Untangle those Blogger knots

Knots - Mary Cairncross Park, Maleny, QLD.

The simplicity of the Blogger platform enables many to get started publishing their family history stories. As time goes on familiarity with the platform may not progress beyond the basics of choosing a theme, adding posts and labels.

10 tips to help along the way

Top toolbar

1. If you use Blogger to write posts, use the toolbar.  The fonts it suggests will look best for the theme you have chosen. Do your readers a favour and save fancy fonts for titles and emphasis.

2. If you paste text in from another application, either right click to Paste as plain text or highlight the pasted text and use the Tₓ symbol to remove formatting. This will solve many a blogger's woes in getting a consistent layout and avoid unnecessary spacing between blocks of text. Headings and subheadings can then be added using the drop down options under Normal.

3. Left justify text. The majority of works published in English use left justified or fully justified text.
Centring text is best used only for emphasis in very short passages.

4. If using a quote, choose the quote symbol located to the left of the Tₓ button.

The quote will be indented and set apart from the rest of the text. Sometimes I like to italicise a quote.

5. Lists and bullet points help the reader with long passages of text. A numbered list is particularly useful when providing a list of children from a marriage.

6. Investigate the Insert Special Characters Tool 😃on the top toolbar. Here you will find symbols,  ⇉ @ ©, superscript⁴ and subscript₉, numbers ½, ¾‏, and emojis. There are several choices within each drop down menu.

7. Picture placement appears to puzzle many. 

• The options bar under the inserted pictures provide prompts for size and position. 
• The Properties option prompts for title of the picture and Alt text for screen readers. 
• If any further size adjustments are needed head to the HTML and find the size of the image inside the img tags. For the image below it read :

border="0" data-original-height="32" data-original-width="561" height="36"
I changed the border width, a very simple edit by inserting 4 instead of the 0. This provides a little extra space between your picture and text. So too can width and height be altered but be careful to keep the numbers proportional to avoid distorted pictures.

Picture toolbar

8. Preview, preview, preview.
Does it look clear, no extra spaces, not too long? Use the ABC button on the toolbar to check spelling.

9.  Add labels and a Search Description in the sidebar. This helps search engines find your blog and provides the snippet for Facebook that will be seen under your link.
:

10. Publish and post to social media using the link to your post title to take readers to the exact post. Enjoy and respond to comments by readers.

How to declutter your screen

Clear reading

Are you using this simple solution to clear your screen of additional clutter?

You’ve arrived at the article you want to read but the website is full of clutter, advertisements, sidebars with links to other articles and menus for navigating the site. Perhaps you want just the single article and a clear view of it.

Look for Reader View. A good reader view will clear the page of extraneous material, enable text resizing,  and some will provide the facility to change the background screen colour. Not all websites provide the option for a reader view but it is well worth using it when available.

Safari for iPad 

In the address bar look for the 4 line symbol in on the far left. A single tap will enable the simplified view or by a long press you can select to use on all websites.

Chrome - Windows 

For years I have been using the web extension Clearly by Evernote on my Windows PC but it has been discontinued. If you have Clearly installed it is likely it will continue to work but no further development is being undertaken.

Try Mercury Reader available from the Chrome web store if you do not have Clearly still working. 

 

Chrome - Android

The latest version now offers as simplified view. To access it,

• Open the Chrome browser (version 65) on your phone or tablet
• Go to Settings > Accessibility
• Tap on Simplified View

This will force Chrome to offer to show articles in a simplified view when that is supported. If your phone or tablet has not automatically downloaded the latest version of the browser, head to the Play store to update it.

Microsoft Edge

Edge has a reading mode built into the browser which can be activated by clicking on the book symbol in the address bar. The disadvantage with this method is that the pages are then reordered left to right rather than the normal method of scrolling down a page. Some may like that arrangement as it mimics a book layout.

Firefox

Firefox displays a single page icon in the address bar when the website can provide a simplified view. 

What web browsers provide you with the best reading options on your devices?

