Installation

Installation Overview

PicasaStarter Requirements:

• Picasa 3.9 or higher installed on all PCs that will use PicasaStarter. This means that if PicasaStarter and it's databases are on a Network or Portable drive, all PCs that use PicasaStarter will need to have their own copy of Picasa installed.

• The .NET (Dot Net) framework version 2.0 or later installed on all PCs that use PicasaStarter. (.Net 3.5 for windows 10 and later)

• PicasaStarter itself is very small and requires very little disk space, but each database requires disk space according to the number and size of the Pictures and the data stored about them. As an example, a fairly large picture set of about 90 GB requires about 2 GB for the associated database, and the database could become much larger depending on many (unknown) factors.

• Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista, Windows 7and Windows 10 both 32 bit and 64 bit versions.

PicasaStarter does not have an installation program. The PicasaStarter.exe file and associated DLL files should be unzipped from the zip file and copied to a folder on one of the PC drives. Normal practice seems to be to create a folder called "PicasaStarter" or "PS" and copy the PicasaStarter.exe and DLLs to that folder. This folder can be anywhere on your system, but best placement depends on your usage scenerio:

• The PicasaStarter folder can be put in the Program Files folder (or Program Files (X86) folder in 64 bit systems). If you are not networked and only want to have multiple databases on your own PC this is the preferred location. you can also put the the PicasaStarter folder in My Documents or any other location or drive you have read/write access to.

• You can have multiple copies of PicasaStarter on a PC especially if there are both local and network installations. Each copy can have it's own settings or can share settings with other copies of PicasaStarter.

• If you are going to put your Pictures and Database on a Portable Drive, the PicasaStarter folder should also be on that drive.

• If everything will be on a network shared drive or NAS, the PicasaStarter folder should be on that drive.

• If you wish to use the Virtual Drive feature, see the instructions for required folder arrangement.

NOTES:

After installation you can use the Create Shortcut button in PicasaStarter Database Edit screen to make shortcuts which will start Picasa directly with the selected database. This will allow you to start Picasa with the database selected directly without needing to go to the main screen.

On networked or shared installations you probably still want a local copy of PicasaStarter, both to have your own local databases, and if running on a network to avoid being nagged about running programs from the network. The local copy of PicasaStarter can be configured to use the network copy of the settings file so it has access all the databases etc. while the network copy is available to any user that does not yot have a local copy

Installation Instructions

PicasaStarter can be installed anywhere on your computer as long as programs can be run from that location. The preferred installation location depends on the user's requirements.

Typical Requirements:

• • User is not networked but wishes to have multiple databases and thus handle multiple sets of pictures.

  • User wants to have his pictures and database on a different drive than C:.

  • The Picasa database and pictures are on a portable drive that can be connected to any PC to show and edit the pictures.

  • The Picasa database and pictures are on a shared or network drive shared between multiple users and PCs.

It is suggested that the user sit down and draw out a plan detailing at least the basics of the plan for picture management and display in Picasa. The plan doesn't have to be detailed, but even a few notes and ideas will reduce the hassle. You should have at least a basic plan encompassing the following points:

• • Who should have access to the pictures.

  • What drive(s) will the pictures be located on.

  • What database/picture sets do you want to have.

  • Where the pictures are presently located, and if they are presently in Picasa.

  • Do you want to preserve the present Picasa database (facetags, captions, albums, etc.)?

  • Do you have a current backup of your pictures?

If you have special needs, Please look at the FAQ on this site for help, or ask on the Forum.

Basic Single User Installation

- User wants Backup of Picasa database and/or

- User wants to have multiple sets of pictures / databases and/or

- User wants the database on an alternate drive other than C:

• 1. Before installing PicasaStarter, be sure Picasa is updated to the latest version of Picasa 3.9.

  2. Create a folder called PicasaStarter. The suggested location is the Program Files directory (Program Files (X86) in 64 bit versions of windows). It can also be created in My Documents, the C:\ drive, any other drive you have R/W access to, or any folder you have R/W access to. If multiple users on this PC will be using PicasaStarter, it should be installed in a public location.

