NOTE: This tutorial assumes you are familiar with the basic functions of Picasa. Follow this link for an introduction to Picasa’s features.

To Change the Locations Picasa Scans for Photos

Picasa automatically scans certain locations on your computer for photos. You can change which folders it scans, cutting down on the amount of time it takes to load the program and streamlining the photo library to only include photos you intend to work with.

1. Click “File” and choose “Add Folder to Picasa…”

2. To remove a folder from Picasa’s scan, select it and change the scan option to “Remove from Picasa”

3. To add a folder, drill down to it and select “Scan Always.” For example, if you’re writing a press release, Go to I:\ –> News –> Press Release Photos and change the scan option to “Scan Always”

4. When you have set the folders you need, click “OK”

Example:

To Resize a Photo

This function used to be handled by a small app called “Picnik,” which was discontinued as of April 2012. While there are several options for resizing, we will be using IrfanView in this tutorial. If you do not have IrfanView installed on your computer, you can request it from ATS AdminIT Support or download it here.

1. Locate the picture you want to resize.

2. Right-click the photo and choose “Open With” –> “IrfanView”

 

3. The photo will launch in IrfanView.

4. In IrfanView, go to the “Image” menu and choose “Resize/Resample”

 

5. The current width will be highlighted in the Resize window. If you are down-sizing an image for use on the web, change the width to “800” for a landscape-oriented photo (“600” for portrait) and click “OK.” IrfanView will automatically scale the height proportionally.

 

6. Go to “File” –> Save as…

7. Navigate to the original folder and name the copy of the photo in the following format:

[year]_[month]_day-[researcher/program]-[photo title]-web

Ex. 2012_06_27-smith-cornfields-web

Ex. 2012_08_11-schoenfeld-ashborer-web

You may choose your own naming convention, of course. Our suggestions for differentiating sizes are to append -orig for original size, -web for web use (i.e. 800×600), and -icon or -thumb for a thumbnail, icon, or other small, cropped format.

 

8. Once the photo is saved, close IrfanView

9. Return to Picasa. You should now see the copy of the photo, resized, in the same folder as the original.

10. The resized photo is now ready to be used.

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