This post first appeared on https://librarycurrants.blogspot.com/2018/06/how-to-declutter-your-screen.html

Android phone 2

This second 2 hour workshop for Android beginners at Noosaville Library covers the functions within these basic apps.

• Clock
• Google app
• Chrome
• email and 
• note taking with Google Keep

How to add and manage apps and widgets is also covered. Time is allocated to helping individuals with the wide range of different Android phones and to answering queries generated since the previous session.

Useful everyday apps

• Books and reading - BorrowBox, Kindle, Google Play Books, Overdrive, Scribd, Feedly
• Documents - Adobe reader, Docs, Sheets, Slides
• Listening - ABC radio, TuneIn Radio, Google Play Music
• Notetaking - Evernote, Google Keep
• Online storage - Dropbox, Google Drive, Photos (Google), Flickr
• Phone calls and messaging - Viber, Skype, Whats app
• Photography - Aviary, Photos (Google), PhotoFunia, Photoshop Express, Pixlr, Prisma, Snapseed
• Scanners - Camscanner, Photoscan, Scanbot
• Social - Instagram, Pinterest, Flickr, Google+, Twitter
• Tools - Maps, Calendar, Calculator, Smart measure, WiFi transfer, Airdroid, Photosync
• Video - YouTube
• Voice recording - Evernote, Google Keep, Easy voice recorder

To use magnification in any app, including using the camera as a magnifying glass go to - Settings, Accessibility, Magnification gestures to turn it on. Triple tap in any app to activate. 

Drop in to Tech help - 2 pm on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month at Noosaville Library for more friendly assistance.

 This post first appeared on https://librarycurrants.blogspot.com

Android phone 1

This is the first in a series of two workshops for Android phones to be held at Noosaville Library on 9th and 23rd March, 2017. the slides are based on Android 6.0.1. on a Nexus 5.

Useful guides for Android phones

• Telstra mobile support and
• Optus interactive device help  

Both of these sites provide a wide range of manuals and guides for many modern phones. Choose the manufacturer or brand first then select phone.

This post first appeared on https://librarycurrants.blogspot.com

iPad basics

This session was presented at Noosaville Library in February 2017 and again in August during Seniors Week. A keen group of seniors gathered to learn some basic iPad functions and operations.

Use right arrow or tap on slide to advance

Useful links

iPad User Guide iOS 10 from Apple. Here's a tutorial on how to use the guide

iPad basics - brief tutorials from GFC Learn free 

Telstra - Introduction to iPad - Tech Savvy Seniors 

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This post first appeared on https://librarycurrants.blogspot.com

Tips for Windows 10

Whether you have tablet or computer, Windows 10 has some great features to make life easier for computer learners. There are a wide range of tutorials and guides to Windows 10 published on the web but a hands on session with one's own laptop or tablet gives people a chance to have their questions answered. Here’s a basic guide I used today at my local library with a keen group of senior learners.

To view full screen for clarity, use the four pointed arrowhead, press ESC to return to this page.

Useful articles and videos

• One of the best YouTube channels for short, well explained videos is the Windows10 Update channel. Each short video of two to four minutes duration explains how to use one app or how to get the best from a feature  of Windows.
• Windows 10 anniversary update This 7 min video explains a range of features that have changed since the first version of Windows 10.
• If you dislike the Quick access folder and would prefer that file explorer opened to “My PC” instead, this article from How to Geek explains how to change it.
• The  complete guide to Windows 10 privacy settings comes from  Makeuseof.com.
• This video from the Microsoft channel is useful if you want to use Edge as your browser - Windows 10 How to: Microsoft Edge.

Right click does the trick

Left click chooses, right click presents alternatives

.Following my post about Google Keep here’s a reminder of two useful Google Drive functions.

1. Text can be extracted from images in your Google Drive using right click to Open with Google Docs.
2. Upload a PDF, right click to Open with Google Docs to extract the text.

Google provides these tips to obtain the best results.