  3. Copy PicasaStarter.exe and it's DLL file(s) from the zip file to the folder you created.

  4. Double-click the .exe file to start PicasaStarter.

  5. A First Run screen will come up unless PicasaStarter settings are already assigned. Select OK on the first run screen to keep the default settings.

  6. At this point you should select "Personal Database of..." on the PicasaStarter main screen and click Run Picasa. Your normal Picasa window should appear and should run normally. If it does not, please troubleshoot the installation. Picasa should run identically to the way it runs when started without using PicasaStarter.

  7. It is strongly suggested at this point that you make a backup copy of your original database. Follow the procedure below. This will help protect you from the possibility of making a mistake and losing your whole existing database with it's facetags, captions, and albums. This backup copy should be run once to ensure it is good, then it should never be accessed again except as a last resort to recover from disaster, and in that case it still should only be copied, not run directly.

Make Copy of Original Database:

Use the procedure below to make copies of your original personal database. At least one copy should be made as a backup in case of error. Mutiple copies can be made, and later modified to include only some picture folders if you wish to customize databases for specific uses, but at least do the backup copy first before trying anything else.

PicasaStarter - Database Configuration Dialog

1. At the main screen click the Add button to create and configure a new database.

2. For the first copy, name the new database "Personal Database Backup" or similar and describe it as a backup of your Personal Picasa Database.

3. Define a Database Path. The Database Path will contain the Picasa database files for the database you have just named. Use the Database Path Browse button to browse to My Documents or some other location or drive with enough free space for a copy of your Picasa Database, and Make a New Folder.

4. - Because of possible conflicts the database should not be in a folder that contains Pictures or Picture Folders.

5. - The database folder should also not be in the PicasaStarter program folder.

6. This folder can have the same name you used above or you can call it "Picasa DB Backup" or something like that. Select the new folder and click OK. This creates a new empty database location.

7. Click on the "Copy an Existing Database" button to bring up the following dialog:

1. Select the personal database that is always present in PicasaStarter, (or any of the other databases already defined if you wish to copy a different database) and click the button Explore at the right-hand side of the Selected Source box. A windows explorer window will open at the place the database is located. Select the folders "Picasa2" and Picasa2Albums" located there and do "right-click"-"Copy". Then Close the explorer window.

2. Your new database should be listed in the Destination box. Click Explore for this database as well. Another windows Explorer window will open showing the new database Google folder. This folder should be empty if it is a new database. Do "right-click"-"Paste" in this directory to put a copy of the original database Picasa2 and Picasa2Albums folders in the destination directory. Click the Done button to get back to the database configuration dialog.

3. Back in the Database Configuration dialog the Backup and Virtual Drive settings can be left blank for now, so Click OK to return to the PicasaStarter main screen.

4. Click Run Picasa and Picasa should start using the new database. If there is a problem click the Edit button to go back to the Configuration dialog and make sure the settings are correct and the database folders have been copied correctly to the destination folder. If the database isn't correct you can erase the Picasa2 and Picasa2Album folders from the Destination and copy them again. You should now be able to run Picasa with this new database.

NOTE:

At this point you have created a new copy of your original Picasa database. Before doing anything else the user should make this copy of the original database so it can be restored if there is a problem. Don't use this database, just have it around in case of trouble, and make other copies to use. The backup Database can even be removed from the database list to ensure it will not be used. This only removes the listing, not the backup database itself.

Each copy of the database will be in it's own unique Base Directory. It is strongly suggested that the user have a complete backup of all pictures and the original database in case of problems when creating multiple databases.

Create Multiple Databases:

The procedure below details the steps to produce multiple copies of any database, but it is best to do some preplanning to avoid more work later.

Before making multiple databases, especially if you want to retain your captions, facetags, and albums, the pictures should be in their final locations. If the pictures are in My Pictures, or spread out in numerous locations like My Documents, Desktop, etc. they can only be accessed by that user. If they are going to be accessed by multiple or networked users they will need to be moved to a shared location. See the topic Moving Pictures Without Rebuilding the Database, to prepare for shared use, otherwise single users can create and modify multiple databases that point to their own pictures, or subsets of those pictures.

The following procedure copies existing databases, or creates new databases: