Paul Thurrott - Windows 8 Secrets

Figure 9-15:Choose what you’d like to do with devices that contain photos.

The easiest way to find AutoPlay is to use Windows Search: Type autoplay, select Settings, and then choose AutoPlay from the results list.

You may want to use Photos as the default choice when such a device is plugged into the PC, though we feel that you should examine your choices before making such a decision. Remember that you can always change what happens later using the AutoPlay control panel, though. So if you make a mistake, or want to change your selection later, you can do so.

For now, let’s just use Photos to manually acquire photos from an attached camera, memory card, or other device. To do so, launch the Photos app and then display the app bar. On the far right side of this app bar, you’ll see an Import button. Click this, and Photos will prompt you to choose a device, as in Figure 9-16.

Figure 9-16:Choosing a device with photos.

Do so, and you’ll be presented with the full-screen interface shown in Figure 9-17. Here, you can determine which photos to acquire and what the folder name that contains them will be.

What you can’t do, of course, is configure other photo acquisition options, and this is why we noted previously that you may want to review your options first. Photos doesn’t let you name the acquired photos to your liking (unless you happen to like the default, which is to use awful, camera-based names). And it doesn’t let you choose whether to delete the photos from the device once they’re acquired. (They are not deleted.)

Figure 9-17:Choosing which photos to acquire.

Click Import to acquire the photos.

When you’re done, you’re prompted to open the folder containing the photos you just imported. This will happen in Photos, of course, not in File Explorer on the desktop.

Put simply, the photo acquisition capabilities in Photos are, well, basic. And if you want more control over this process, as we do, you should consider using the free Photo Gallery desktop application instead. We look at this useful tool a bit later in the chapter.

As with other mobile, touch-based systems, Windows 8 includes a simple Camera app that works with the camera (or, in the case of some modern devices, the cameras ) that is included in (or attached to) your PC or device. This app lets you capture still pictures and short movies. It’s not quite as useful as, say, a camera in a smartphone, but it’s there if you need it.

The first time you run the Camera app, you’ll be prompted to allow the app to use your webcam and microphone. Obviously, you must allow this for the app to function. If you block this access, the app will simply quit.

The Camera app, shown in Figure 9-18, is simplicity itself. There’s an app bar, always visible in this app, with just a handful of buttons.

Figure 9-18:Dashing! The Camera app

Available app bar buttons include:

• Change camera:On PCs or devices with multiple cameras, the Change camera button will let you choose which camera to use. For example, many Windows 8 and RT devices include both front- and rear-facing cameras. This button works like a toggle: Tap it once to change the view to the next camera.

• Camera options:Click this button to see a pop-up display with three options that will be consistent across all Windows 8 PCs: Photo/Video resolution, Audio device, and Video stabilization, though not all options will be configurable on all PCs. You can also click a More link here to view additional camera options. What you see in that interface will vary from PC to PC, but some of the more common options include Brightness, Contrast, Flicker, and Exposure.

• Timer:This button acts as a toggle. When selected, the next photo or video you take will be preceded by a 3-second countdown, giving you time, perhaps, to jump into the frame.

• Video Mode: This button also works as a toggle. By default, Camera is set up to take still photos. But if you enable this button, it is set up to take videos instead. Tap it again to return to camera mode.

Keyboard users can tap Space to take a photo or start/stop video recording.

To take a photo with Camera, simply tap (or click) anywhere on-screen. If you’re in video mode, this will start video recording instead. To stop recording, tap (or click) the screen instead.

Photos and videos taken with Camera can be found in the Camera Roll photo, which is added to the default save location for the Pictures library (My Pictures, by default).

The Photos app is fine for what it is. But it doesn’t have any photo editing features at all. Its photo acquisition features are lackluster at best. And if you want to share photos via an online service that’s not supported by a Metro-style app that’s savvy to the Share contract, you’re out of luck on that count as well.

For these and other slightly more advanced scenarios, you’ll need to turn to the Windows desktop. Here, you’ll find some features that are built into Windows 8 directly, and a few that will require some optional and free Microsoft applications that may or may not be installed on your PC or device.

Since these capabilities haven’t changed since Windows 7, we won’t go into great depth here. But we’ll provide you with a rundown of the applications you can use, and for what activities, and help you find any missing applications that may not be included with your Windows 8 install.

Windows 8 includes an admittedly well hidden desktop application called Windows Photo Viewer that lets you view individual photos and perform other photo-related functions. Windows Photo Viewer is odd in that you can’t actually find the application via normal means—it doesn’t appear in the All Apps view or even via Start Search. But you can access Photo Viewer by right-clicking an image file from the desktop and choosing Open with and then Windows Photo Viewer.

As you can see in Figure 9-19, this application provides print-, e-mail-, and disc burning-based ways to share photos and a handy but simple slideshow feature courtesy of that large button in the lower middle of the window.

Figure 9-19:The Windows Photo Viewer application provides basic features related to viewing and sharing photos from the Windows desktop.

You could also make Windows Photo Viewer the default photo-viewing application if you wanted. To do so, right-click an image file and choose Open with then Choose default program, and then pick Windows Photo Viewer from the list that appears. Or, use the Default programs control panel (via Start Search).

Or don’t. Because there’s a better option for desktop users…

Photo Gallery used to be called Windows Live Gallery, and it was previously available as part of a suite of apps called Windows Live Essentials. The application carriers forward, minus the Live branding.