How do I back up my photos?
You can easily back up your digital photos on a CD or DVD
with Windows XP. Just follow these step-by-step directions, and in no time
you'll have your pictures securely backed up for years to come. Be sure to store
your disc in a safe place, like a fireproof safe or safety deposit box.
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Click Start, and then click My Pictures.
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To select multiple folders containing pictures, hold
down the CTRL key while making your selections.
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If all the pictures are in one folder, you can select
the entire contents of the folder. Double-click the folder containing the
pictures, and, on the Edit menu, click Select All.
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To check the size of your selection, on the File menu,
click Properties.
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In the Properties dialog box, click the General tab,
and then look at the Size field. If the size shown is smaller than the
capacity of your CD (usually 640 to 720 MB), the pictures will fit on the
CD. If the size is larger than this, you have to select fewer pictures to
save to the CD.
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Click OK.
Once you've checked the file size of your pictures, you're
ready to preserve them on a CD.
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Under Picture Tasks, click Copy to CD.
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When Microsoft Windows XP is ready to copy or write the
files to the CD, a message balloon appears. Click the message balloon. You
will see a window showing the folders that you have selected to write to the
CD.
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Click Write these files to CD in the CD Writing Tasks
area. The Windows XP CD Writing Wizard starts.
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Type a name for your CD in the CD name box, and click
Next.
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If you have already inserted a blank CD into the CD
drive, your files will start copying. If you have not inserted a blank CD
into the drive, you will be prompted to do so.
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If the CD Writing Wizard asks "Do you want to create a
HighMAT-compatible CD?", leave the check box unselected, and click Next.
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Wait while Windows XP writes your files to the CD.
When you have successfully written your files to the CD, the CD is ejected
from the drive.
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Click Finish.
To verify that the pictures were copied successfully to the
CD or to look at the pictures you preserved on a CD at a later time:
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Insert the CD into the CD drive, and close the drive.
When prompted, click Open folder to view files using Windows Explorer, and
then click OK.
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Double-click the folder with the pictures, and then
double-click the pictures you want to view.
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When you are finished, close the window.
Before you put the CD away in a case, you can create a CD
label using one of the photos archived on the disk that will easily remind you
of its contents. If you don't want to do that, simply use a felt-tipped pen to
write a title on the CD, describing its contents.
Tip: If you really want to preserve these memories, make
sure you store them somewhere secure, such as in your family's lockbox or a
fireproof safe. (Many people do this with their film negatives, so why shouldn't
you do it with your CDs?) The peace of mind you'll have knowing your
photographic history is carefully preserved is more than worth the minimal
effort.
Turn your Pictures into a Screen Saver
Use this cute
little trick if you have Windows XP or XP/Home:
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Open your
PowerPoint presentation
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Choose
File, Save As
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In the
"Save as type:" dropdown list box, choose GIF, JPEG or PNG
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Browse to
your My Pictures folder (it's inside My Documents)
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Type in a
file name and click Save
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When
PowerPoint asks if you want to export every slide in the presentation, click
Yes. When the export completes, you'll have one image file for each slide in
your presentation in your My Pictures folder
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Minimize
or quit PowerPoint
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Right-click the Windows desktop and choose Properties
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Click the
Screen Saver tab
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In the
dropdown list box under "Screen Saver" choose "My Pictures Slideshow"
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Click
Settings if you want to fine-tune the results.
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Voila.
Instant (and free) screensaver from your presentation, albeit one that lacks
animation, transition and sounds.
Digital Photography - Use a flash outdoors for better results
Here are a few reasons why using a flash outdoors is so useful:
- A flash can fill in shadows on a subject's face.
- When you photograph people against a sunset or sunrise, they often come out as silhouettes against the bright sun. A flash can light up the subject so you can recognize who is in the picture.
- A flash can bring out the true colour of a subject. For example, if you photograph a girl with blond hair under a tree on a sunny day, the light filtering through the tree's leaves might give her hair a green tint. A flash can alleviate that problem.
A flash can make pictures taken on overcast days look sharper because it delivers harsh lighting.
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