• Resolution: Text should be at least 10 pixels in height.
• Orientation: Documents must be right-side up. If your image is facing the wrong way, rotate it before uploading it to Google Drive.
• Languages, fonts, and character sets: Google Drive will detect the language of the document. You'll get better results if your image includes common fonts such as Arial or Times New Roman.
• Image quality: Sharp images with even lighting and clear contrasts work best. Blurry photos will decrease the quality of the text.
• File size: The maximum size for images and PDF files is 2 MB.

Right click on a PDF

Add-ons

There are plenty of add-ons for Google Docs and Sheets. These provide extra functions. Two of my favourites in Docs are Change Case and Easy Accents seen listed here in the Add-ons menu in Google Docs. Simply choose Get add-ons to explore the wide range available.

Some Add-ons for Google Docs

Google Sheets

The Power Tools Add-on for Google Sheets adds a myriad of functions under each heading: Remove, Clear, Text, Split, Functions, Data and Convert.

Do you have favourite Add-ons in Google Docs and Sheets?

Grab the image text

Remember that photo you took of a sign, newspaper article, page from a book?

Do you need the text to insert into a document or email?

Google Keep to the rescue. Keep is a note taking tool available for tablets, phones and on desktop computers. Once you are logged in to your Google account, it will synchronise your notes across all your devices.

On a recent trip I took lots of photos of newspaper death and funeral notices for recently deceased relatives. These recent newspapers are not available on line and I wanted to add the text to my family history database. I like to look for shortcuts to do these types of things. If I don’t need to type it all word for word, but only need to make a few corrections, that’s a bonus for me.

Here’s the process to get the text to copy and paste using a photo of an information board that I took at a scenic outlook.

Open Keep on your phone, tablet or computer. Choose the image icon on the right.

• On phone and tablet the choices are Take a photo or Choose an image
• On computers navigate to the image and add from local folder

Once your choice has been made and the image has uploaded, click/tap on the newly created Note to open it. Choose the three dots More Menu, located bottom right side, then Grab Image Text.

The image text will appear immediately below the image. Check for corrections and adjust any line breaks needed. Now the text is ready to copy and paste to your destination.

Other options at the bottom of the note are for choosing the colour of the note, picking a date and time, selecting a place, sending via share options. The menu options vary depending on the device you are using.

If you have not used Google Keep yet, here’s a quick 3 min introduction video to get you started. How to use Google Keep.

Use the powerful search options within Keep to search notes by place, colour, image, text and more.

To extract text from PDF files I use Google Drive but that’s a post for another day. 😉
How do you quickly extract text from images?

This post first appeared on http://librarycurrants.blogspot.com/2016/11/grab-image-text.html

Gestures and tips for touchpads

Mouse, trackpad, touchpad....whatever you use there are a range of options to assist your input and control on the screen. 

Head to Settings> Devices>Mouse and Touchpad to investigate the options for your preferred input. There you will find details of how the mouse/touchpad reacts to certain gestures. In Windows 10 choose  Additional mouse options to find the settings for both the mouse and your touchpad device.

Do you like to zoom in to the page you are viewing to enlarge the text or view the details in a photo? On the touchpad place two fingers close together and pinch out to enlarge. Want to return to the normal view, pinch back in. Find out which two and three finger gestures are enabled on your touchpad.

A single tap is equivalent to a left click mouse action. If the touchpad on your laptop does not have a right and left click button, explore the settings to determine the right click options.

I've come across laptop users who complain the touchpad interferes with their typing. In Windows 10 the touchpad can be disabled in Device settings.


Windows 8 and 10 users will find two finger scrolling, three finger swipe down to minimise all open windows and the reverse action to display them again are useful additions.

Excelling file names

On a recent trip to South Australia, I acquired 319 new digital items to be filed and named. Many of these are scanned photos, images captured from newspapers, photocopied documents, and photographed family memorabilia. What a bonus for a budding family historian to have acquired so much in a short period but how will I process and organise all this information? On looking at my file naming practice I spotted many errors had crept into my system over the past three years. This time, I was determined to stay consistent by using Excel to generate file names.

