User Guide Picasa is free photo management software from Google that helps you find, edit and share your pictures in seconds. We recommend that you print out this brief overview of Picasa's main features and consult it as you use the program for the first time to learn about new features quickly. Picasa helps you find and organize all your pictures. Once you start Picasa, it scans your hard drive to find and automatically organize all your pictures. Picasa finds the following image and movie file types: · Image file types: JPG, GIF, TIF, PSD, PNG, BMP, RAW (including NEF and CRW). GIF and PNG files are not scanned by default, but you can enable them in the options dialog. · Movie file types: MPG, AVI, ASF, WMV, and MOV. If you're upgrading from a previous version of Picasa: When you uninstall older versions of Picasa, you will be prompted whether or not you want to delete your existing database (your previous organization and picture edits). If you opt to save your Picasa 1.618 database, your Picasa 2 database will be upgraded automatically, preserving your previous organization and picture edits. If you delete your Picasa 1.618 database, you can download and install the new version of Picasa and create new edits. Picasa 2 User Guide 01 of 11 Library View Picasa automatically organizes all your image and movie files into collections of folders inside its main Library view. Layout of Main Library screen: FOLDER LIST The left-hand list in Picasa's library view shows all the folders containing pictures on your computer and all the labels you've created in Picasa. These folders and labels are grouped into collections that are described in the next section. By default, the folder list is sorted by creation date. To change the way the list is sorted, go to "View" > "Sort Folder List By." PICTURE TRAY AND OUTPUT OPTIONS The "Picture Tray" is used to collect pictures and movies from one or more folders or labels so that you may work with them as a group. The "Label" button and all of the output options buttons ("Print," "Email," "Collage," "Hello," "Blogger," "Order" and "Export") perform their respective actions using the pictures currently in the "Picture Tray." By default, your current selection in the lightbox is placed in the "Picture Tray." To keep these items in the "Picture Tray" while you select more, press the "Hold" button. You can also drag and drop items into the "Picture Tray" and they will automatically be held. To remove a held item, select it in the "Picture Tray" and press "Clear". Once you are satisfied with the contents of the "Picture Tray," you can press any of the output options buttons or the "Label" button to perform the corresponding action on all the items in the "Picture Tray" at once. LIGHTBOX The right-hand side of the library view displays visual thumbnails of the pictures (and movies) corresponding to the folders and labels in the folder list. To change the thumbnail size, use the slider at the bottom right of the lightbox or use the "View" menu to select a common thumbnail size. Doubleclick on any folder or label header to edit its title, date, place taken or caption. For folders, you can click on the large folder icon in the header to open the corresponding folder in Windows Explorer. Press the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard or use the far right scroll bar to move through the lightbox. NOTE: Only folders and labels that are visible in the folder list will appear in the lightbox. Folders inside of a closed collection will not be displayed. Picasa 2 User Guide 02 of 11 Collections Folders on Disk This collection displays folders on your computer that contain pictures or movies, sorted by date, with the original folder names as they appear on your computer's hard drive. Changes you make to the folders in this collection affect the matching folders on your computer's hard drive. Renaming a folder in Picasa is the same as renaming it in Windows Explorer. · Adjust which pictures and folders appear. Only folders that Picasa is configured to scan appear in this collection. To modify where Picasa scans for pictures, select "Folder Manager" on the "Tools" menu. Use the settings there to select or de-select the folders Picasa scans, choosing from these options: "Scan Once," "Remove From Picasa" and "Watch For Changes." · Move pictures between folders. Select a picture. With your mouse, drag and drop the picture to its new folder. To select more than one picture, hold down the Shift key on your keyboard as you select pictures. If you move a picture into a different folder on disk, Picasa will remind you that you're about to move the actual file on your computer's hard drive. Click the "OK" button to move the picture to a new location. Note: Moving pictures between folders in the "Folders on Disk" collection will affect their physical location on your hard drive. · Edit a folder description. Double-click on the title of any folder to open the Folder Properties box. Enter the new description. You can also modify the folder's date, place taken, or caption. Any descriptive information you add will be searchable in Picasa. Click the "OK" button. Changing the name of a folder in Picasa will change the name of the actual folder on your computer's hard drive. · Delete a picture from a folder. Select a picture, then go to "File" > "Delete," or just hit the Delete key on your keyboard. Picasa will remind you that you're about to send that file to your computer's recycle bin. Click the "OK" button to remove the picture. Labels Collection This collection contains labels that you create in Picasa. Labels are used to group and organize pictures based on your own criteria and identified by a simple word or title. For example, you can create a label called "Flowers" to group all of your pictures of flowers, or you might create a label like "Trip to The Grand Canyon" to arrange all of your latest vacation pictures. Unlike the "Folders on Disk" collection, which matches exactly the folder locations on your computer, labels do not correspond to physical folders on your hard drive. If you delete or move pictures inside the labels collection, the original files stay safe in their original locations on your hard drive. You can even add the same image to multiple labels without creating multiple copies of the same image. Edits you make to a picture will also be applied to every instance of the image, including the original. · Create a new label. First