Editing Photos from your Digital Camera

Like many of us, you probably own a digital camera and have been wondering how to download the pictures to your computer, and use them for things like email, newsletters, or even posting on the web. Some of you daring souls would even like to edit them! This edition will show you how to download your photos, and do some basic editing to them (reduce file size, rotate images, remove red eye, crop an area of the photos, and adjust brightness, contrast, and colors). S let's get started~!

DOWNLOADING PHOTOS TO YOUR COMPUTER

All cameras should come with a cable that has a USB port end and an end that goes into one of the ports on your camera.

• Connect the cable to the camera, and then put the USB port into a port on your computer/laptop.
• Turn on your camera. Normally, you should hear your computer make a sound "da-dup", which signifies the computer is acknowledging something is hooked to the computer, and its looking for the software to use the device (camera).

- Watch the Task Bar at the bottom of your monitor (lower left).... you'll likely
see a little popup appear describing what is happening. Once everything is set up
it should say "(the device) is connected"

• Another window will pop up which is the "AutoPlay" menu (see image). This is where you select the method to download the photos.

• Select the item called "Import Photos using Windows"
• The computer will then begin importing the photos (a window will pop up when it is doing this), and it will ask you to "enter a tag". This is optional, but is a nice feature, which allows you to find different photos later if you don't remember where you put them on your computer.
  
• Click on the "Import" button, and your photos will be loaded to your computer
• Next, a new window will open. This is the "Windows Photo Gallery". It will show all the photos you just downloaded, as well as all the other photos you may have downloaded before. Here is a sample image of this window

EDITING PHOTOS
Ever had photos you took come out too dark, too light, people with "red eyes", or with items in them you don't want in the photo? Well, now you can edit your photos to fix them. In this issue, you'll see how to do the following:

• Reduce Photo File Size
  
• Rotate Image
• Remove Red Eye
• Crop
• Adjust Exposure
• Adjust Color

Reducing Photo File Size - As digital cameras get higher quality capabilities, the photos file sizes continue to increase. A digital camera with a 8-10megapixels will produce a photo file of 3-4MB. This can result in problems emailing, as some email services have a limitation on how big an attachment can be in an email. To avoid this, you can reduce the photos file size by reducing the photo quality. Don't worry, it won't affect the photo like you think... It will still look great unless you want to create an 8x10 or larger photo copy. For viewing on the web, or your computer, reducing the photo quality is rarely noticeable.

So how do you do it?
Using Windows Photo Gallery:

• Click on "EMAIL" at the top
• In the window that opens, slect one of the size options (Smaller, small, medium, large, & original). You will see the file size listed next to it.
  
• Once you select the size, the computer will open the email system (and a new email message) you have specified in your "Internet Options" (Control Panel in Windows)
• Then send the email as you normally would do.

Using Microsoft Office Picture Manager (part of MS Office Software):

• Open the image you want to resize using MICROSOFT OFFICE PICTURE MANAGER
• Click on the "FILE" command at the top of the window, and select "EXPORT".

• In the window that opens on the right (see image), under the area that is listed as "export with this file format", click on "jpeg options".

• Click on the "Select a custom compression setting", and enter a "compression amount" in the box. I use 30, which is 70% compression. You can use any value, but the smaller the number, the smaller the file size.
  
• Click on "return to export" at the bottom of the box on the right.
• I normally add an "R" at the end of the file name that is listed in the "Export with this file name" box so you can keep the original, and save this as a separate photo file
• Click on the "OK" button to finish the compression.

You now have a file of the selected image which is 30% the size of the original.

Rotating Image - This usually is necessary when you turn your camera to a vertical position when taking a picture. While this won't matter if you just send your photos in to photo shop to make prints, if you want to use it online, in a newsletter, etc, you'll need to rotate it to make it appear correct. We'll use the following photo as an example:

Using the image above as an example, click on either one of the "circle" arrows to rotate the photo. In this case we want to rotate the photo "counter-clockwise" so we click on the LEFT "circle arrow". The photos will now be upright. Hit "save" to keep photo this way.

