IMPORT  DIGITAL  CAMERA  PHOTOGRAPHS

When you buy a Digital Camera it normally comes with an Installation CD, that contains the camera's Driver file(s) and/or some Photo Software (Album Creator, Photo Editor, Photo Importer and so on). To install the camera's driver file(s) you may have to use the Installation CD if Windows Vista does not automatically detect and then install your, USB connected, digital camera for you - Automatic detection and installation is known as Plug N Play technology. Read the previous Hardware sections about Driver Installation and WebCam Installation, as well as the Installing Hardware section, if you need explanations/examples on installing hardware/driver files.

In this example I will show you how to import photographs, from a digital camera, without needing to install the photo software that came with the digital camera - I will be using Windows Vista's import function only. This is ideal if you only want to import photographs for e-mail, printing and/or safe-keeping (backup) purposes. Installing the photo software that comes with a digital camera's Instalation CD can bloat Windows Vista and so, ideally, should only be installed if you like editing photographs and creating photograph albums for example. Remember though. Scanners and WebCams usually have photo software on their Installation CDs, so check to see if you have good photo software already installed on Windows Vista - It is pointless having many different kinds of photo software installed if they can all do the same job (i.e create a photo album and/or re-size a photograph).

To get started I plugged my Canon PowerShot A510 digital camera into a spare USB Port (Socket) and Windows Vista then detected and installed the camera (driver files) for me. This is because my digital camera is Plug N Play. If your digital camera is Plug N Play it will also be detected and installed by Windows Vista. Otherwise. To install your digital camera using its driver file(s) only you will either have to use the driver file(s) from your digital camera's Installation CD (if possible) or download the driver file(s) from the Internet (If possible). If you cannot do any of these you might be forced to install your digital camera completely (with Photo Software) using its Installation CD, unless you can get someone to install the driver file(s) only for you.



Fig 1.0  Windows Vista has detected some hardware and is now installing/configuring its Driver file(s)




Fig 1.1  Windows Vista has installed/configured the driver file(s) for the now recognized Canon PowerShot A510 digital camera

Once Windows Vista finished installing/configuring my digital camera's Driver file(s) it then displayed the AutoPlay window, which gives the option to Import Pictures (Photographs). If AutoPlay has been set to use a particular action on Pictures/Cameras before, using the option ALWAYS DO THIS FOR THIS DEVICE, you will not see the AutoPlay window appear. AutoPlay will carry out that particular, set, action instead. For example. If AutoPlay has been set to OPEN DEVICE TO VIEW FILES for your digital camera it means the digital camera's Photograph folder will automatically open each time you insert your digital camera into a USB Port. From there you can manipulate the Photographs, because you can see them inside the opened folder of course.

In this example no AutoPlay action had ever been set for my digital camera, and I did not want to set any action for it. Therefore I simply clicked on the IMPORT PICTURES Link to continue.


Fig 1.2  Click on the IMPORT PICTURES Link to continue

After clicking on the IMPORT PICTURES Link my digital camera was then scanned for Pictures (Photographs). Although the link is called IMPORT PICTURES a scan is made for Video files as well. If any video files are found they will be stored inside the same folder as that used for any found picture files. Obviously, if your digital camera cannot record/store video files then no video files will be found.


Fig 1.3  My digital camera is being scanned for Video files as well as Picture files



Fig 1.4  Found Items: 158 Picture files and 0 Video files

In Fig 1.4 above the scan has finished and reported that 158 Picture files and 0 Video files were found. However. Do not believe this. As with most Green Progress Guages, these results/timings/numbers are only AT THE TIME estimates. Meaning. If you download something from the Internet the green progress (download) guage might be at the halfway mark and be stating "5 minutes remaining". However. Within the next minute the green progress guage might fully finish or its window might just close to denote the download is complete.....complete within a minute and not in 5 minutes time as stated. And the same applies here with the scan. I got a result of 158 Picture files found and then the scanning guage disappeared. My final total though was 267 Picture files imported, which was correct. I did have 267 Photographs on my digital camera. So ignore the, estimated, scan result....if it is not initially correct.