select one or more pictures (you cannot create an empty label). Select "File" > "New Label" to create a new label in Picasa containing the selected picture(s). You can do the same thing by choosing a picture, clicking the "Label" button and selecting "New Label" on the popup list. · Add an existing label to a picture. The same picture can be assigned many labels in Picasa. Select a picture, click the "Label" button, and select an existing label from the list. · Change a label description. Double-click on the title of any label to open the "Label Properties" box. Enter a new description for the label. You can also modify the label's date, place taken, or caption. Any descriptive information you add will be searchable in Picasa. When you're done, click the "OK" button. Picasa 2 User Guide 03 of 11 · Delete a picture from a label Select a picture. Right-click with your mouse and select "Remove from Label" in the context menu or press the Delete key on your keyboard. Note: Deleting a picture from a label does not delete the original file from your computer's hard drive. · Rearrange pictures in a label or between labels. Click and drag a picture to change its order within a label or drag it into another label to add it to that label. This doesn't affect the order in which the original files are stored on your computer. From Hello This collection contains pictures you've received from friends via the Hello instant picture sharing program, a free companion software program that was built to work with Picasa. (To download the Hello software, go to www.hello.com.) This collection sorts pictures received from Hello alphabetically by Hello username. Library tools: At the top of the Picasa main library screen are several buttons that help you add pictures to the library, view and find pictures in additional ways, and burn pictures to a CD. Import To import pictures from a digital camera, plug the hardware into your computer using its usual connection device, such as a USB cable or your camera cradle. Open Picasa. Click the "Import" button and select your device or folder from the dropdown menu (your camera should automatically be detected). Your pictures will automatically begin to appear in the "Import Tray." After your pictures have finished loading, click the "Finish" button. Picasa will save the folders on your computer (in the My Pictures directory under a folder name you create) and display them in the "Folders on Disk" collection. Slideshow Select a folder or label and click the "Slideshow" button. This will open the slideshow player. Click the onscreen "Play" button to start the slideshow and make the player's controls disappear. You can hit the spacebar key on your keyboard or simply move your mouse to make the slideshow controls reappear at any time while your slideshow is playing. You can rotate pictures in the slideshow mode, add a star rating, and change the time duration that each slide is displayed. Hit the Escape key on your keyboard to stop the slideshow and return to the Picasa main library screen. Timeline The timeline view in Picasa is another way to look at the pictures in your collections. Just click the "Timeline" button and sweep back and forth through your photos using your mouse to navigate. Double-clicking on any album will start a slideshow. Gift CD Insert a blank CD into the writeable drive on your computer, select pictures or an album and click the "Gift CD" button. On the "Create a Gift CD" screen, photos with a checkmark will be included on your gift CD. De-select any pictures you don't want included. Under Step 1, click the "Add More" button if you'd like to add pictures to the CD. If you'd like your pictures displayed Picasa 2 User Guide 04 of 11 as a slideshow on the CD, check that box. Finally, choose a size for your pictures. Under Step 2, name your CD. (Note: by default, a copy of Picasa software will be included on the CD.) Click the "Burn Disc" button to create your CD. Backup CD Insert a blank CD into the writeable drive on your computer, select pictures you want to save, and click the "Backup" button. You can choose what folders will be backed up to a recordable CD or DVD (the kind you use on your computer, not your TV). You can create multiple backup sets, which makes it easy to keep all your pictures safe. Search If you type any text into the search box at the top right corner of the main Picasa library screen, Picasa will search your picture files' EXIF/camera data, keywords, labels, and any additional properties or captions you've entered inside the program. · Starred button Use this button to find only pictures that you've tagged with a star rating. · Movies button Use this to find only movie file types in your library. · Date slider Move this slider left and right to quickly reduce the number of search results based on the date of the picture. Editing pictures with Picasa: With Picasa's advanced picture editing, you can use basic one-click fixes to improve almost any picture, adjust color and lighting, and add any of twelve effects. A few general editing tips: · Double-click on a thumbnail in the lightbox to open the "Edit Picture" screen. This will show you the picture you're currently editing. To the right of the picture are three tabs ­ "Basic Fixes," "Tuning," and "Effects." · While on the "Edit Picture" screen, use the thumbnail arrows on either side of the filmstrip at the top of the picture to navigate through the rest of the pictures in that album. · To reverse any edits you made, click the "Undo" button at any step along the way. · Any edits you make to a picture are only inside Picasa; edits do NOT affect the original file on your computer's hard drive. To see edited pictures in other programs outside of Picasa, you'll need to export the picture using the "Picture Tray" and its controls. · For more information about the edit screens, refer to the Picasa Help menu in the software. Picasa 2 User Guide 05 of 11 Basic Fixes Tab: Crop Use the "Crop" button to cut out parts of a picture that you don't want to see. In the "Crop Picture" view, you can select a pre-determined picture size (for instance, 4x6) or manually select the part of the picture you'd like to keep. To crop a picture, drag and drop the bounding box directly over the picture. Click on and drag the corners of the box to change the cropped selection while maintaining the same proportions. Click "Apply" to save your changes in Picasa or "Cancel" to return to ...