums.

Here's what you do:
Tools / Options / Web Albums (or Google+ Photos)
Check the box for 'Add a Watermark for all Photo Uploads' and Type what you want to be typed on the photo


After completing this setting, every photo you upload to Picasa Web Albums will include the Watermark you specify.  This is a great feature, but it's not perfect.  The watermark is small and printed in the lower right corner.  So, if someone wanted to steal your photo, it's still an easy matter to crop off that bottom line.



If your goal is primarily to include a notice with your identification.  This is a wonderful new feature.  Just turn it on once, and you're done.  The watermark feature is also available anytime you Export pictures - just check the 'Add a Watermark' box and write whatever you want.

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Picasa Tip: Make your own Photo Holiday Cards

One of the subtle changes in Picasa 3 is on the bottom row of buttons, what used to be called 'Order Prints' is now 'Shop.'  I actually don't see any difference in what the button does, but the fact that it now says 'Shop' might get a few more people to try it.

Here's how it works - you select one or more photos, click 'Shop' and you'll see a list of stores. 



Choose one of the stores, then you will need to set up an account.  There is no cost for the account, but it is necessary in order to upload your photos and store them for you.  Once the photos are uploaded you can choose your products.  The upload takes a while because, for printing purposes, it uploads the full original size.

They all offer to print the photo(s) you upload, and they offer lots of special ways to print them, including notecards.  This is a great way to get custom, photo Christmas cards.  The price at Walmart is about $12 for a dozen simple notecards.  At Shutterfly, a dozen nice greeting cards will cost $25.  You can check out the products offered before choosing by browsing directly to each store.  So, for example, Walmart's offerings can be found at http://photos.walmart.com/store.    Shutterfly's at http://www.shutterfly.com/store/index.jsp.

And, don't stop at cards!  You can buy the gifts to go with the cards as well.  One of my favorites is photo mousepads.  Or, how about coffee mugs, or t-shirts, or tree ornaments?

You don't need to use Picasa to order these gifts, but, just like so many other things, Picasa makes it so easy.  Just select your photos and click 'Shop!'  And, if you use Picasa, you'll know that the photo that gets uploaded is what you see in Picasa, cropped the way you cropped it in Picasa, color corrected or retouched by Picasa.  You can even add text to the picture in Picasa, and that will become part of the photo to be used for your card.

Happy Holidays!
Chris Guld

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4. Library View

When you first open Picasa, you're looking at the 'Library View.'  This video gives you a tour of the screen while using the Library View.

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Download .mp4 Video (14.5MB)

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Picasa Tip: Save Edits and Resize with Export

I just read a question from a Picasa user, Joe, who needs to use his photos in a Website. He makes all his edits with Picasa, cropping, fixing red eyes, retouching a spot ... but when his website software uploads the photo from his My Pictures folder, it's the original photo. It still needs the red eyes fixed, it needs to be cropped and it needs to be resized to something a lot smaller than his original photo.

What Joe needs to know about is the Export command. After making all the edits to make the picture(s) look good:

1. Select the photo or photos you want to use on your website
2. Click the Export button at the bottom
3. Choose or create the receiving folder - e.g. My Pictures\Website photos
4. Choose a size (I use 400 pixels for most web photos)
5. Click OK

Now when you use the website software to upload your photos, upload the ones in the \Website photos\ folder instead of the original folder.

There are a couple of videos in the classroom at GeeksOnTour.com on using Picasa to prepare photos for websites. You need to be a member to view them in their entirety, but here's a 30 second preview of one:


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You have a Digital Camera ... Now What?

Aren't digital cameras wonderful? You never have to worry about running out of film (just battery :-) )You never have to wonder, "Is that picture going to come out?" because you can look at the preview. And, you don't have to pay for processing. But you *do* have to learn a little about what to do with the photos after you take them.

Emailing Photos with Picasa

Have you ever opened a photo attached to an email and found yourself staring at a person’s eyeball taking up the entire screen? That’s what happens if the person sending the photo doesn’t know about resizing it first. That is, if you receive the photo at all! It may be so big that your email inbox simply rejects it.

Here’s a photo of my motorhome as you would see it if I emailed it to you full-size. This is how it would appear in many programs - then you would need to scroll around to see the entire photo. This photo would be taking up a lot of space in your inbox as well - 2.7 megabytes to be exact. And, if you have a mailbox that is limited to 10 megabytes, it would fill up real quick, and any further mail would be rejected.



There lots of ways to send photos with email and resize them first. Picasa is my favorite. You simply select the photo (or photos) you want to send, click the email button, and Picasa does all the rest. Watch the quick video below to see how.

 

Chris Guld
www.GeeksOnTour.com