Blogger – Learn Picasa and Google Photos!

Putting a Picasa Web Albums Slideshow into a Blog or Website

Jul 302012

Although Google+ Photos has now given us a way to view a slideshow of our photos, I still see no way to grab that slideshow and put it into a Blog or other website. But, that feature is still there if you use the Picasa Web Albums interface.

Sometimes it is just so much more efficient to view a slideshow than to have numerous pictures posted on your page. Like these pictures of our week in the Connecticut area:

Open your Album using Picasa Web Albums

Make sure you are logged into the Google account that has the album you’re looking for, then point your browser to https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/myphotos?noredirect=1 You should now be seeing all your photo albums in the Picasa Web Album interface (and it won’t redirect you,) even if you have a Google+ account. Click on the Album you want, then you will see some options at the right. Click on ‘Embed Slideshow’.

Copy the HTML code

Now you will be seeing some options for your slideshow. Choose the size you want, and choose whether you want captions to show. Then copy the HTML code from the bottom box. Now, come back to your website, or Blog, editor and make sure you are in the HTML or Source view. Then paste the code at the location you want the slideshow to appear. It will look something like the image below. Notice that it starts with <embed and ends with embed>.

When you go back to your normal editing view, you will see the slideshow rather than the code. A wonderful thing about using this slide show feature is that it is a live link. If you add more pictures to the album, they will show up in your slide show on your website or blog. Same thing if you delete them. You might even use this technique for a constantly updated set of pictures on your home page.

Learn to make a Blog/Website

If you don’t have a website or Blog, you can learn to make one with Geeks on Tour tutorial videos on how to make a Blog/website. It’s so easy! And Blogger is completely free. Go to the Blogger Learning Library on GeeksonTour.TV. The first 3 videos are free for you to watch. To view the rest of them, you need to be a Geeks on Tour member – it’s only $7/monthly, or $58/yearly, or $68 for one year.

This tip brought to you by Geeks on Tour

Geeks on Tour is a membership website with hundreds of Tutorial Videos on topics of interest to travelers, such as managing digital photos with Picasa, using Android Smartphones, Route-Planning with Streets and Trips, and sharing your travels with a website using Blogger or with friends on Facebook. You can subscribe to our free e-newsletters, or become a paid member and be able to view all of the videos in the Learning Library.

Making a Banner Picture

Picasa, Special Features 2 Responses »

Jul 242010

I keep a personal blog, and I like to have a personalized top banner. Here’s what my blog looks like today. Notice the top banner with the title and picture at the right. I made that using Picasa and this tip will tell you how.

Create a Collage

I used Picasa’s collage feature to make that banner. You might not think to use the collage feature when you’re only working with one picture. That’s why I decided to write this tip. I started by selecting that photo of Jim and me and Odie in front of our Visited States Map. With just that one pictures selected, I clicked the collage button. I set the background to a solid red, and move the picture over to the right side, and create the collage.

Add the Text

Once the collage is done and I’m back at the Picasa library, I use the Text Tool to type ‘Geeks on Tour Blog.’ Using all the text formatting tools, I choose our special ‘geeky’ font (Coolvetica) and set the colors so they look good against the dark red background. After applying that, I add another block of text for the blog description.

Crop and Export

Now I have all the elements I want in my banner, I just need to make it banner-size. So I crop it. And finally, I export it to a separate folder that I use for uploading to my blog.

The export feature allows me to specify a size. The instructions for Blogger header images tell me to make it 910 pixels, so that’s what I specify:

There’s a lot you can do with Picasa’s collage feature … get creative!

This tip brought to you by Geeks on Tour

Geeks on Tour is a membership website with hundreds of Tutorial Videos on topics of interest to travelers, such as managing digital photos with Picasa, Route-Planning with Streets and Trips, and sharing your travels with a website using Blogger or with friends on Facebook. You can subscribe to our free e-newsletters, or become a paid member and be able to view all of the videos in the Learning Library.

Members may want to view the following tutorial videos. Not a member? Join now.

Quick Collage

Collage Tip – Framing a Picture

Adding Text to Pictures

Crop Size Options

Basic Edits

Exporting Pictures for Use in Another Program

Resizing Pictures to Width and Height

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