Managing your pictures

You can organize and share pictures with others on your computer and on the Internet using the My Pictures folder. When you save pictures from your digital camera or scanner to your computer, Windows stores them in the My Pictures folder by default. This folder contains links to specialized picture tasks, such as printing a picture and ordering prints from the Internet, that help you manage your photos and image files.

Organize your pictures

Windows provides several ways to organize and view your pictures.

You can store all of your pictures in the My Pictures folder, or you can make photo album folders for storing a smaller number of related photos. This is useful if you want to keep pictures of special events or pictures that you need for a specific purpose separate from your other pictures.

You can view your photos and image files as a slide show or in the Filmstrip view. In Filmstrip view, your pictures appear in a single row of thumbnail images. You can scroll through your pictures using the left and right arrow buttons. If you click a picture, it is displayed as a larger image above the other pictures. You can double-click a picture to edit, print, or save the image to another folder.

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Share your pictures

The My Pictures folder makes sharing your pictures easy. You can use the tasks in My Pictures to send your pictures in e-mail or publish them in a secure, private location on the Web. You can also print your pictures directly from the My Pictures folder.

If you want to order prints of the pictures you have on your computer, click the Order prints online task in My Pictures. The Online Print Ordering Wizard will help you place your order with a company that will process your photographs.

The Shared Pictures folder provides a place where everyone who uses your computer can share pictures. If you want to move a picture to the Shared Pictures folder, click the picture and drag it to the Shared Pictures folder link in your folder.

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