After connecting your camera to your PC, you can use the Scanner and Camera Wizard to download and save pictures in your My Pictures folder or any folder that you choose.
Most cameras come with a cable that plugs into your PC's USB port. Windows includes and installs drivers for many camera models, sparing you the chore of manual setup. If your camera is too old (pre-2000) to understand XP's automated download features, your best bet is to buy an external
memory card reader that plugs into a USB port. Insert a memory card into the reader, and Windows treats it like a floppy disk (Figure 9.1 ). Multislot readers can handle Secure Digital (SD), SmartMedia, CompactFlash, MultiMedia, Memory Stick, xD, and other formats.
Installed cameras also are accessible in Control Panel's Scanners and Cameras extension. Choose Start > Control Panel > Printers and Other Hardware > Scanners and Cameras.
To transfer photos to your computer:
1. Connect your digital camera to your computer with the USB cable, or connect your card reader to your computer and insert a memory card.
If a dialog box or the Scanner and Camera Wizard doesn't appear, see the sidebar later in this section.
2. If Windows asks you what you want to do, choose Microsoft Scanner and Camera Wizard; then click OK (Figure 9.2 ).
3. Click Next to skip the Welcome page (Figure 9.3 ).
4. On the Choose Pictures to Copy page, choose the photos that you want to work with on your computer (Figure 9.4 ); then click Next.
It's usually easier to copy
all photos from camera to hard disk and then delete the ones that you don't want in Windows Explorer, which displays larger preview images.
5. On the Picture Name and Destination page, name the group of pictures and specify a folder to copy them to (Figure 9.5 ); then click Next.
If you name the group, say, My Bar Mitzvah, Windows creates the folder My Documents\My Pictures\My Bar Mitzvah and puts the photos in it unless you click Browse or type a different pathname.
The wizard displays a progress page (Figure 9.6 ).
6. On the Other Options page, select the third option, Nothing, I'm Finished Working with These Pictures (Figure 9.7 ); then click Next.
7. You're done; click Finish (Figure 9.8 ). The wizard tacks serial numbers onto the group name to create each photo's file name (Picture 001.jpg, Picture 002.jpg, and so on). You can rename the photos as you would any other files.
If you find the Scanner and Camera Wizard to be cumbersome, you may prefer an option that downloads all your photos automatically to a specified folder whenever you plug in your digital camera.
To transfer photos to your computer automatically:
1. With the camera connected and powered on, choose Start > My Computer.
2. Right-click the camera icon; then choose Properties > Events tab.
3. Adjust the settings shown in
4. Click OK (or Apply).
Tip
This option doesn't apply to memory card readers (removable disks).
The Scanner and Camera Wizard won't appear when you connect your camera to your PC if
It's an older (pre-2000) camera that doesn't comply with the WIA (Windows Image Acquisition) standard, or
The camera's driver didn't come preinstalled in XP.
In either case, you can install the necessary software manually by using the CD that came with the camera:
1. Choose Start > Control Panel > Printers and Other Hardware > Scanners and Cameras.
2. Below Imaging Tasks (in the task pane), click Add an Imaging Device.
3. In the Scanner and Camera Installation Wizard, click Next.
4. Click Have Disk.
5. Insert the disk containing the camera software; then follow the onscreen instructions.
You also can install a camera driver by using Control Panel's Add Hardware Wizard. See Chapter 8.
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