Part 3 of 3: Search

Welcome back! Have you visited www.kodak.com/go/easysharesw to download your free copy of EasyShare software v7.0 for Windows yet? If not, I am sure that you will after you read about the final new feature, search!

The new search capability in EasyShare software v7.0 is what makes tagging your pictures worth your while. If you did not see it in the screenshots posted in the star rating or tagging entries from the other day, here is what the new search bar looks like:

This new feature allows you to find any picture quick and easy. Simply type in a tag or caption and hit enter. The really cool part of search is when you enter multiple tags. Just be sure to separate each word with a semicolon and no spaces. Rather than typing tags, I find it easier to select from the drop down menu:

So here is how the feature works. If I search for pictures of Maddox in my collection, EasyShare software v7.0 brings up the 293 images that I have tagged as Maddox. The pictures span over seven years and come from many different albums in my collection.

If I click back into the entire collection and search on the term Halloween, the result yields 49 images that I have tagged as Halloween. These images may or may not have additional tags associated with them.

Now, if I click back into my entire collection and search on both terms "Maddox;Halloween" the result yields 37 pictures that are tagged both Maddox and Halloween, allowing me to quickly see all of the different Halloween costumes that Maddox has worn over the years.

When searching on multiple tags, there are a couple of different choices available to you in the advanced search options menu:

The "result matches all" is similar to an "and" function meaning that the search will only yield pictures that matches all of the terms typed in. For example, if you were to search for Maddox;Halloween you would only get back images that were tagged both Maddox and Halloween.

The "result matches any" is similar to an "or" function. For example, if you were to search for Maddox; Halloween you would see pictures that were just tagged Maddox, just tagged Halloween, and pictures that were tagged as both.

Most people organize their pictures in albums by time. Even if the name of the album is not a specific date, there is generally a date associated with the group of pictures. Tagging allows you to eliminate the element of time and view your pictures by theme. When organizing pictures by theme, stories will often emerge that were not apparent before. EasyShare software v7.0 gives you the tools to find your pictures quickly and tell better stories with those pictures. Download it now, for free! www.kodak.com/go/easysharesw

Part 2 of 3: Tagging

Welcome to part two of the series on the new features available in EasyShare software v7.0 for Windows! Yesterday, I told you about our new star rating feature. Today, I am going to talk about another new organizing tool, tagging!

A tag is a label used to describe your pictures. Tags are customized to your picture collection. You can create any tag you want, but most people use the names of family members, events, and holidays. Tags should be single words like "birthday," not phrases like "Matt's birthday party." Tags should be generic enough that they can be applied to pictures throughout multiple albums over many years.

Within the software, we have built many different ways to tag your pictures. I will show you some of the basic in the My Collection tab. First, you will need to create a new tag. You can do this by right-clicking on the word "tag" in the left hand menu. This will create a tag on the outer most level. I usually have a two-tiered tagging system. So my first tag is a broad category, like family. Then, I add tags for the names of my family members. To add a nested tag, simply right click on the category tag that you want the new tag to be under. For example, to add a new family member name, simply right-click on the word family.

Once you have created a new tag, you can simply drag and drop your pictures onto the tag!

You may have also noticed that we added a new button along the top of the My Collection tab, called "Tag Pictures." Clicking the icon brings up the Picture Properties menu. Here you can type in a new tag or simply check the boxes to tag a picture with an existing label.

The third way to tag a picture is in full-screen view. Simply type the name of the tag in box at the bottom of the screen, or right-click the image to pop-up the Picture Properties menu.

Well that's a quick lesson on tagging. Hopefully, you understand what a tag is and how to create one in EasyShare software v7.0! To download the software for free, visit www.kodak.com/go/easysharesw.

Come back again for the final part of this series. I promise it will be the most exciting entry yet because the final new feature is the coolest one of them all!