Remove Red Eye - Red Eye results from the light of the flash is reflecting from the retina, which is covered with tiny blood vessels. The more open the pupils are, the more red eye effect you get in your photos. Red eye is more pronounced in people with light eye color. It is also more pronounced in people with blond or light-red hair and in children.

So how do you fix it? Using this example:

• Using the Windows Photo Gallery, click on the word "FIX" at the top of the window, and then click on "FIX RED EYE" option on the right.
  
• Following the description that pops up, position your mouse near the eye, hold down the Left mouse button and drag across the eye, creating a rectangle that surrounds the eye. When you release the mouse button, the red eye will disappear.
• If some red eye remains, repeat the process.

Crop Image - Cropping images is convenient when you have photos that have areas on the image which you don't want in the picture. The example below shows the concept of cropping. The tool will allow you to draw a box around the area of the image you want to keep (light colored rectangle in photo below), and once you hit the "crop" button the area of the photo outside the rectangle goes away.


To crop a photo do the following:

• Using the Windows Photo Gallery, click on the word "FIX" at the top of the window, and then click on "CROP PICTURE" option on the right.
• Note that a rectangle appears around in the middle of the photo. This is the "CUSTOM" mode under the "PROPORTION" option on the right side of the window. This will allow you to change the rectangle position or size to your desired height and width.
  

- To adjust the rectangle size, position your cursor on one of the white squares at the
mid-point of the lines or in the corners, and holding your LH mouse button down,
drag the line/corner to where you want it. When you have the position you want
click on the "APPLY" button.
- To move the rectangle, position your mouse inside the rectangle, and while holding
down the LH mouse button, drag the rectangle to where you want it.

• You can select a standard photos sizes by clicking on the word "CUSTOM", and selecting the photo size you want. When you do this, the rectangle shape will change to that photo size. Move the rectangle around to position it as you want the photo to appear.
  
• When you have the position you want click on the "APPLY" button.

Adjusting Exposure -This is great for increasing/decreasing contrast or brightness of the image. You can try different levels to see what helps make the photo look better.

To adjust the exposure on a photo do the following:

• Using the Windows Photo Gallery, click on the word "FIX" at the top of the window, and then click on "ADJUST EXPOSURE" option on the right.
• You will see two slider bars (BRIGHTNESS & CONTRAST) on the right.
• Position your cursor over one or the other. Holding down the LH mouse button, drag the marker to the left or right until you find the CONTRAST or BRIGHTNESS you want.
  
• Once you are done, click on the "x" in the upper RH corner of the window (just above where you adjusted the exposure)

Adjusting Color -This allows you to adjust the "COLOR TEMPERATURE, TINT, and/or COLOR SATURATION of the image. You can try different levels to see what helps make the photo look better.

To adjust the color on a photo do the following:

• Using the Windows Photo Gallery, click on the word "FIX" at the top of the window, and then click on "ADJUST COLOR" option on the right.
• You will see three slider bars (COLOR TEMPERATURE, TINT, and/or COLOR SATURATION) on the right.
• Position your cursor over one or the other. Holding down the LH mouse button, drag the marker to the left or right until you find the COLOR TEMPERATURE, TINT, and/or COLOR SATURATION you want.
  
• Once you are done, click on the "x" in the upper RH corner of the window (just above where you adjusted the exposure)

There you go... some basic tips on downloading and editing your digital camera photos.... I should note that even if you are still using film cameras, you can still edit photos on your computer if you take your film to the developer and ask them to put the images on a CD. Then, all you do is load your CD into your computer, and copy the images from the cd to your computer hard drive. Then you can use all the techniques listed above to edit these photos too!

Enjoy! - Rick

Backing up Data on Your Computer

How many of you reading this have had some sort of computer failure where you lost "important" information on your computer? Well, if you haven't yet, your time is coming..... Hard drives will fail eventually, and unless you establish a method for backing up your data in a separate storage device, you will likely experience this gut wrenching event at one point of your computing experience.

