How Do You Upload Images Onto Google?

Users can upload images onto Google by using Picasa, Google’s image management program. While the program supports comprehensive file organization and photo editing features, it provides a basic utility for publishing images to the Internet. Picasa is available for Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems. The software can be installed for free, but users can purchase upgrades to premium accounts that provide more storage space and offer a wider range of functionality.

Things You'll Need

• Google Account
• Picasa

Instructions

Upload an Image Onto Google with Picasa

1. Create a Google account. Users who don’t already have a Google account, will need to obtain one by visiting www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount. Registration is free.

2. Download and install Picasa. Go to www.picasa.google.com/ and click on the “Download Picasa” button. Save the setup file to your preferred location on your computer and click “Save.” Run the setup file, accept the license agreement and initiate the program installation.

3. Launch Picasa. Open the program and it will automatically load all of the image and video files on your hard drive.

4. Upload your image. Select the image you want to upload to Google from the Picasa interface. Go to the “Tools” pulldown menu, select “Upload” and choose the option “Upload to Picasa Web Albums.” Enter your login username and password for your Google account. The image will appear in the “Upload to Picasa Web Albums” window. Input identifying metadata in the Album Title and Description Fields. Specify image compression in the “Size to Upload” pulldown menu. Select the “searchability” of the image from the “Visibility for this album” drop-down menu. Click the “Upload” button.

5. View online. When the image upload is complete, it will display as “Finished” in the “Upload Manager Window.” Click on the “View Online” button to access the image in the Picasa Web Album page.

6. Manage your uploaded image. On the Picasa Web Album page, users can choose to share their images over social media, order prints or change the rotation. Users can facilitate album management by applying tags to the image.

Tips & Warnings

• To access the image’s direct URL, users can click the “Download” button in the Picasa Web Album page. Also, users can right-click on the uploaded image, select “Properties” and copy the direct URL from the address field in the “Properties” window.

• When users select the “Visibility for this album” during the upload process, the image is “Unlisted” by default. Unlisted images can only be accessed by direct, unique URLs. Also, users can make their images appear in public searches by selecting the “Public” visibility option. But users also can increase their level of privacy by uploading images with the “Sign-In Required To View” preference. This selection enables users to specify exactly who has permission to view the images.

• Applying tags to public images will enhance its visibility in public search results.

References

• Picasa: Album Visibility

Resources

• Picasa - Official Site