Windows XP has added a lot of features to the operating system to make it easy for you to work with pictures. Here we show you how to organize your pictures into folders under My Pictures, and we also demonstrate some of the cool features for viewing thumbnails and slideshows with no extra software required!
1. Select Start > My Pictures. The My Pictures window appears. This is where folders are created by the Camera and Scanner Wizard to hold images retrieved from your digital camera and scanner. It’s a good place to keep and organize all your pictures.
2. Double-click on one of the folders here in My Pictures. Your window presents the pictures in a special Photo Album format. Use the scroll bar at the bottom of the window to slide the thumbnails back and forth. Click on any thumbnail, and it is displayed, as big as your window will allow, at the top. Windows XP calls this the Filmstrip view.
3. On the left side of the window are several groups of links labeled Picture Tasks, File and Folder Tasks, and Other Places. These links provide easy access to things you may want to do with your pictures. For example, under Picture Tasks, click the View as a slide show link. Your screen is filled with one of the pictures. Use the left and right arrow keys to move back and forth among the pictures. When you are done, hit the Escape key (Esc) to return to your desktop.
4. Now click the Up button in your window’s toolbar to go to the parent folder.
5. Right-click on the icon for the folder you were just in. A pop-up menu appears. Choose Properties from the menu. The Folder Properties window appears. Click the Customize tab at the top of the window
6. At the top of the properties window there is a drop-down list box labeled Use This Folder Type as a Template. The current selection is Photo Album - that’s why the pictures were presented as thumbnails on a slider below and a big picture at the top. Change this to Pictures. Click OK. Now double-click on the folder again. This time, the pictures appear as a bunch of thumbnails. You can pick the layout you want for each of your folders using the folder’s property window.
In the olden days, before digital pictures, it was common to write information on the back of a photograph - things like when and where the picture was taken or the names and ages of the people in the picture. So how do you keep track of such vital information for your digital pictures? Don’t worry, Microsoft has thought of everything!
1. Select Start > My Pictures to display the My Pictures window. Now double-click on one of the folders here to see your pictures.
2. Right-click on one of your pictures that is stored in TIF or JPG format (preferably one that was taken with a digital camera, if you have one). From the pop-up menu, choose Properties. Click on the Summary tab at the top of the window.
3. Write any information you want about the picture, who or what is in it, and even the photographer. All the information you enter here will be stored along with the picture. You can use the Properties window to view it any time you like.
4. When you’re done, click Apply.
5. Click the Advanced button. The information in this tab changes.
6. Click OK on the picture Properties window. Now allow your mouse to hover over the picture for which you just typed in information. In a couple of seconds, a yellow box appears with the title and comments you entered, along with other information.
7. Another way to make some of the summary information easy to see is to use the Details view. Click the Views button in the toolbar of the window. A list of views appears. Choose Details.
8. One useful column displayed here is Date Picture Taken. Click on the column header to sort by this column.
9. Other summary information can be displayed here. Right-click on any of the column headers. A pop-up menu appears with a long list of available information you can add as a column in this Detail view. Select Author. The new column appears (you may have to scroll your window to the right to see it). By clicking on this column header, you can now sort by photographer.
Windows XP includes a picture viewer that responds whenever you doubleclick a picture file in any common format. It also has a few bells and whistles that we’ll demonstrate in this article.
1. Select Start > My Pictures to open the My Pictures window. Now double-click on one of the folders here to see your pictures.
2. Double-click on any picture file. The Windows Picture and Fax Viewer appears, displaying your picture.
3. Click the Next Image button to see the next image in the folder. Click the Previous Image button to go back.
4. Click the Actual Size button. Normally, when the Picture Viewer opens a large picture, it shrinks it down so that it fits comfortably within the window. (This doesn’t actually change the size of the image stored in the file, just how it appears in the window.) The Actual Size button puts the picture back to its original size and allows you to use the scroll bars along the right and bottom of the window to move around and see different parts.
5. Click the Best Fit button. The picture is reduced so that it fits comfortably in the window again.
6. Click the Zoom In button. Now click on a specific part of the picture several times. Each time you click on the picture, you zoom in closer to the spot where you click. Click the Zoom Out button repeatedly to zoom out.
7. Sometimes when you take a picture of something tall and narrow, you may turn the camera so that the object fits better in the frame. When you do this, the picture will appear sideways when you view it on your computer. That’s what the Rotate Clockwise and Rotate Counterclockwise buttons are for. They allow you to rotate the picture until it’s right-side-up.
8. The Slide Show button uses the full screen to display your images one after the other. This is a great way to view your pictures at full resolution. Use the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard to move forward and backward among the pictures.
9. Use the rest of the buttons on this window as needed:
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Note: This article was sent to us by: Harry Grodling at 02132010
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