This blog will give you 3 techniques for backing up your data to help reduce the pain of a computer hardware crash. There are several ways to back up your important data, but these 3 are fairly simple to do.

Easiest Backup Technique
This technique requires you to have a "thumb drive", or "memory stick". You've probably seen these in ads, or others carrying them in their pocket. Essentially these are small "hard drives" (actually they use "flash" memory, and are sometimes called "flash drives") that you can plug into one of your USB ports on your computer. Then, when you click on "My Computer" in your Start Menu, you will see a line that says "removable drive" listed along with your C:, D:, and other computer drives. Thumb drives come in all sorts of capacities, from 256 megabytes (mb) to over 32 gigabytes (gb), and prices from $5 to $40. My recommendation is to buy one no smaller then 4gb. This should be plenty of storage for general computer users. If you have alot of music or photos that you want to back up, then the next backup option likely will be more appropriate. Here are photos of "thumb drives".










To Backup using a "Thumb Drive":

• Insert thumb drive in USB port on a computer
• Click on "Start", and then "My Computer" and verify the thumb drive shows on the list of drives under "My computer". If it doesn't, remove thumb drive, and reinstall - check again.
• To back up info, go to the info you want to backup (eg. folder(s), files(s), image(s), etc.) on your C: drive, hilight the items and select "Copy" (or hold the CONTROL button down and hit the "C" key)
• Now, navigate to the thumb drive listed under your "My Computer", and double click on it to open it. Now, hit "Paste" (or hold down the CONTROL button and hit the "V" key) to put a copy of the file(s)/folder(s) on your thumb drive. That's it!

Note: it might be good to set up a "Backup Folder" on the thumb drive prior to storing data on it. That way, you have a separate folder for backed up data on your thumb drive, and can use the thumb drive to put other info you want on the drive separately. To set up a "Backup Folder" on your thumb drive:

• Double click on the "thumb drive (listed as Removeable Drive)" listed under "My Computer" to open it.
• Click on your "right" mouse button, and in the window that opens select "New folder"
• A new folder will appear with the name highlighted - just type BACKUP FOLDER and hit enter

Now, when you paste info onto the thumb drive, make sure you double click on the BACKUP FOLDER to open it before you "Paste" (or hold down the CONTROL button and hit the "V" key) to put a copy of the file(s)/folder(s) in the BACKUP FOLDER

Back Up File using a "Portable Hard Drive"
The latest storage method to become popular is the "portable hard drive". These come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and can store from 30gb-1000gb (or 1 terabyte (tb)). This type is best for when you have large amounts of photos, video, music files that require alot of storage space. These are similar to "Thumb Drives", in that they work by plugging it into a USB port, and show as a "removeable drive" under your "My Computer" drives. These portable drives may also require you to plug in a power cord to operate. Here are a couple examples of portable hard drives.









Backing up to these devices is just the same as with the Thumb Drive:

• Insert USB port from the "portable hard drive" into the computer
• Click on "Start", and then "My Computer" and verify the portable hard drive shows on the list of drives under "My computer". If it doesn't, remove USB plug, and reinstall - check again.
• To back up info, go to the info you want to backup (eg. folder(s), files(s), image(s), etc.) on your C: drive, hilight the items and select "Copy" (or hold the CONTROL button down and hit the C key)
• Now, navigate to the portable hard drive listed under your "My Computer", and double click on it to open it. Now, hit "Paste" (or hold down the CONTROL button and hit the V key) to put a copy of the file(s)/folder(s) on your portable hard drive. That's it!

Using a Backup Program
Finally, the best solution to backing up your data is to use a program installed on your computer, that does this on a regular basis, and doesn't require you to do anything after you set it up. There are tons of programs out on the market, but I found a very good "freeware" backup program called Cobian Backup. This program allows you to select the files/folders you want to have backed up, let's you select how frequently (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.), and allows you to store the info on a different drive (thumb, external/portable hard drive, or 2nd internal hard drive). IMPORTANT - YOU NEED A DIFFERENT LOCATION THAN YOUR C: DRIVE! This program will allow you to back up data automatically (set a time when your computer will be on, and it runs at that time), or manually (you open the Cobian Backup program and select "run program").