Spreadsheets have a function useful for this purpose: Concatenate. This simply means that all the information entered into a series of cells will be combined together into one cell. Why use this for file naming? The column headings on the spreadsheet prompt me to enter the different types of information; names, dates, places, and events. Basically, it is a guide to answering questions about files.

• Who is it about?
• When did it happen or when was it generated?
• Where did it take place?
• What is it about?

So my spreadsheet column headings reflect the type of information I wish to record. Any cell can be left blank if the type of information in that column is not relevant to the file to be named.
In the column where I want the file name compiled, in this case, I3, I added the formula =CONCATENATE(A3,B3,C3,D3,E3,F3,G3,H3) to join together or combine the information from the cells in columns A to H. This creates my completed file name.

Next , I used the fill handle, (drag down from the bottom right-hand corner of cell I3) to copy the formula down into all the cells in column I. Now any information I add in new rows will automatically be compiled in Column I.

I’ve added an underscore in column E to separate the numbers where there are two dates, simply for ease of reading. I’ve used fill down so that I don’t need to type that underscore every time.

If spaces are required between names one could add two double quotes around a space, into the formula. So to get Horgan John rather than HorganJohn I would need to amend part of the formula (A3,B3) to (A3,“ ”,B3)

The second tab on my spreadsheet replicates the formula for photographs, not all of which are related to family history pursuits. The reminder headings may be interpreted differently as the name column may be used to describe the contents of the photo. By keeping the sheets separate I will be able to sort the data in different ways.

I’ve added a Column J which contains a link to the file on my computer. This link is inserted once the file has been renamed using this system.  Now I need to get back to sorting and naming all those files.

This post on GFC Learn Free explains the concatenate function. There are many excellent Excel tutorials on YouTube. Google Sheets or Open Office users will find this function can be replicated in those spreadsheet programs.

This post first appeared on https://librarycurrants.blogspot.com

How to insert symbols and fractions in blog posts

When writing family history stories one may need to use a fraction of a year for expressing a person's age or if transcribing from a document one may find a person's height or weight expressed with fractions. A knowledge of keyboard shortcuts helps, and the oft forgotten ALT key with a number pad provides the solution.

For those accustomed to using word processing programs the Insert symbol or Insert special characters gave access to fractions and a variety of other useful symbols. Maths teachers have long used insert equation in MS Word to produce those endless worksheets and exams.

Many of us just need the simple one quarter, one half and three quarters.
1. Access the list of codes from Useful Shortcuts or from Keynote support.
2. Save for ready reference in Evernote or Google Drive, tag as codes, symbols, fractions.
3. Ready to insert? Switch on NUM LOCK, hold down the ALT key and type the code you need.
If your keyboard does not have a numeric keypad you can still access the numbers by finding the FN key with NUM Lock in the same colour on your keyboard. Remember to turn if off after you have used the code you want.

So for ¼ I have NUM LOCK turned on, held down the ALT key and typed 0188, ½ is 0189 and ¾ is 0190. Fractions may be highlighted as with any other text to alter size or bold.

This works in both Blogger and Wordpress blogs. I find this a much easier method to insert fractions rather than having to use HTML coding. If you are typing your blog post on an iPad the easiest way to get fractions is to add them as text short cuts. Tony Mortlock has a post Fractions on the iPad with instructions on how to add them as shortcuts. Do you have another simple method of adding fractions to your blog posts?


This post first appeared on http://librarycurrants.blogspot.com/2016/05/how-to-insert-symbols-and-fractions-in.html

Everyday symbols for tech savvy seniors

Carmel and Rick, trainers for Tech Savvy Seniors

Launch of Tech Savvy Seniors Program

As more seniors experience their first encounter with tablets and smartphones Telstra and State Library Queensland have partnered to fund the Tech Savvy Seniors program which was launched at Noosaville Library this morning. Several library staff members along with two community members, will be presenting these sessions during 2016.  The sessions will cover email, social media, online banking, computers, cyber safety, phones, tablets and more. Bookings can be made through local participating libraries.

Tech help Tuesday

This afternoon at Tech help Tuesday I reviewed with the group the meaning of a variety of symbols. Thanks to icons8 where there are more than 19,500 free icons, it was simple to put together these explanatory slides. Have I omitted any that would be crucial for a beginner?