With the digital camera scanned the next window to appear asks if you would like to TAG your Picture, and Video, files. This basically means the TAG Name you enter into the TAG Name edit box (below) will be prefixed (tagged) to all your picture, and video, files as well as to the picture folder storing those files. For example. I entered Europe 2007 as a TAG Name, which meant all my picture files that were originally numbered by my digital camera (i.e 0001.jpg, 0002.jpg and so on) were renamed with the TAG Name prefix (i.e Europe 2007 0001.jpg, Europe 2007 0002.jpg and so on). The TAG Name, which is optional, is more for Windows Vista's SEARCH benefit.


Fig 1.5  Enter a TAG Name for your picture folder, picture files and video files if you want to



Fig 1.6  Europe 2007 will be Tagged (prefixed) to your picture folder, picture files and video files.

At this point the scanning of my digital camera has been done (Figures 1.3 and 1.4 above) and a TAG Name has been supplied (Fig 1.6 above). The IMPORT PICTURES program can now carry on by actually importing my picture files. On the importing window (Fig 1.7 below) there is an option to ERASE AFTER IMPORTING. By ticking this option, any time before the importing process has finished, you are telling the IMPORT PICTURES program that you would like to erase the original picture and video files from your digital camera.

Think very carefully before ticking the ERASE AFTER IMPORTING option - You must be absolutely confident with your computer and digital camera that the picture, and video, files will be imported to your computer properly before they are erased. If you feel your computer and/or digital camera freeze/crash too often for example I would suggest leaving the the ERASE AFTER IMPORTING option un-ticked (clear/unset). You can always erase the picture and video files from the digital camera later, using the digital camera's own DELETE function.


Fig 1.7  Importing the picture, and video, files now....Erasing them afterwards.



Fig 1.8  Erasing the picture, and video, files now.

When the importing process has finished, and your picture and video files have been erased (if that was required), the last window you will see is the Windows Photo Gallery window displaying your imported picture files. Windows Photo Gallery is a Windows Vista program that allows you to View, Print and so on your imported picture files. It can be found on the ALL PROGRAMS menu (Start Menu > ALL PROGRAMS).


Fig 1.9  You can View and Print your imported picture files with the Windows Photo Gallery program

If you want to change the location of the picture folder used by the IMPORT PICTURES program you can do so by clicking on the OPTIONS link on the TAG Name window (Fig 1.5 above and below). From there you click on the BROWSE button (Fig 1.11 below) to navigate to a folder of your choice (not exampled here). This means the TAG Name folder that stores your imported pictures will then be created inside this chosen picture folder. So in my case I have a Europe 2007 sub-folder (TAG Name folder) that is created inside the main (Windows Vista) Pictures folder.


Fig 1.10  Click on the OPTIONS link to change TAG Name and Folder options



Fig 1.11  Click on BROWSE to browse for the picture folder you want your TAG Named sub-folder to be created in

As well as changing the Import Pictures folder you can also change the TAG settings. For example. The TAG Named sub-folder is created by default with the Date Imported plus your TAG Name. So in my case my TAG Named sub-folder is actually 2007-10-12 Europe 2007. If I wanted it to be Europe 2007 2007-10-12 I would select TAG + DATE IMPORTED from the Folder Name drop-down menu.


Fig 1.12  Use the Folder Name drop-down menu to select your TAG Named sub-folder's name settings

If you do not want the Windows Photo Gallery program to open each time you import picture files from your digital camera simply un-tick the option OPEN WINDOWS PHOTO GALLERY AFTER IMPORT. Similarly, if you do not want to be prompted to enter a TAG Name, and therefore do not want to use a TAG Name, simply un-tick the option PROMPT FOR A TAG ON IMPORT.

Going back to AutoPlay (from the paragraph above Fig 1.2 and onwards, above). If AutoPlay does not appear when you connect your digital camera, or it does but you do not like using it, you can IMPORT PICTURES by right clicking on your digital camera's icon. This brings up its Options menu. From there, select (left click on) the IMPORT PICTURES menu-item (Fig 1.13 below).

The right click over the digital camera's icon must be over the icon or over its wording (title) - If you just right click inside the light blue rectangle that surrounds the icon, in a clear blue area, you will not see the Options menu with the IMPORT PICTURES menu-item on it.


Fig 1.13  Right click over your digital camera's icon or title, but not in a clear area, to bring up its Options menu.



Install A Printer Index Burn Files Onto Disc