Picasa is a desktop photo organizer and editor for Windows and Mac. It brings pictures from computer folders into a library where you can arrange albums, group faces, correct images and turn selections into collages or movies. The program is retired: existing installations work offline, with no further updates or online album synchronization.
How Picasa organizes folders and albums
Picasa distinguishes between a folder on your computer and an album inside its library. Folder changes affect the corresponding files and folders on disk. An album, by contrast, can bring together pictures from several folders without moving those files. Removing a picture from an album changes that collection while leaving its original folder alone.
The photo tray holds selected pictures while you gather a group for an album or another operation. Its Hold control keeps that selection in place as you continue choosing photos. When importing, duplicate detection can identify pictures already in the library, and Exclude Duplicates lets you leave them out of the import.
Supported image formats
File Types preferences determine which image types Picasa detects and displays. These include JPEG, TIFF, PNG, BMP and Photoshop PSD files, along with nonanimated GIF images. It also recognizes a range of camera RAW formats, including DNG, Canon CR2 and Nikon NEF.
Face groups
Picasa groups similar faces so that a person’s pictures can form another route through the library. You can name an individual face or assign a name to a group under Unnamed People. Picasa then creates a People album for the named face, bringing together photographs that may otherwise be spread across folders.
Opening the People panel on a picture shows the faces associated with that image. Names can be added or removed there.
Photo corrections
The editing tools cover changes to framing, exposure and appearance.
- Crop: removes unwanted parts of the frame
- Straighten: corrects a tilted shot
- Red-eye correction and Retouch: address localized problems
- Automatic color and contrast: a starting point for adjustments
- Tuning sliders: adjust lighting and color yourself
- Fill Light: brightens the foreground
- Effects: sharpen or tint a photograph
- Text: added and edited within the image
Picasa’s comparison view helps with both selection and editing. The A|B view displays two different pictures, while A|A compares edits to the same photograph or keeps its original visible as you work. You can switch between side-by-side and stacked views, then select the picture you want to edit. Undo and redo let you step backward or forward through changes.
Saving and exporting edited photos
Saving an edited picture creates a version with the changes applied and moves the original into a hidden .picasaoriginals subfolder. Save a Copy instead creates an edited copy alongside the original, with an added suffix in its filename. Save As lets you choose the new filename and location. Saved pictures use JPEG format.
Export is the route for producing edited copies of a selection together. You choose the destination folder and can resize the pictures with a slider before writing them. A text watermark can also be added during export.
Slideshows
An album can become a full-screen slideshow, using the photographs collected within it. Slideshow settings control playback, including a loop option for repeating the sequence.
Collages
Picasa can combine selected photographs into a single collage. The collage creation page controls its appearance and included pictures before generating the result. Completed collages are saved locally in the Picasa Collages folder and remain accessible from the library’s project or folder views.
Photo movies
Movie Maker combines photographs, video clips and music into a movie presentation. Its controls cover audio, transitions and output dimensions, with text that can be added to individual slides. You can introduce more photographs while building the sequence. The finished movie is saved in the local Picasa Movies folder.
