Digital Camera Master

Picasa provides more powerful photo search tools than EasyShare, making it better suited for larger photo libraries. The program’s features and learning curve put it somewhere between Kodak EasyShare and Photoshop Elements. In other words, if EasyShare makes you itch for more, but Photoshop Elements (or its price) scares you off, Picasa may be just right.

Like EasyShare, described in the previous section, Picasa draws upon your Windows folder and file system, creating thumbnails of your photos that appear in its window. Unlike EasyShare, though, Picasa lets you act directly upon your Windows folders. When you move a photo from one Picasa folder to another, you’re actually moving the file in Windows. Picasa also gives you features like Collections, Labels, and Keywords that give you more photo-handling options than you get in Windows XP.

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Note: Google lets you download Picasa at no charge. To download the installer program, visit http://picasa.google.com, and then click the “Free Download” link. (For much more detail on installing software on your PC, consult a book like Windows XP, Home Edition: The Missing Manual.)
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1. Getting Your Photos into Picasa
When you download and run Picasa’s installer, the final setup screen presents you with a handful of options. Before launching Picasa for the first time, the installer offers to place the program’s icon on your desktop, in the taskbar at the bottom of your screen, and so on. Turn off the checkboxes if you don’t want to deal with such clutter. The last checkbox is a sneaky bit of marketing: It offers to make Google your browser’s default search engine. (Hey, unlike other free programs, Picasa isn’t always in your face trying to sell you photo prints or t-shirts, so cut Larry and Sergey some slack.)

The first time you fire up Picasa, it rounds up all the photos on your computer. When it’s done, Picasa fills your screen with the main Library view window, described next.

2. Exploring the Library View
Picasa’s Library view gives you three main work areas for organizing your photos: the Lightbox, the Folder List, and the Picture Tray.

• Lightbox.
  The largest part of the window is where you view, sort, and sequence your photo collection. The Lightbox reveals only a few thumbnails at a time, but all your photos are within easy reach using the scroll bar.
• Folder List.
  To the left of the Lightbox is the Folder List, where you see all the folders on your computer that contain pictures. Click a folder’s name to display its contents in the Lightbox area.
• Picture Tray.
  At the bottom of your screen is the Picture Tray. It serves as a launch pad when you want to edit, print, or email your photos. You move photos to the Picture Tray by selecting them in the Lightbox. Click the Hold button to keep photos in your Picture Tray as you add more photos.

The Library View window is Picasa’s organization central. The main Lightbox panel displays thumbnail views of your photos. To the left is the Folder List, where you organize Picasa’s Folders and Collections. At bottom, the Picture Tray provides tools for working with individual photos.