Picasa is a photo organizational tool, with basic editing features. Picasa does not physically store your images. They are all located on your hard drive. Picasa just scans your hard drive, looking for any images, and then creates a thumbnail reference to them. This means that if you delete a photo in Picasa, you are deleting it from your hard drive.

Wait, let me type that again:

If you delete a photo in Picasa, you are deleting it from your hard drive!

Essential Picasa/Picasa2 linkage:

Picasa Support Home: http://picasa.google.com/support/

Picasa Google Group -- users helping users: http://groups.google.com/group/Picasa

Picasa Getting Started Guide: http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=53205

Picasa Help > General Contact Us: http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/request.py?

Picasa Help > Suggestion Box: http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/request.py?contact_type=picasa_suggestions

Picasa Help > Bug Report: http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/request.py?contact_type=bugs_picasa

Info on the latest updates to Picasa can be found here: http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=53209

FREQUENTLY REFERRED TO PICASA2

GROUP POSTS AND/OR FAQ ANSWERS:

Does Picasa store my photos?

http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=11509&topic=1142

How do I save and unsave my edited photos?

http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=11021

See also the "All About Saving" thread here:

http://groups.google.com/group/PicasaGuide/browse_thread/

thread/f85c72eef49753fa

"Picasa Won't Find My Pictures" Checklist:

http://groups.google.com/group/PicasaGuide/browse_thread/

thread/ff5bf59eb9640ecb

with additional tips here:

http://groups.google.com/group/PicasaGuide/browse_thread/

thread/2d0b39ae1f2e0f43

"Everything disappears from library after scanning my computer for photos!"

You may have a hidden folder in the path to your images. See this thread:

http://groups.google.com/group/PicasaSomethingBroken/

browse_thread/thread/394bb9d95b1aec1a

or this one:

http://groups.google.com/group/PicasaSomethingBroken/

browse_thread/thread/945f3ac2a54ba901

or, if you have Vista, see this one:

http://groups.google.com/group/PicasaSomethingBroken/

browse_thread/thread/94686339d92c7891

When I double-click a thumbnail, the wrong photo opens! If this happens...

You may need to rebuild your database. See the FAQ answer from Picasa's Help Center:

http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=11502&topic=1044

Or this helpful thread from the forum:

http://groups.google.com/group/PicasaSomethingBroken/

browse_thread/thread/58750246f1778b59

"Safe Delete" isn't safe! (Or "My camera battery died while importing!")

Help! I lost all my pictures of [insert important event here]!

http://groups.google.com/group/PicasaGuide/browse_thread/

thread/3d17ca68fc039b99

http://groups.google.com/group/PicasaGuide/browse_thread/

thread/d7fbf5f41370cbbc

"The Picasa2.exe is linked to a missing export Kernel32.dll GetfileSizeEx" error --

Version 2.5 or above is not supported on Windows 98 or ME. Please see this FAQ answer to find out how to get an older version that will run on your system:

http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=26902

"This application has failed to start because [insertnamehere].dll was not found" error:

Search your hard drive for the [insertnamehere].dll -- if you find it, copy it to C:\windows\system32 and try again. See this thread:

http://groups.google.com/group/PicasaSomethingBroken/

browse_thread/thread/5a1f8ee26895eb4e

Where'd the Exclude button go???

Please see this thread for why the Exclude button went away:

http://groups.google.com/group/PicasaSomethingBroken/

browse_thread/thread/a692efd5a12a51c7

OMG, too much mail! How do I unsubscribe, waaaaaaaah???

http://groups.google.com/group/PicasaSomethingBroken/

browse_thread/thread/c5d876a496fe1469

Don explains the difference between FOLDERS and ALBUMS in Picasa:

http://groups.google.com/group/PicasaGuide/browse_thread/

thread/7ba1b0e141749991

How to hide a folder:

http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=19606&topic=1142

How to unhide a folder:

http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=15698&topic=1142

How do I clear my passwords in Picasa?

http://groups.google.com/group/PicasaGuide/browse_thread/

thread/702104cc39cb6274

Why aren't the photos on my CD/DVD in the same order as I put them in Picasa?!:

http://groups.google.com/group/PicasaGuide/browse_thread/

thread/d51ae64c475c2c2a

UI Bug: deleting image selects wrong next image in group:

http://groups.google.com/group/PicasaWebAlbums/browse_thread/

thread/c5616c131892587c

What do those different emailing options in Picasa do?

http://groups.google.com/group/PicasaCommunity/browse_thread/

thread/fd5985f3ad956223/a6b90352580fb714

Can't email photos in Picasa using default email client?

http://groups.google.com/group/PicasaSomethingBroken/browse_thread/

thread/49ca613527a0f4e9/82e1883c4825322f

Can't send email? See the list of known issues here:

http://groups.google.com/group/PicasaGuide/browse_thread/

thread/daaa520a3245db0a/3b4e6415143a8022

Changing your default email setting?

http://groups.google.com/group/PicasaGuide/browse_thread/

thread/d1a4ad65c9883444/89697cae702af7da

Why do I have duplicate copies of my photos?

http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer

=15323&topic=1142

If your photos are already on your hard drive, you should not be using the import feature to bring them into Picasa. The import feature will create duplicate copies of these photos so you end up with double the amount of disk space being used up. If your photos are already on your hard drive, you should use the Picasa Folder Manager to tell Picasa to scan the folders the photos are located in.

Picasa does not physically store your photo files -- they are all located on your hard drive. During installation, Picasa scanned your computer to find compatible photo file types, and then created a thumbnail reference to them. You can determine which locations on your computer Picasa monitors for photo files by using the Picasa Folder Manager. (Click on TOOLS / FOLDER MANAGER.) You can change the status of folders being accessed by Picasa. There are three states you can set for folder locations:

1. "Scan Always": Picasa will access all compatible image types and will access all newly added photos. Picasa actively scans this folder for changes.

2. "Scan Once": Picasa will access all compatible image types once. It will not detect new photos added to this folder.

3. "Remove from Picasa": Picasa will not look in locations set to "Remove from Picasa" for photos.

Why can't I see my original image after applying edits?

If you had previously made some edits to the image, and then clicked the "Save Changes" button, then you will see the edited version in the Windows folder. The unedited original will be tucked away in a hidden sub-folder called "Originals." To see it, you'll need to set your windows folders to display hidden files/folders.

To set your computer to show "hidden" files and folders in Windows Explorer:

1. On the Tools menu in Windows Explorer, click Folder Options.

2. Click the View tab.

3. Under Hidden files and folders, click Show hidden files and folders.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/

learnmore/tips/hiddenfiles.mspx

How do I change my default photo viewer?

As with many things, there are several ways to perform the same task. Here are three options you can use to change your default photo viewer:

1) From your Windows explorer window (or open up your "My Computer," if you need to), click on Tools / Folder Options / File Types. Find JPG in the list and click once on it so it's selected. Click the "Change..." button. Then select whichever viewing program you prefer.

2) From your windows explorer, right click on an image, select Properties, and click the "Change..." button. Then select whichever viewing program you prefer.

3) From your windows explorer, right click on an image, select "Open With," select "Choose Program" - then look through the list and select which one you prefer. Make sure to check the "Always use the selected program to open this kind of file" box, and then click OK.

Rhubarb is NOT part of the Picasa/Google development team. Rhubarb is simply a Picasa user.

Rhubarb wishes Rhubarb was currently using:

Picasa 2.7 (Build 37.49, 0)

Hello 1.0 (Build 659)