Loading
Picasa, short introduction


Thanks to my ipernity friend Fred, I had a look on old but still available Picasa 3 for Windows. With Picasa you can rather easily add geolocation onto images and export smaller copies for web. Do notice you can use Picasa only to add the geolocation. You don't need Google Earth for that.

What you need is to download and install Picasa. Start from light blue button saying "Latest version". That seem to be reliably web site enough. The installer I downloaded was virus free according to company antivirus software.

However, it turned out the Picasa maps module did not work on the version I downloaded. Therefore I had to run through a little scary Registry Editor procedure with regedit.exe. Be prepared to run it as an administrator:

  1. Write regedit onto 'Search Windows' (magnifying class on toolbar, see image A below)
  2. Right click on regedit and choose Run as administrator
  3. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\FeatureControl\FEATURE_BROWSER_EMULATION
  4. Create a new DWORD entry with name picasa3.exe from menu "Edit > New > DWORD (32bit) Value"
  5. Right click on created picasa3.exe to "Modify", write 2af8 and choose Hexadecimal (see image B below)
  6. Open Picasa and embedded maps module should now work.

If you manage to get all that done, you should be able to get map opened on Picasa right margin tabs. You can first search and zoom in for the approximate position on the map. Then the easiest way is to "drag" the image(s) on the exact place on map and approve the tag from "Ok". Alternative option is to select image(s) you wish to geotag, then click the green pointer on top-left corner of the map, drag the pointer on correct location, and accept tag from "Ok". Finally confirm the location.

Picasa's good (or bad) side is that it instantly writes the added location onto image Exif. So, no separate action is needed to save the results after clicking "Ok".

Because your original is probably too large for the web sites where you wish to share the image, you then may wish to use "Files > Export" to choose a new folder for Picasa images created for web. Notice the slider to choose the export size.

Illustrations:

Image A:


Image B:


12 comments

Stormlizard said:

Very interesting Sami.

I used to enjoy using Regedit especially whe getting rid of Vira. 'Viruses'
4 years ago

Sami Serola (inactiv… replied to Stormlizard:

I have no idea what is Vira, but yes, one may need to tamper with Regedit every now and then. A little scary it is, but shouldn't be a problem with proper instructions. Not sure if the one I wrote is easy enough to follow...
4 years ago

Sami Serola (inactiv… replied to Stormlizard:

Ah, getting rid of viruses indeed was similar case where I had to use regedit as well several years ago.
4 years ago

Stormlizard replied to :

There wasa period when the bad guys planted things like Trojans that Antisvirus software could not stop.
Symantec provided tools in the form of instructions on how to get rid of these unwanted 'Bugs' they could be downloaded free of charge, other among the socalled Top six did likewise so if a person had a bug you needed to use 'Regedit exe'
For some of the more difficult'Bugs' it was neccessary to use a Bootable CD that contained the important parts of any Dos system, so you could run the PC without having to start Windows which would make removal impossible.
4 years ago

@ngélique ❤️ said:

j'utilise aussi Picassa 3 !c'est obligé de faire ce qui est écrit pour la géolocalisation ?
4 years ago ( translate )

Sami Serola (inactiv… replied to :

That sounds all too familiar. Been there myself several years ago. Then decided switching to Linux on my home computer permanently.
4 years ago

Clickity Click said:

Hi Sami,

I've been using Picasa software for years as it is very user friendly (and I need all the help I can get ), the downside is that Picasa is no longer supported by Google since 2018. While still using the software I find it can at times act a little "funny".
Not sure if this is revelant to your discussion re Picasa 3 and the geolocation option it offers but wanted to mention my experience with Picasa lately. I am using it with Windows 10.

Enjoy the rest of your week. :)
4 years ago

Sami Serola (inactiv… replied to Clickity Click:

Just a reminder. I personally recommend "putting the eggs in multiple baskets". Meaning: One can use for example Picasa to edit geotags, but then use other software to edit the images.

For example I have used to add the final touch online, with PicMonkey.

The most serious limitation with the available Picasa 3 is the export only up to 1600 pixel wide. That is getting rather small these days. So, resizing may have to get done on some other software.
4 years ago

Eike Biel said:

Thank you, Sami, for showing this.
Picasa 3 is installed on my Windows, but I only used the tag-option till I changed to ExifTool.
I will try the Geo-option next time.

What Picasa 3 works for me, is the big offer wide range of image collages to create.
4 years ago

Sami Serola (inactiv… replied to Eike Biel:

Please let me (us all) know if the geolocation works for you on Picasa 3 =)
4 years ago

Clickity Click replied to :

Indeed, I jump around from Picasa, Photoscape, Ribbet and Picmonkey. All depends on what option I want. :)
4 years ago