To use this program, its is necessary that the 2nd drive (thumb drive, external/portable HD, or 2nd internal HD) connected to your computer. Many leave this drive attached to the computer all the time, and only disconnect when needing to take the drive to another computer. Then its like having another hard drive on your computer!

Rather than detail the steps to setup "Cobian Backup" in this blog, if you are interested in setting up this program on your computer, contact me and I'll walk you thru it.

There you go, some easy steps to help you protect that important information you store on your computer. Believe me, once you have a hard drive crash and lose your contact lists, favorite photos, iPod music, or important personal info, you'll be wishing you had done this!

- Rick

Create (and Share) your Calendar Online!

We are all busy with day to day appointments, meetings, and places to be. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to check on a friend or colleague's schedule before trying to hook up with them? Well, today there are several ways to create a calendar online, that you can share (if you want). The advantage of having an online calendar is that a) its available for those you want to see it, and b) you can update it from anywhere you can access the internet via a computer.
AOL, Yahoo, Microsoft, Hotmail, and most major email providers now have versions of online calendars that you can use, and they're free. Simply sign in to your email (or register for a new email account at the site), and you are ready to go!
The system I have found very convenient is provided by Google. I will show how to set up a Google Calendar since I use theirs, but the above mentioned sites all work in a similar fashion.
All set? Here goes...

The 1st thing to do is go to www.google.com/Calendar. Once there, you can click on the "Take a tour of Google Calendar", or get right at it, setting up your calendar. If you already have a GMail account, just long in with it to get started. If you do not, click on the "Create an Account" button.

Creating an Account:

• Enter your email address in the 1st boxFill in remaining information
• Hit enter.
• Check your email account, and look for a Verification email from GCalendar.
  
• Once you click on the verification link you are now a proud owner of a Google Calendar (or GCalendar as us "tekkies" refer to it!) :-)

Setting up an Appointment:

• Click on the calendar day you want to put the apointment on (calendar at left).
• The window will change to that day. Note, if you have a multi-day event, drag your mouse across the days you want in the calendar at the left, and those days will show in the window for you to select.
• Let's say you have a 3 day vacation planned for Labor Day, so Click on Aug. 30th, and drag across to Sept. 1st, and those 3 days appear
• Next, drag your mouse across the 3 boxes at the top (just onder the dates (Sat 8/30, Sun 8/31, and Mon 9/01)
• You'll see a little window pop up. Click on "edit event details". This will open a window where you can put in all the details of your 3 day event (Event Name, Whether it repeats, Location, Description (here you can list itinerary, contact numbers, etc.), Options (want a reminder sent to you? Want to be shown as "busy" during this time?)and sharing (Want this to be shared, or kept private?)
  
• Hit Save, and that's it!

So now you have your own personal calendar, where you can go to and check, add, delete appointments at any time you can access a the internet.

OK, so what about "sharing your calendar? As you saw, the options allow you to determine what can be shared, and what will remain private. Let's say you wanted your spouse, or say, your investment club to be able to see your calendar. Here's how you do that.

Sharing a Calendar:

On the LH side of your calendar, you'll see "My calendars". Your name should be there. Click on the "Settings" link just below it. Here you will now be able to determine who can see the calendar. Simply do the following to provide them access:

• Enter the person's email address
• Determine the level of access you want them to have (click on "down" arrow in the white box underneath PERMISSION SETTINGS)
• Click on "Add Person" button
  

Once you complete this, the person you added will get an email with instructions on how to view and add their own calendar.

Other "Tweaks"
There are some other cool things you can do. If your friends also have GCalendars, you can add them to yours so you can see their schedules right next to yours. Simply do the following:

• Click on the "Add" link underneather the "Other Calendars" box on the left
• Select the option you want (choose a person's email address), and hit "Add"
• This sends them a request to add their calendar to your calendar. If they are not a GCalendar user, it will ask them if they want to create one.
  