This post first appeared on http://librarycurrants.blogspot.com/2016/02/everyday-symbols-for-tech-savvy-seniors.html

Using Open Live Writer

If you have ever lost a blog post in the draft stage Open Live Writer may solve that problem for you. A quick look at my Blogger account revealed I had 3 posts in Draft. The problem with the Draft format in Blogger is that it is easy to make a mistake when editing, deleting or moving text around. If an accidental highlight leads to a deletion or an unwanted alteration is made, one must be very quick to Undo before Blogger’s automatic Save cuts in and all that text disappears.
I use Blogsy, an excellent app for posting from the ipad but my preference is to use the laptop whenever possible. Sometimes I have written posts in Evernote then copied into Blogger. This method means that all formatting needs to be done in Blogger. The beauty of Open Live Writer is all the formatting can be done and previewed before posting.

Why would you use Open Live Writer?

• draft posts can be viewed within the application
• draft posts are saved to one’s own computer
• finished posts can be sent straight to your blog
• the interface is similar to most word processing programs
• no unnecessary behind the scenes code that slows down the display of your posts
• the menu bar has more sophisticated tools than that in Blogger
• image/picture manipulation has its own toolbar with crop, format, exact dimensions and more
• unlike word processors, OLW is designed for blog posting, once set up the process is easy
• it is free and open source

Getting started

Download from Open Live Writer and follow the installation instructions.

It is then necessary to log in to your blog account. I was already logged into my Google account and received an error message in the browser but when I returned to the OLW installation screen the next step had appeared.

By downloading the theme your blog uses it ensures that you view the post as it will appear online.

Now you are ready to write and post. Remember to Save regularly as there do not appear to be preferences that can be set to automatic save. Your local saved drafts can be found under File > Open Local Drafts.
To add another service or another blog choose menu option Blog Account > Blog options >Add

Images in this post were dragged on to the editing window. The width of each picture is set to 390px to give a uniform look to the post. This enables much better image control than the small, medium, large options provided in the Blogger interface. When editing and previewing are finished, one can choose to Publish direct or Post to Drafts. Warning: the spell check tool in OLW is not yet working! This post was written, previewed in OLW then posted directly from OLW to Library Currants. 

Thanks to Shelley at Twigs of Yore for informing me of this tool.

Keeping the brain active

A retirement activity

This article shown in the newspaper clipping was written by Jim Fagan and appeared in the September 2015 Sunshine Coast Seniors paper.

Noosa Library has been holding computer classes well before the start of Tech Help sessions which are mentioned here, and there are other volunteers who offer one-to-one sessions to help with technology.

On the first and third Tuesdays of the month a drop in, no bookings required, group session provides the opportunity for Noosaville library patrons to have their questions answered, problems solved or simply to learn a little more about their device in a friendly atmosphere.

Tech Help started out as an initiative of the Friends of Noosaville Library group, several of whom have been and are involved. This varies as we retirees can be involved in a wide range of activities or just taking those holidays and making family visits.

The wide range of questions, devices and operating systems keeps my brain active in retirement and provides the excuse for having the latest "tech toys." Phones, laptops, tablets, ereaders, USB devices, SD cards, scanners and so on it goes. It is definitely bring and learn on your own device.

Numbers of attendees have ranged from 3 to 13, some folks are repeat visitors and some only come once or twice depending on their need. A smile, a friendly word and a group situation can help those who are anxious dealing with the unknown.

This post first appeared on https://librarycurrants.blogspot.com

Update or be outdated

Screenshot of updates in App store - text added in WordSwag

Updateitis or appaddiction 

I think I have both. Each day lately new updates arrive.
 - Windows 10 with dribbles of fixes
 - iOS 9 merely days ago is already iOS 9.0.1
 - Android 5.1.1

Ouch, I obviously have too many apps across a variety of platforms. Yesterday my ipad indicated there were 43 apps to update.
Google pushed all new versions of its 11 apps to the Android phone and now on opening the Play store there are 5 more waiting to be updated.

