The ability to swipe emails off the screen to delete them is extremely handy. It makes it easy to get rid of all the junk anytime you have a minute and have your phone handy.

Open the gmail app on your phone and tap the 3-line menu, Settings, (General Settings) Swipe actions. For each direction you have the choice of Archive, Trash, Mark as read/unread, Snooze, Move to:, or None. Chris sets hers to swipe left = delete, swipe right = snooze.

Backstage Pass: we will use the same meeting ID for the rest of the year, so just copy this link somewhere you can easily find it. Like google Keep?!
https://zoom.us/s/631569619 You can click the link, or open a zoom app and join meeting ID: 631 569 619

The sound cuts out several times during this demo. If you turn on cc (closed caption) you will see some manual descriptions. Meanwhile – here’s what we demo’d.

A photo on an SD card. Insert the SD card into the computer and you can go to Photos.Google.com, click the Upload button and find the photo on the SD card that you want to upload to Google Photos. Success. Now, when that same photo is copied to the computer’s hard drive in the \Pictures folder, what will happen if we try to upload that?

Go to Photos.Google.com and click the Upload button, find the same photo in the \Pictures folder and Open. You will see a dialog box that says, “1 item uploaded” but did you notice how fast that appeared? It is lying to us. All it did was check to see that the particular photo already existed and it did not upload it again. Look at your library and that photo will only be there once. It did not upload the duplicate. Even in a different folder, Google photos recognizes that it is a duplicate. If you changed the name of the file, it would still be identified as a duplicate. BUT, if you edited the photo in any way, color correct, crop, or resize, then Google Photos will see it as a different picture and it will be uploaded.

2. If you add a photo to an album a second time will the album show it twice?

No. If you add a photo to an album, then sometime later you forget that it was in the album and you add it again, it just does nothing. You will see a little message that says, “0 items added”

3. If I use the trashcan to delete photos then later change my mind, can I get them back?

Yes, if it’s less than 60 days and you haven’t manually emptied trash. Just open trash – (3-line menu, Trash) – select the photos, then click the restore button. On phones, it says “Restore” in lower right, on computer it’s a button that looks like clock in the upper right. If you restore a photo that had been in an album, it will be restored to the album as well as to the library.

Can I download albums to my computer?

Yes! And, we think you should. If you use albums like we do – your best photos are in the albums. Downloading albums to your computer means you have all your best photos stored offline. Here’s the video: 574.GP-Download from Google Photos to Computer

Open the album and tap the 3-dot menu at top right, choose Download All. This will download all photos in the album to your computer in a .zip file. Depending on your browser settings, you should have the ability to specify what folder to download to. If yours doesn’t ask you for a location, it probably put it into the Downloads folder.

The .zip file is a great way to store your backup of your photos. If you want to see all the individual photos, you need to unzip the file. On windows, right-click and extract all. On Mac, just double click to unzip.

If you don’t have albums you want to download you can search for all photos from a month, or a date range, then select all and download them.

How do I add text to a photo?

Google Photos does not have the ability to add text on a photo. You can add a description by going into the info of a picture. On a mobile device, just swipe up on the photo to see the description. When viewing a photo on a computer you will see the description at the bottom left.

The native photo/gallery app that comes with iPhones or Android’s both have the ability to add text to photos. If you use that technique to add text, Google Photos will see the resulting photo and add it to your library. You can also use Snapseed to add text.

A “burst” photo is when you hold down on the shutter button and it takes several photos. When you open a burst shot, you’ll see the extra tool at the bottom. Tap that burst tool and you’ll get three options, Set as main photo, Keep this photo only, or Create animation. If you don’t see these 3 options, just wait

If you choose to Keep this photo only, the rest will be moved to the trash.

7. Can I sort by filenames?

NO. Sorry, Google Photos just pays no attention to file names. You cannot even edit a filename using Google Photos.

Sorting by filenames is an often-requested feature. If you want to add your name to the list – use the Send Feedback option on the Google Photos menu. They will see it, but they probably need a million or more folks to be on the list before anything happens.

See video: 459.SM-New Phone? Don’t Lose Your Pictures!

Check the Backup and Sync setting on your old phone. Make sure you know the username and password that is being used to backup the photos from that phone.

How to change the date of a photo

Easily done, but only on computer or iOS. Not available on Android.

Here’s the video: 477.GP-How to edit a photo’s date

When you use your phone to snap photos of old photo prints, it will show up on the date you snapped with your phone. You want the date – at least approximately – that the original photo was actually taken. On a computer, open the photo, click the i, then you’ll see a pencil next to the date. Click the pencil and you’ll be able to change the date to anything you like. If you select multiple photos you can click the 3-dot menu and change the date on all of them at once.

Once the date is changed, the photos will show up in your library in order by the new date. However, if you download that photo to a computer, the new date is lost. That edited date is just Google Photos database.

With so many videos, articles, and other learning resources on our GeeksOnTour.com website, it can be difficult to find everything you want to learn. So, Chris is hard at work making courses to guide you thru the learning process. The first one is for Beginners on Google Photos: 12 steps to success. Here is the link to the course. The price is $20, if you use the coupon code: ButtonShow you will get a 100% discount.

Zoom.us is a website which handles video conferencing. To join a video conference with your phone, you need the app. It’s free for Apple iOS, or for Android.

To set up a zoom conference call is super simple. Just open the app or go to the website and Host a meeting. The meeting will get a number that others use to Join. You don’t need an account like with other systems such as Skype. It’s what we use for our backstage pass – With the app, you can even do screenshare from your phone.