TMO Quick Tip - Picasa and iPhoto: Free Web Photo Albums

by , 7:30 AM EDT, March 26th, 2007

Using iPhoto to create Web albums is easy to do, but Apple designed its image management application to work with .Mac. If you want to use iPhoto to share pictures online without paying the annual fee .Mac requires, you can use Google's Picasa online photo album service instead. You'll need a free Google account, and the free Picasa plug-in for iPhoto, both available at the Google Web site.

After you download and install the Picasa plug-in for iPhoto, here's what to do:

• Launch iPhoto. You can find it in the Dock and Applications folder.
• Select the photos you want to include in your online album.

Select the iPhoto images you want in your Picasa album.

• Choose File > Export.
• Click the Picasa Web tab.
• Enter your Google account login name and password. If you haven't activated your Picasa Web site yet, iPhoto will launch your Web browser so you can complete the activation process.
• If your Picasa Web site has already been activated, you can enter an album title and description in iPhoto's Export Photos window.

Give your Picasa album a name.

• Click the Export button to upload your images to your Picasa Web site.

You can create multiple albums on your Picasa Web site just like you can with a .Mac account - complete with online slideshows and built-in RSS support. But since your Google account and Picasa Web site are free, you can save your self a hundred bucks a year if you aren't using any of .Mac's other features.

Your iPhoto images, ready to go on your Picasa Web site.

Jeff Gamet is TMO's Morning Editor and Reviews Editor. He lectures, teaches and speaks on Mac OS X and design-related topics, and is the author of The Designer's Guide to Mac OS X from Peachpit Press.

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