App and program developers keep us moving on too. Evernote has a new web interface, so does Ancestry. Dropbox has added some features, Facebook is forever changing its layout and settings. September has been an unusually busy month for updates.

Okay, so what is outdated? I've had a trawl through the apps on my devices and deleted those rarely used. Sometimes it is easier to just use the web interface rather than a specific app.

• For Facebook I always prefer the web version so goodbye to all those apps. 
• Diigo is great for bookmarking, but a separate app, no thanks, I've got the bookmarklet installed. 
• Pinterest annoys me with its insistence on updating the app every three weeks. Give us a break please, I'll only be using you on the laptop from now on.

How many document scanners does one really need? Scanner Pro, Text scanner, Scanner+ CamScanner and Evernote Scannable. What about note apps? Evernote will stay but 2Do, Metamoji - - can't even remember its original name, and some others have gone. How many calendar apps have you tried, yes, I deleted 3! Whew, feeling better already. Then there's the range of web browsers, the photo editing apps and the image makers like the one below. How's your updating progressing?

Just couldn't get rid of this old favourite  - Wordfoto.

Screenshot of ipad keyboard, words added in Wordfoto

This post first appeared on http://librarycurrants.blogspot.com/2015/09/update-or-be-outdated.html

Power searching videos

Learn from an expert

The ability to search the internet effectively is a skill everyone needs. There are many online courses and sites to help but why not learn from the experts at Google? If you missed the Power Searching courses presented by Dan Russell, he has now posted all the videos used in the lessons online. Each video is only a few minutes long but by viewing them sequentially one can gain a better understanding of how search works and how to become a more effective searcher.
Learning how to search Google effectively eliminates many frustrations for those not finding their desired results.

Dan has listed all the videos here: 
http://searchresearch1.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/video-content-from-powersearchingwithgo.html
Alternatively you can search for PSWG3 which will find the YouTube channel but I do recommend that you watch them in lesson number sequence to get the best result for your efforts.

Here's the first video to get you started.

One of my favourite search techniques is to use the site operator to search within a site. Dan teaches this technique in Lesson 3 1. Happy viewing and learning!

This post first appeared on http://librarycurrants.blogspot.com/2015/08/power-searching-videos.html

Android phones 103

Notes, Calendars, Maps and favourite apps

Noosaville Library Wednesdays 10 am - 12 noon
April 8th, 15th, 22nd

Week 1
Week 2

Cooroy Library Wednesdays 10 am -12 noon
May 6th, 13th, 20th

This week sees the last in the series of three classes listed above. If you would like more help, Tech Help sessions at Noosaville Library are held on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month 2-3 pm. There is no need to book and assistance is provided for phones, tablets, ereaders and laptops. Bring your own device.

This post first appeared on http://librarycurrants.blogspot.com/2015/04/android-phones-103.html

Android phones 102

Noosaville Library 

Wednesdays 10 am - 12 noon

April 8th, 15th, 22nd.

Week 1 here

Cooroy Library 

Wednesdays 10 am -12 noon

May 6th, 13th, 20th.

Help videos

One of the quickest ways to get to know your phone is to watch a video as you can pause while you find the features mentioned. Droid Life has a great video channel. Find your phone in their 25 tips series. Here are some of the popular models.

Samsung Galaxy S3

Samsung Galaxy S4
HTC One M8
LG G3

Photo editing apps

Aviary
Photoshop Express
Pixlr
Snapseed

Communication

Viber
Whatsapp
Skype

Transfer to computer

AirDroid

WiFi file transfer

This post first appeared on https://librarycurrants.blogspot.com

Android phones 101

Made with http://www.classtools.net/SMS/

Getting the best from your phone

The slides and links are intended to provide a guide for those participating in the Android phone classes provided for Noosa Library Service at:

Noosaville Library 

Wednesdays 10 am - 12 noon

April 8th, 15th, 22nd.

Cooroy Library 

Wednesdays 10 am -12 noon

May 6th, 13th, 20th.

