User Guide

Organise | Edit | Share and Print

Sharing, printing and more ways to enjoy pictures outside Picasa

The Picture Tray and Controls
Any picture you select in the folder list appears as an active selection in your picture tray on the lower left corner of the main library screen. Pictures in the “Picture Tray” are affected by the buttons to the right of the tray.

Hold
Use the “Hold” button to keep a picture in the tray as you add more pictures. You can add multiple pictures to the tray by holding down the Shift key as you select pictures.

Clear
Click the “Clear” button to empty the “Picture Tray” of all pictures on hold.

Label
Click the “Label” button to add a new or existing label to the picture(s) in the tray.

Star
The star button adds a small gold star to any picture in the tray. These stars are searchable ratings that help you find favorites quickly. Any picture to which you add a star can be easily accessed when performing a search in Picasa.

Rotate Left and Rotate Right
The two rotate buttons will rotate the selected picture clockwise or counter-clockwise inside Picasa.

Print
The “Print” button lets you print the pictures in the picture tray using a local or networked printer. Click “Print” to open the print screen and select a print layout size. Picasa will automatically size the pictures in the picture tray to those proportions. These buttons make it easier to print multiple pictures on one page. For example: if you have four pictures in the tray and select 3.5x5, Picasa will fit all four of the pictures on a standard 8.5 x 11 page.

The “Print Review” button in the lower right corner of the print screen helps you review all your print settings before you print. Click “Print” to send the picture(s) to your printer.

Email (Internet access required)
The “Email” button in Picasa lets you email the photos in your “Picture Tray” several ways:

Default Email
Select this to send pictures using your computer's default email client.

Gmail
Works with an existing Gmail account from Google (not included with your Picasa software). Sends up to 10MB of photos, including the message, compressed perfectly to a size that your friends will be able to open.

Collage
Click the “Collage” button to quickly make personalised picture collages from a variety of templates including picture pile, picture grid, or contact sheet. You can also create a film-style multiple exposure effect. To save your new creation, pick a background for your collage (use a picture or the colours black, white or grey) and specify how you want it created (as a screensaver, as a desktop background, or as a folder you select).

Blogger (Internet access required)
A blog is an online web journal. You can publish pictures to the web for free using Picasa and a blog that you create on Blogger.com. Simply select pictures (they will appear in the “Picture Tray”) and click the “Blogger” button. This will open Hello, with the Hello username Bloggerbot active. Bloggerbot is not a normal buddy on your Hello Friends list; it is a transfer tool that uploads pictures to your blog. With the Bloggerbot tab open, type in a caption where indicated and click “Publish.” Your photo will be uploaded to your blog as the newest post. If you do not have a blog, click the “Blogger” button in Picasa and follow the instructions to sign up for a free account (it only takes a few minutes). Once you have an account with Blogger, you will be able to click the “Blogger” button in Picasa at any time to post pictures in one step.

Order (Internet access required)
Click the “Order” button to order prints from one of Picasa's online print providers. Chose a provider by clicking on the logo or link. You will be prompted to sign in, using the username and password you normally use to access that provider's website. After you sign in, Picasa will automatically upload all the pictures in your “Picture Tray.” (Note: any pictures you order via Picasa 2 are processed through the print provider's website and are covered under that company's privacy and shopping policies.) Picasa does not disclose any information about you to the merchants listed on the “Order” page. For more details on what information Picasa shares with these websites, please click the “Privacy Policy” link at the bottom of the www.picasa.com website.

Export
Click the “Export” button to save any pictures in the “Picture Tray” as new JPEG files. For example, if you make a label containing pictures of your dog from various folders and then edit them to all be black and white, you will need to export that entire album and create new files on your hard drive that reflect those edits. You can choose the JPEG quality and saved picture size here, too. Note: Picasa never overwrites your original file on disk; any edits you make to a picture are only saved inside Picasa until you decide to save them as a new file when you export.

Need more help?

The “Help” menu in the Picasa software will answer most of your questions. To access the Help, press F1 on your keyboard, use the “Help” menu or click the “Help” button in any dialogue box.

If you do not find what you need in the Help system, please visit Support at the www.picasa.com web site or go to the “Help” menu > “Picasa Support' inside the program.

Organise | Edit | Share and Print