Goodbye Windows Live Photo Gallery!! - Hello Picasa?? - Advice needed..

I'm thinking very seriously of giving Windows Live Photo Gallery [WLPG] it's marching orders, and in it's place, replacing it by downloading Google's Picasa.

This is primarily because of an ongoing problem that I have been experiencing for some months now in loading .jpeg etc. Files from the Documents and Pictures Files Folders to WLPG, the default program I have for these files. There are no such problems with the standard Windows Photo Gallery [WPG], but this is very limited in it's editing capabilities, and I would prefer not to use WPG as the default viewing and editing program.

To me, it appears as if there is a corrupted link between the Document and Pictures .jpeg Files and WLPG, because if I attempt to open and view a .jpeg file, the loading to WLPG takes some minutes to complete, and the end result is a corrupted view, as in this example;



This farce happens every time, for each .jpeg File selected.

I am now considering uninstalling WLPG, and replacing it with Picasa, but before I do, I would appreciate any feedback on Picasa, and it's functions and compatibility with Windows and Vista. Pros and Cons on my planned changes will be welcomed.

As an example, are there any issues in having Picasa as the default program for .jpeg Files, and especially where emailing images via Live Hotmail are concerned??

Any advice and comment on Picasa welcomed, and as a footnote, I have plenty of HDD space available for Picasa.

Hi sassofalco,

If you've got MS Office 2007, you've already got a GREAT photo editing app right on your system - MS Picture Manager. (It's not the default, so most folks don't even realize it's there.) If you've got it, try it before you download a new app. It offers a lot of editing features and is extremely user friendly. You can find it in MS Office Accessories. (Its predecessor was the much loved MS Photo Editor on previous editions of MS Office, located in MS Office Tools.)

For photo editing, and if you're on a budget, please consider gimp (or paint.netfor other users wanting 64-bit app). Gimp is a very powerful program that rivals commercial products - I sound like an advertisement.

GIMP - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com

Imperfect1 said:

Hi sassofalco,
If you've got MS Office 2007 - MS Picture Manager.

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lemur said:

For photo editing, and if you're on a budget, please consider gimp (or paint.netfor other users wanting 64-bit app).

Click to expand...

Thanks both for your input which was most appreciated.

Yes Imperfect1, I already have MS Picture Manager, and altho' a handy bit of software, it doesn't have all of the editing capabilities that I need.

I have recently been doing a lot of scanning of 100-150 year old documents and photos, and need software that is capable of cleaning and restoring the docs etc. to a condition near enough to original.

And lemur, altho' I have 32-bit system, I have also found Paint.NET to be a useful editing program for some special effects.

The Epson Scanner that I have, altho' small, has surprised me with it's capabilities. It has managed to do some very good restorative work with some 70 year old B+W negatives, and also from more recent colour negatives where only the greens and yellows were visible.

In the end though, I have uninstalled Windows Live Photo Gallery, and replaced it with Picasa. So far I am quite impressed with Picasa and it's interaction with my system setup. It merged perfectly in with all email accounts, and has an easy to follow set-up that is simple to use.

I have been having a bit of a play with it, and obviously am still learning. The only drawback that I have found so far, is in the area of resizing and saving to produce smaller images. I've not found anything yet that is the equal of WLPG, but that doesn't mean to say that it isn't there.

So far, I'm happy to work with software that doesn't give me grief, each time I want to use it. So for now anyway, Picasa is it.:D

sassofalco said:

The only drawback that I have found so far, is in the area of resizing and saving to produce smaller images. I've not found anything yet that is the equal of WLPG, but that doesn't mean to say that it isn't there.

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What you could do sassofalco, just to resize your photos to produce your smaller images, is after you have finished editing them with Picasa, open the photos with MS Picture Manager and resize them.