• If they do add theirs to your list, it will show up in your list of "My Calendars" on the Left. It will be a different color, and their events will now show in that color on your calendar.
  
• You have the option to turn their calendar "on" or "off" any time (use "settings" under "Other Calendars".
  

There you have it! Now you can be in the know on your schedule any time, any place, and share with anyone!

Create PDF Files for anything!

How many times have you sent an attachment in an email only to find the recipient doesn't have the program to open it? This is a common problem when you send a word processing file or spreadsheet to someone, and they don't have the MS Works, or Word Perfect, or in MS Word program it was made in.
Well, you can solve that problem by making a PDF file from the document you created, and send that. Virtually every computer has a PDF viewer installed (PDFs are used alot on the internet), and if not, there is a free download from Adobe which will allow oyu to look at any PDF file.
So how do you make a PDF file out of something you created? Let's get started.

1. Click on CutePDF (don't worry, its free) to download the software.
2. Click on "Free Download" on the LH side of the page.
   
3. Follow instructions to install program.
4. Once that is done, go back to CutePDF web page, & also download the "Free Converter".
5. Follow the instructions to install the program.
   
6. Once that is done, you can now create a PDF file of anything you want.
   

Let's give it a try....

1. Open up a word processing document, a spreadsheet, a photo... any thing you want to send to someone.
2. Once its open, you'll want to "Print" the document, so find your "Print" command (typically under the "File" option at the top of the application you are printing in), and select "Cute PDF Writer" as your printer. This is found where it shows your printer name - just click on the little arrow on the RH side of the printer name, and find "Cute PDF Write".
3. Once you have selected "Cute PDF Write" hit OK.
4. After a few seconds, a window will pop up asking you what you want to name the PDF file, and where you want to save it. After you do that hit OK (or ENTER) and that's it! You have made a PDF file!
5. To view this PDF file, go to the folder you saved it in, and find the file name, and double click on it to open it.

Try it out next time you want to send an attachment by email. You send this the same as any attachment - write your email, and then select "Add Attachment", and then go to the location you saved the PDF file, and select it. Hit "OK" and then "Send" in your email, and its on its way!

Internet Browsing Tip - Access Favorite Sites Quicker/Easier

If you are like me, you have some web sites you check daily, and even multiple times each day, you'd like a quick way to get to it without having to type in the web site address. Here's a way to do that!
Today's web browsers (Internet Explorer (IE) and Mozilla's Firefox) have a toolbar that you can have display up near the top of the browser window which you can put the sites you want to look at frequently. Here's how you set them up.

For Internet Explorer (IE) users:








To set up Browser with "Links" showing at the top:

• Go to "Tools" at the top of the IE Browser window and select "Toolbars"
• Select "Links"
• This will add a line at the top of your Browser window (it will say "Links" on the LH side)

To use "Links" to list your favorite sites:

• Open up the site you want to add in your Browser
• Go to the little icon to the left of the web site address listed in the address bar at the top of the Browser (move your mouse pointer over the icon)
• Hold down your LEFT mouse button, and "drag" the icon down to the "Links" line and release the LEFT mouse button (you will see a little "folder with an arrow" as you drag it
• You should now see the name of the web site showing in the "Links" line

Now, every time you open your browser, this link will appear in the "Links" line. To access that site, just "click" on that icon/web site name in "Links" line.
Do this with as many sites as you want.. they will line up across the top of the Browser in the "Links" line, and you can click on any one of them at any time to open them.

For Mozilla Firefox users:
To set up Browser with "Bookmarks" showing at the top:

• Go to "View" at the top of the Firefox Browser window and select "Toolbars"
• Select "Bookmarks"
• This will add a line at the top of your Browser window.
  

To use "Bookmarks" to list your favorite sites:

• Open up the site you want to add in your Browser
• Go to the little icon to the left of the web site address listed in the address bar at the top of the Browser (move your mouse pointer over the icon)
• Hold down your LEFT mouse button, and "drag" the icon down to the "Bookmarks" line & release the LEFT mouse button (you will see a little "folder" as you drag it
• You should now see the name of the web site showing in the "Links" line

Now, every time you open your browser, this link will appear in the "Links" line, and to access that site, just "click" on that icon/web site name in "Links" line
Do this with as many sites as you want.. they will line up across the top of the Browser in the "Links" line, and you can click on any one of them at any time to open them.

