Live Writer Picasa: How to Publish Photos from Picasa to Your BlogPicasa was once a popular photo management and editing application from Google that allowed users to organize, edit, and share photos. Although Google discontinued official support for Picasa several years ago and replaced much of its functionality with Google Photos, many users still have legacy photo libraries and prefer desktop workflows that combine Picasa’s straightforward editing tools with blogging tools like Windows Live Writer (and its modern forks such as Open Live Writer). This article explains, step by step, how to publish photos from Picasa to your blog using Live Writer, including preparation, image exporting, formatting tips, and troubleshooting.
Overview: Tools and workflow
- Windows Live Writer (WLW) — a desktop blog editor that lets you write posts offline and publish directly to many blogging platforms (WordPress, Blogger, etc.). The original WLW is discontinued by Microsoft, but Open Live Writer is an open-source continuation that works similarly.
- Picasa — desktop photo manager/editor. Even though it’s discontinued, its export and folder features make it useful for preparing images for web publishing.
- Blogging platform — WordPress, Blogger, or another platform that supports posting via XML-RPC or API, which WLW/Open Live Writer can connect to.
Workflow summary:
- Prepare and edit photos in Picasa.
- Export optimized images for the web.
- Insert images into Live Writer and format captions/alt text.
- Publish or schedule the post from Live Writer.
Step 1 — Prepare and edit photos in Picasa
- Organize: Place the photos you want to use in a dedicated album or folder inside Picasa so they’re easy to find.
- Basic edits: Use Picasa’s Retouch, Crop, Straighten, Redeye, and Auto-Contrast features to make quick improvements.
- Fine-tune color and exposure: Use the Tuning palette (Fill Light, Highlights, Shadows) and the “I’m Feeling Lucky” auto-adjust if you prefer one-click fixes.
- Tagging and captions: Add tags or captions in Picasa if you want the text to carry over or to help you write image descriptions later.
Tip: Keep original images safe by working on copies when doing heavy edits.
Step 2 — Export images optimized for the web
Before inserting images into a blog post, export them from Picasa with dimensions and quality suitable for web viewing. Large uncompressed images slow page load times.
How to export:
- Select the photos you want to publish.
- Click File → Export Picture to Folder (or use the Export button).
- Export settings:
- Resize to: choose a width appropriate for your blog theme (commonly 800–1200 px for full-width images, 400–600 px for inline images).
- Quality: 80–90% for JPEG is usually a good balance.
- Add watermark: optional, if you want to protect your images.
- Export folder: choose a temporary folder you’ll use to import to Live Writer.
Naming: Use descriptive filenames (e.g., “sunset-beach-2020.jpg”) to help with SEO.
Step 3 — Add images to Live Writer
- Open Live Writer (or Open Live Writer) and create a new post or open a draft.
- Position the cursor where you want the image.
- Insert image:
- Click the Insert → Picture (or Picture from File) button.
- Navigate to the exported folder and select your image(s).
- Upload vs. Link:
- Live Writer usually uploads images to your blog’s media library when you publish. Confirm in the image insertion dialog whether images will be uploaded or linked to a web URL.
- For large images or external hosting preferences, you can upload images to your own CDN or image host and insert by URL.
Accessibility and SEO:
- Alt text: In the image properties dialog, fill in Alt text describing the image succinctly — this is important for accessibility and SEO.
- Title and caption: Add a caption if you want visible text under the image.
- Filename and description: Some platforms import filename and description into the media library; fill fields thoughtfully.
Step 4 — Format images in your post
Live Writer offers common formatting options:
- Alignment: left, center, right. Use alignment to wrap text around images when appropriate.
- Size adjustments: You can resize images visually in the editor — keep proportions locked to avoid distortion.
- Click-through link: Optionally link the image to the full-size photo or another URL (e.g., a gallery or product page).
- Galleries: For multiple photos, use Live Writer’s gallery features (if supported) or insert images as a grid with captions.
Design tips:
- Use one larger lead image and smaller supporting images to create visual hierarchy.
- Maintain consistent image widths and margins for a neat layout.
- Consider lazy-loading for long posts with many images (your blog theme or platform may provide this).
Step 5 — Preview and publish
- Preview: Use Live Writer’s Preview feature to see how the post will look on your blog theme. This helps catch layout issues and large images that overflow the content area.
- Proofread: Check captions, alt text, and links.
- Publish: Click Publish to push the post to your blog. Live Writer will upload images to your blog’s media library and insert the appropriate URLs.
- Scheduling: If you prefer, schedule the post publish time using your blog platform after sending the draft, or use Live Writer’s scheduling if supported by your blog.
Troubleshooting common issues
- Images not uploading: Check your blog account settings in Live Writer and ensure credentials are correct and that the platform’s API (XML-RPC for WordPress) is enabled.
- Broken image links after publishing: Confirm that images were uploaded to the blog’s media library; verify correct URLs and permissions on the server or CDN.
- Image quality loss: Export at higher quality from Picasa or disable additional compression in your blog/platform settings.
- Open Live Writer compatibility: If original Windows Live Writer cannot connect, try Open Live Writer which supports modern blogging platforms and protocols.
Alternatives and modern considerations
- Google Photos replacement: If your images are in Google Photos, you may need to download them first or use platform-specific plugins that integrate Google Photos with WordPress.
- Direct uploads from modern editors: Many modern CMS editors (WordPress Gutenberg, Blogger web editor) have improved image handling and galleries; consider whether Live Writer still fits your workflow.
- Plugins: For WordPress, plugins like Jetpack, NextGEN Gallery, or cloud storage integration can offer smoother gallery publishing and CDN delivery.
- Migration: If you rely on Picasa long-term, export your entire library to a managed photo solution or a local organized folder structure to ensure continuity.
Example quick workflow (summary)
- Edit photos in Picasa.
- Export to 1200 px width, JPEG quality 85%, into an “exports” folder.
- Open Live Writer, insert exported images, add alt text and captions.
- Preview, then publish.
If you want, I can:
- Provide step-by-step screenshots for a specific Live Writer version.
- Write a shorter how-to for Open Live Writer and WordPress.
- Create image export presets for Picasa tailored to different blog layouts.
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