Tag and organize your pictures in Windows Vista

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I just started using Windows Vista a month ago. I’m probably like a lot of people—I planned to upgrade when I got a new computer. I may have been the last Microsoft employee to start using it. And I can say I really like it. The Aero interface is obviously the first change you notice—and it is great—but I really like how it helps me complete everyday tasks. For example, finding files is easier with Instant Search and working out of the office is easier with some of the mobility features. There are a lot of things I'm discovering about Windows Vista, and I'll talk more about those in upcoming entries.

What I’m really excited about in Windows Vista is the Photo Gallery and how it can help organize pictures. I have hundreds (maybe thousands?) of pictures saved on my computer and in photo albums. But if you ask me to show you pictures of just one of my daughters, I have to go through dozens of folders to pull them together.

Tagging pictures

With Windows Photo Gallery, I can add tags to my pictures—meaningful words or phrases that describe who or what is in the picture. Tagging the pictures makes them easier to find in the future because I can display all the pictures that have a particular tag. Basically, I’m organizing pictures by the content in them rather than just when I downloaded the pictures to my computer.

To use my example above, I created tags for both my daughters, pictures of them together, my wife, family pictures, and our recent camping trip. I can now search for and find all the pictures with the same tag. Even with just a month of photos, it’s already saved time when I’m looking for a certain picture.

Here are some links to help show you how you can tag and organize your pictures in Windows Vista.

--Jason Kozleski