Picasa Photo Organizer 3.9.0 Build 136.02

Overview

Picasa Photo Organizer is an application developed by Google, available for download free of charge. It allows you to systematically categorize and alter your digital photographs, making them accessible online to your friends and family through its incorporated photo-sharing website.

Installation

Picasa Photo Organizer can be downloaded free of cost. The software will require at least 58.7 MB of free disk space. The software does not have a long installation process and gets completed smoothly. It doesn't come bundled with any extra bundled programs, keeping you free from having to download adware or any other such programs.After the install is finished you don't have to restart the computer either. Picasa can be used on Windows 7, Vista and XP.

Interface

Picasa Photo Organizer follows the same interface as its previous versions. It is considerably uncomplicated and functional. Its usage is fairly simple, even for a novice, as everything is presented in a straightforward categorical manner. The software has a modern soft edged design, which gives it an elegant look. Its buttons are placed in such a way that they are easily accessible, without having to resort to tutorials or the Help Centre. This software is easy to use, making it a good option for beginners who feel technologically challenged when dealing with programs. The software is presented in a very stylish way, with all its features highlighted very simply.

Pros

Picasa Photo Organizer has made organizing photos much simpler. With this photo viewer software, you can categorize your photos according to date, event or even according to the people in the images. It also offers enriching options such as editing, managing and showing off your photographs, both online and offline, with the Picasa Web Album syncing option.

All the photographs are displayed in categorized folders, which are easily accessible at all times on the right side of the window. The photographs can be labeled and distributed into folders based on the date they were taken on, what the event was, and even the people who are present in those pictures. The software provides you with the option of deciding whether you want all the pictures in your computer to be made available on the photo viewer, or choose specific directories. Picasa even gives you simple editing tools such as cropping, adjusting color and light, straightening and fixing red eyes, etc.

Along with providing basic editing tools, the newest version of Picasa also offers features such as facial-recognition and geo-tagging. Picasa allows you to scan through your photo library to identify faces of people in the photos, adding their name to the list. Although the process may be time-consuming in the beginning, it helps manage your pictures more easily, tagging faces of people in each photo and categorizing them in a ‘People Album’, making them more easily accessible. With the embedding of Google Maps in Picasa, the geo-tagging function has become much simpler as you can easily choose a photo you wish to geo-tag. Click the ‘Places’ button to open Google Maps, identify the correct location and click ok.

Picasa Photo Organizer also provides easy editing options. With just a click of a photograph, you gain access to all its photo effects where you can choose to carry out basic fixes, tuning or effects. With basic fixes, you can make simple changes such as removing red eye, while in tuning and effects, you can modify pictures lighting and colors. It even provides the option of editing the photograph online through Picnik.

Cons

• Face recognition configuration is slow
• Limited photo effects

Alternatives

When searching for a simple and easy to use photo viewer, other software you can consider include PhotoMeister or XnView.

Conclusion

Picasa Photo Organizer is an easy to use picture viewer, especially beneficial for people who enjoy social networking, as it allows you to effortlessly upload your photographs and share them with your friends and family.