Windows 7 / Getting Started

Managing the Pictures Library

The Pictures library is where Windows 7 consolidates all your digital photo files. These files may be physically stored in the My Pictures or Public Pictures folders, or in any subfolders within these folders.

The Pictures library looks pretty much like any other Windows Explorer folder. The big difference is that individual photo files are displayed as thumbnails of the photos themselves. For this reason, it's better to display the Pictures library in one of the larger icon views; the larger the icons, the bigger the thumbnails. You can also view information about a file at the bottom of the Explorer window by clicking the file icon.

Previewing Pictures

One thing that a lot of users like to do is display a preview of each selected picture. To do this, you have to activate the preview pane, by clicking the Show the Preview Pane button on the Explorer taskbar. This displays a much larger version of the selected picture.

Managing Photo Properties

Windows 7 lets you sort your pictures by various file details, such as date taken, camera model, exposure time, f-stop, and the like. Some digital cameras add these attributes-called metadata-directly to the photo files, which Windows can then read. You can also manually enter metadata about a given photo, by following these steps:

  1. From within Windows Explorer, navigate to and right-click the file you want to edit.
  2. Select Properties from the pop-up menu.
  3. When the Properties dialog box appears, select the Details tab.
  4. Select a given property and enter a value.
  5. Click OK.

There are a lot of photo properties available, if you want to take the time to enter them. Table below details the options.

Available Photo Properties

Type of PropertyProperties Available
DescriptionTitle, Subject, Rating,Tags, Comments
OriginAuthors, Date Taken, Program Name, Date Acquired, Copyright
ImageImage ID, Dimensions,Width, Height, Horizontal Resolution,Vertical Resolution, Bit Depth, Compression, Resolution Unit, Color Representation, Compressed Bits/Pixel
CameraCamera Maker, Camera Model, F-Stop, Exposure Time, ISO Speed, Exposure Bias, Focal Length, Max Aperture, Metering Mode, Subject Distance, Flash Mode, Flash Energy, 35mm Focal Length
Advanced PhotoLens Maker, Lens Model, Flash Maker, Flash Model, Camera Serial Number, Contrast, Brightness, Light Source, Exposure Program, Saturation, Sharpness,White Balance, Photometric Interpretation, Digital Zoom, EXIF Version
FileName, Item Type, Folder Path, Date Created, Date Modified, Size, Attributes, Offline Availability, Offline Status, Shared With, Owner, Computer

If you're a serious photographer, you'll find this capability quite useful, for a couple of reasons. First, it's good to know exactly how a given picture was taken-the camera used, exposure, f-stop, and the like. Second, you can now sort and find pictures that meet specific criteria, such as all pictures taken with a specific lens, or all pictures of a given size or resolution. But remember, if your camera doesn't embed this information automatically, you'll have to enter it manually-which can be a chore.

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In this tutorial:

  1. Managing Media Storage and Playback
  2. Working with Media Libraries and Folders
  3. Adding More Folders to a Library
  4. Managing the Pictures Library
  5. Understanding Other Picture Options
  6. Organizing and Editing Your Pictures
  7. Managing the Videos Library
  8. Managing the Music Library
  9. Managing Music Properties
  10. Choosing Music File Formats
  11. Lossy Compressed Formats
  12. Lossless Compressed Formats
  13. Non-Compressed Formats
  14. Choosing the Right Bit Rate
  15. Which File Format Should You Use?
  16. Dealing with DRM
  17. Customizing Windows Media Player
  18. Changing Skins
  19. Searching for Media Files
  20. Adding or Changing Album Art
  21. Change the Location for Ripped Files
  22. Enhancing Audio and Video Playback
  23. Switching to Another Media Player Program