Special Tip: You can change the name of these links at the top of the browser ("Links" or "Bookmarks") so they are shorter (allows you to see more of your favorites). Do the following to rename:

• Move your mouse cursor over the name, and click on your RIGHT mouse button
• In the window that opens up, select "Rename" (for IE Browsers) or "Properties" (for Mozilla Firefox)
• In the window that opens, type in the name you want to show, and hit "OK"

Now you have your favorites showing all the time, and can go to them by simply clicking on the one you want to go to - no typing of web site address, no going to bookmarks section in your Browser!

A New Source for your Computing Help!

Welcome to the 1st edition of Rick's Computing Tips. I know there are literally hundred's of sites like this out there, but hopefully this one will provide you help to the everyday problems and questions you might have using your PC. I will be focusing on Windows XP & Vista sytems, Microsoft Office applications, basic home networks (wired and wireless), and the ever popular "peripherals"... aka printers, scanners, monitors, etc.

To make this blog useful, I want to make sure I provide tips on things you may struggle with, So if you have ideas on topics or specific problems you are having, send an E-mail to me (RicksComputingTips@gmail.com). So its now time for your 1st tip!

Speeding up your Computer Startup
I thought I'd start this new blog off with something almost everyone faces, especially after having a computer for quite awhile - slow booting of your computer. There are several things that can affect your start up time - type of Windows operating system, amount of RAM memory,age of computer, and my personal favorite - Startup Programs. All of you have something like this....
This is your Notification Area on your Windows display (lower RH corner). Each of those icons represent something that is active on your computer. Your clock, your sound, your anti-virus, etc. So when you install programs, that are set to open when you start your computer, typically, something will be added to this area.
Now some programs have a way of "adding themselves" to the startup without asking you if its ok. A couple infamous programs are Quicktime (video viewing app), and Adobe products (PDF as an example). Over time, all these take time to open, and also, they use up your RAM memory (memory that computer uses to run the programs you have open). And limited RAM makes everything slower.
So, its good occasionally to remove those that you don't need running all the time. Miscrosoft has a built in program you can run that allows you to select which ones you want and don't want. Its called MSConfig.exe. Its pretty straight forward to use. Here's how you start it up:

• Click on your "Start" icon, and select "Programs", then select "Accessories"
  
• Within "Accessories", look for "Run", and select it
• A box will open up where you will type MSConfig, and hit "OK"
• A window will open that looks like this -

• Click on the tab "Startup", and this window will appear -
  

Each one of the lines is something that is started when you booted (started) your computer. Most have descriptions of what they are for. To see the complete name, grab that little verticle line to the right of "Startup Item" (move your mouse over it), hold down your Left Mouse button, and drag it to the right.. you should now see more of the "Item" name. Note - If you are not sure what the line is, leave it checked.
Look thru the list. uncheck items you rarely use. Most programs do NOT need to start up when the computer does... its a "convenience thing". So by unchecking, you are NOT removing it from your computer. It just means that if you want to run that program, you will have to go to the programs listing, and select it to run it when you actually want it to run.
So now you can reduce the time the computer takes to start by unchecking items not needed. Quicktime, ITunes, Adobe listings, items listed as "Real...", and if you have AOL on your computer, anything with AOL, are all ones you can uncheck.

• Once you have finished unchecking, click the "Apply" button, and then the "OK" button
• Next time you start your computer, up a small window will appear stating your startup settings have changed. Click on the little box in the lower LH corner to stop that window from appearing on future startups.

Give it a try, and see if you notice any difference. For us "lazy" people, we just go buy more RAM memory, and install it on the computer. It still takes a bit longer to load all these, but with more RAM the computer can process more things at once, and make it happen faster!

- Enjoy Your Computing! - Rick