Setting Up Folders
- March 31: Moving your photos into the proper folder
When you are organizing your pictures, you will first need to create a set of folders, using the logic described above. This is very easy in Windows 7. First you need to open up your "My Pictures" folder.
Click on Windows Explorer
You can find this by left-clicking on the ">" in front of the "Pictures" folder in Windows Explorer to show the folders under it (i.e., included in it).
These will be "My Pictures" and "Public Pictures".
Then left-click on "My Pictures" to open up this folder. This will show all the pictures and folders already in this folder.
You can add new folders in the "My Pictures" folder by left-clicking on "New Folder" in the tool bar (above the pictures). A new folder will appear on the screen with the title "New Folder" highlighted. Just begin typing the desired title for this folder (no need to put the cursor in the box) and the push the "Enter" key on the keyboard to title this new folder appropriately. Continue adding as many folders as needed. You can double-click on any folder to open it up and then add new folders in that folder. This is the way to build up a system of folders as described in the above section. Please note that empty folders were added for “Dogs” and “Drives”
Moving or Copying Files
Once you set up a system of folders, you will need to move pictures already in your "My Pictures" folder or in other less useful folders (such as folders labeled only with a date) into folders appropriately titled. There are several ways to do this but the safest way is the "right-click" method. Find the picture you want to move and right-click on it. This will bring up a menu that includes, among other things, "Cut" and "Copy". If you left-click on "Cut" it will move the picture into the Clipboard (a temporary storage device in Windows). If you left-click on "Copy", it copies the picture into the Clipboard, leaving a copy of the picture behind. Choose the one that works best for you, but remember that always using "Copy" will clutter your folders.
Then move the pointer over the folder you want to move the picture to. Then right-click on that folder
A menu will come up that includes "Paste", among other things.
Left-click on "Paste", and that will move the picture from the Clipboard into the folder.
You can move or copy a contiguous group of pictures all at the same time by first "selecting" them all before performing the move or copy as described above.
To "select" them, find the first picture in the contiguous group and left-click on it. Then hold the "ctrl" key down and click on and highlight all the pictures you want to move or copy. You can go down several rows if needed. You will see the highlighting progress as you proceed. Be sure to hold the "ctrl" key down until you finish the "Selecting" process. Then release the "ctrl" key and proceed with the cut or copy process, using the "right-click" method described above. If you wish to un-select the pictures, just left-click on any blank space in the folder.
Continue doing this until all your pictures are properly located. This will probably result in some folders that are no longer needed, since they are not usefully titled. It is best to delete the folders to simplify your system of picture management. If they contain copies of pictures that are in appropriately titled folders, these picture copies can be deleted along with the unneeded folders.
STEP 5: Be consistent!
Now, use the same techniques every time you transfer more pictures from your camera to your computer. However, it is very important that you remain consistent every time you transfer new pictures to your computer. If you become lazy again, you will have to go through the same process later on. However, it will take more time because you will not remember what has been organized and what hasn’t.
STEP 5: Be consistent!
You MUST use the same rules every time:
» you download new pictures from your camera
» you download new pictures from the web
» you download new pictures from emails
Congratulations! You have just organized your pictures in 5 easy steps…wasn’t that cool 
