Using the Picasa 2 Photo Organizer
Downloading and installing Picassa
1. Connect to the Internet, go to picasa.com, and click Free Download. (Or, open the CD-ROM =>Software installers => Windows and double-click "picasa2-setup-1877.exe").
2. Follow the on-screen instructions to install the program.
3. Run Picasa by double-clicking on the Picasa icon on the desktop. If you are asked to register, give your usual email address (necessary for Picasa's picture email function to work).
First time use
The first time you run Picasa (and only the first time), it will search your hard disk looking for digital photographs, creating an index of all your photos.  If you have a lot of photos, this process may take a few minutes. Thereafter, Picasa automatically finds any new pictures that you add.
The main screen
The main screen of Picasa shows the master index of photos, called the Library.  The left-hand panel shows all the folders containing photos, and the right-hand panel shows small images of all the photos.  These are listed by date, with the most recent photos at the top.  You can scroll through the folder list or through the library by using the mouse wheel or the scroll bars.  Click on a folder in the left-hand panel to jump directly to those pictures.  (Note: the slider at bottom right changes thumbnail size)

Double-click on a small image to view the full picture, then use the mouse wheel or the buttons at the top to view the next or previous picture in that folder. To return to the library view, press the Esc key (upper left corner of keyboard) OR click the Back to Library button (upper left of screen) . To rearrange the order of the pictures, just drag and drop. To move pictures from one folder to another, drag pictures from the library to a folder in the list on the left. To move pictures to a new folder, hold down the Ctrl key and click them, then click File => Move to New Folder....  To split a folder into two, right-click the thumbnail where you want the split, and select Split Folder Here. To rotate sideways pictures, click the one of the curved arrow buttons at the bottom of the screen. To delete pictures, select them and press the Delete key.
Importing new photos from digital cameras, card readers, and photo CD.
1. Connect the camera or card reader, or insert the photo-CD. 
2. Click the Import button in the upper left.
3. Pull down the Select Device menu and select the desired device. Wait for the pictures to load.
4. Click the Finish button at the bottom, then type a title for this group of pictures into the Finish Importing box and click Finish. (Pictures with a red X have already been imported and are skipped).
Searching for photos by subject
To search for photos, type in a search term next to the magnifying glass icon at the upper right of the screen.  All the matching photos will be displayed instantly. (Click the red X in the search field to return to the full library display).  The computer searches for matches in the file names, the folder names, and in any added captions. You can make pictures easier to find by adding titles and comments: double-click the folder title (in the folder list OR the library display) and edit the Name, Place taken, or Caption.  You can add as many keywords to the caption as you like.   (You can also caption individual pictures: double-click the thumbnail to display it, type a caption right under the picture, and press the Enter key).  
Enhancing pictures
1. Open the picture (by double-clicking on it).
2. Click the Auto Contrast or Auto Color buttons and adjust the Fill Light slider in the left-hand panel to see if this improve the picture. Click the Undo... button to remove the effect.
3. To crop the picture, click the Crop button in the left-hand panel, click on the desired format (4 x 6, 5 x 7, etc; "Manual" lets you crop to any proportions), click, hold, and drag over the picture to select the area. Click the Apply OR click Reset to remove the crop. Click Cancel to exit the crop mode.
4. To fix red-eye, click the Red-Eye button in the left-hand panel, click, hold and drag the mouse over each eye separately, and click the Apply button to accept the correction OR click Reset to remove the red-eye correction. Click Cancel to exit the Redeye correction mode.
5. Click the Tuning tab at the top of the left-hand panel to experiment with Fill Light (brightens the dark portions of a photo), Highlights ( (brightens the light portions of a photo), Shadows (darkens the dark portions of a photo), or Color Temperature - makes the color warmer (more red) or colder (more blue). Try the Effects tab for an array of interesting effects. 
6. To return to the thumbnails, press the Esc key on the keyboard OR click the Back to Library button.
  Note: To use enhanced pictures outside of Picasa, click Export, select size and folder, and click OK.
Making Slideshows
1. To see a slideshow of pictures, select (click once on) the desired folder in the left-hand panel and click the Slideshow button at the top of the window. The slideshow plays automatically.
2. To advance the slides manually, click anywhere on the screen and then use the controls that appear at the bottom of the screen. To exit the slideshow, press the Esc key on the keyboard (top left corner).
3.  If you have a CD burner, Picasa can burn an auto-run slideshow CD that you can send to friends: insert a blank CD-R, click the Gift CD button at the top, click the Add more... button at the bottom, then in the left-hand folder list, click the check box to the left of each folder that you want to include. (Each folder makes a separate slideshow on the disc). Finally click Burn Disc.  When later inserted into a computer, the slideshow menu will display automatically (no software needed).  Also, this disk will play on JPEG-compatible DVD players for showing on TV.
E-mailing pictures
You can e-mail pictures directly from Picasa, no matter what e-mail service you have, without even going into your e-mail program. Sent pictures are automatically shrunk to fit on the recipient's screen.
1. Before you use this function, you have to be connected to the Internet. If you use a dial-up connection, dial in, connect, and then minimize your Internet software. 
2. Click on a small image in the library and then click the Email button at the bottom of the window.   OR if the picture is already open, just click the Email button.  
3. Click the email service that you want to use (the first one should be your usual email). Or, click Picasa E-Mail, type in your Picasa username and password, and click Sign in. (The first time you do this, you have to click Get a Hello username to assign yourself a username and password).
4. Type in the e-mail address of the recipient.  
5. Type in the subject line (replacing "a picture for you") and the message body.
6. Click the Send button at the bottom. You can then disconnect if you are finished emailing.
Note:To e-mail several pictures at once, drag each picture down to the "Picture Tray" at the bottom of the library display. Then click the Email button and continue with step 2.
Printing pictures
1. Drag the pictures you want to print from the library down to the "Picture Tray" at the bottom left of the screen and click the Print icon at the bottom of the screen.
2. Select the desired Print Layout on the left. (If you want each picture printed more than once, click on the + and - buttons near "Copies per picture").
3. Click the Printer button and select your printer.
4. Click the Printer Setup button and select the paper type that you have loaded into the printer.
5. Click the Print button at the bottom right. 
6. To exit the Print screen, click Cancel in the lower right.
Exporting pictures for use with other programs (Powerpoint, Memories on TV, etc.)
1. Collect all the pictures that you want to include into one folder or label. You can use File => Move to New Folder to create a new folder for your pictures, then drag all the desired pictures into that folder.
2. Click on that folder in the left-hand folder list, pull down Edit and select Select all...,  and then click the Export button at the bottom-right.  
3. Click on the Resize to box and set the desired photo size.  For Powerpoint, a good size is 640 wide. 
4. Click OK.  The pictures will be resized and exported into a folder in My Pictures/Picasa Exports/.
Exporting pictures for making Web pages
1. Collect all the pictures into one folder, then select Folder => Export as Web page....
2. Choose a size (640 is good), click Next, and choose a style.
3. Click Finish.   The results will be stored in a folder in My Documents/Picasa Web Exports/.  You can use the Web page as-is, or you can use the images and thumbnails with a separate template.
Backing up your photos to CDs or DVDs
Click the Backup button, click the checkboxes on the folders you want to backup, insert a blank CD or DVD, and click Burn.  To restore, just insert the disc into your computer, wait, and click Restore.
For further help,  use the Help menu, or go to http://www.picasa.com/features/index.php
(c) Tom O'Haver, February 2006