Getting  Along With Your Computer Column Archive

Sending and Sharing Photos

By Cate Eales
Appeared June 19, 2008 on castanet.net

More tips on how to email your photos...or not.

What do you mean, my photos should be smaller?
A client recently asked, "When I try to email a picture, people complain that it's too big. What are they talking about and how do I fix that?" I get asked this a lot.

They might mean that when they open up their email the picture is too big to fit on the screen and they have to scroll. But what they probably mean is that you're sending the picture just the way it comes out of the camera, and the size of the file (different than the size of the picture) is enormous. If you send a bunch of large files to someone with a slow connection, it's going to take forever to download those pictures.

It's pretty easy to get around this problem.

In Windows XP:

Another way to do this in XP is to use the free Microsoft PowerToy called Image Resizer. As the name implies, you can use this program to resize one or multiple images. The PowerToy is available for download on this page. Once you install it, open the folder with the pictures you want to resize, select the ones you want, and right-click. Select the options you want and click OK.

Too bad that utility doesn't work in Vista. There is a video tutorial here that explains the process.

IrfanView is a great little photo program that works in XP and Vista. Besides all the other useful tasks it performs, it will resize your photos, and it will even do a batch of them. Grab IrfanView here.


That's all too complicated. What other options are there?
If you don't want to resize your photos or you don't want to email them but you would still like to make them available to people, that is easily done as long as you have a working internet connection. (And since we're talking about large files, a high-speed internet connection like cable or DSL is critical to your success with this.)

To display your photos online in an album, sign up for a free account at Picasa Web Albums or Flickr. You control who sees your photos by making the them public or private. You can email an invitation so you're never emailing huge photos, just the link to them. Your friends and family can view them online or download them at their convenience, without clogging up a slow email account. Do pay attention to which photos you make public. If you don't want your mother to worry constantly that you will fall off your new scooter, don't make the scooter album public. Make it private, and invite everyone but your mother.

If you just want to upload the pictures for your friends and family to download and you don't care about displaying them online, just use a service like YouSendIt, DivShare, or even Drop.IO. Upload them, and then send an email to people inviting them to grab the files. Again, no clogging up an email in box, and no worries about the size of the attachments.


One last tip
If you are reading this column because you're going to be travelling and you want to know how to send and share your photos, here's the thing: Don't wait until you are on the road, camping in Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, Alberta to try this out. Before you go, set up your online account, and practise uploading them or emailing them to yourself. See how that goes, and find the way that's easiest for you. Then when you're on the road, spend your time enjoying the trip and don't worry about the steps to share the experience.


Thank you everyone who wrote with questions, comments, and words of encouragement. Please email cate@rlis.com if you have anything to ask or tell about your computer. Don't forget, you can browse the column archives at any time. Point your browser here to go there.  If you'd like to subscribe to this column by email, please visit this link.  It's easy, and free. If you'd prefer the RSS Feed, click here.

Looks like the good weather is here. Enjoy!


Links
Image Resizer http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx
Resize photos in Vista http://www.helpmerick.com/resizing_photos_with_windows_vista_video_tip.htm
IrfanView http://www.irfanview.com/
Picasa Web Albums http://picasaweb.google.com/home
Picasa http://picasa.google.com/
Flickr http://www.flickr.com/
Scooter http://picasaweb.google.com/Cate.Eales/Scooter
YouSendIt http://yousendit.com
DivShare http://www.divshare.com/
Drop.IO http://drop.io/
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-Smashed-In_Buffalo_Jump
Getting Along With Your Computer Column Archives http://rlis.com/column.htm
Get Cate's column by email http://www.feedblitz.com/f/f.fbz?Sub=20618
RSS Feed: http://rlis.com/rlis.xml

---
Cate Eales has been helping people make online computing safe, accessible and fun for over 20 years. She lives in Kelowna with her husband, Eric, and her dog, Sandy. Cate is a partner in Real Life Internet Solutions, helping individuals and small businesses with virus, spyware and malware eradication; personal computer training and management; digital image management; music transfer; and website design, hosting and management. Email Cate at cate@rlis.com with your comments, suggestions, or questions. To browse the column archives, visit the Real Life Internet Solutions website at www.rlis.com.

© Cate Eales 2008 – All Rights Reserved
-30-