The lessons are intended to cover basic operations and provide a venue for individual help. 

It is advisable that you get a free Google account if you have do not have one. This will allow you to download apps from the Play Store as well as provide access to a wide range of other free Google services.

Slides

Use the arrow key to advance the slides to review content. Click/tap the Expand icon to have them fill your screen.

Online lessons

How to Geek- Basic Android guide

Lesson 1 - How to use Android effectively

Lesson 2 - Managing your installed applications

Lesson 3 - Extending your Android device's battery life

Manuals and guides

I recommend that you locate the appropriate guide for your phone to help you along the way.

Android Quick Start guide available from Google Play books
Telstra mobile support Choose your phone and be guided through excellent help pages

Example of the Telstra help pages

Optus also provide excellent help pages for a wide variety of phones.

Support manuals and guides for other phones and providers are listed here.

This post first appeared on http://librarycurrants.blogspot.com/2015/04/android-phones-101.html

Digital photo management

As we gradually accumulate mountains or terabytes of digital photos, some help is at hand. There is no perfect solution but a consistent and steady approach will help conquer the despair one may feel when looking at many years' worth of accumulated files. Much has been written on this topic and some recent up to date posts are listed at the end of this article. The slide show above accompanies a talk presented at Noosaville Library on 24th February 2015.

There are several issues to consider:

• Where are all your photos? Phones, cameras, computers, flash drives, CDs, surely not floppy disks!
• What do you want to do with them? Digital only, photo books, individual prints, keep them to yourself, share with family or with the world - all of these considerations will help you determine best practice for you.
• Where will you keep them? Locally, off site, in the cloud? 
• How will you find them? What search capabilities do you need to have, by file name, keyword, tags, people's names, events, dates?
• What about the future? What if the format of files changes? What media should you use?

Once you have thought about these issues it is time to get started.

1. Gather all photos into one location. Take a critical look and dispose/delete those that could easily be obtained by using a Google search. Is your picture of the Eiffel Tower better than one you can find online?

2. Decide on a file naming system. Probably the most difficult decision but remember the search capabilities of computers are excellent. Most cameras and phones nowadays will have the date embedded and for most purposes, this is an excellent method of naming files.

• YYYY-MM-DD Event Place Person number 2015-02-15_rain_Gympie_001.jpg 

This method will keep all your images well ordered whichever folder they are in.
If your photos are people focused you may like to consider

• SURNAME_Firstname_date_event_Place_number        HOGAN_Janet_1912_schooldays_010.jpg 

This method will file all families and relations together. Whatever the method you decide on, write some guidelines to remind yourself every time you save new images.

3. Add metadata, that is similar to writing on the back of the prints like Mum and Grandma did in the photo albums of previous years. Expensive programs are not needed to do this. See examples in the slideshow. Remember to save! 

4. Back up in at least 3 different ways - at least one external HDD and another one offsite in case of natural or other disasters. How often do you hear of someone losing all their files through a computer crash or a disaster such as fire or flood?

5. Load to the cloud for future proofing. When Apple no longer supported Flash files, the online providers eventually moved their files to HTML5. YouTube has now converted customers' online files for them at no cost. Flickr has billions of images from reputable entities worldwide. The British Library alone has more than 1 million images housed on Flickr.

Keeping things organized 

10 tips to keep your digital photos organised from Techlicious
How can I organise all my digital photos from The Guardian 

10 free photo editor tools from Make Use Of

Free photo editing software for Windows 7/8 by the Windows Club
How to use Spotlight search like a champ from How to Geek
Which cloud service for you? from CNet
Scan your life Create the photo collection you have always wanted
Clipping magic Instantly remove image backgrounds online
A great post on iPhoneography by Darcy Moore

The options I use to preserve digital photos are detailed in the slideshow. Here's another post on the subject I wrote earlier this year. There are dozens of YouTube videos to help with organising your photos. Is there a major player I've missed? Let me know in the comments what you have found useful.

This post first appeared on http://librarycurrants.blogspot.com/2015/02/digital-photo-management.html