Absolute Beginner's Guide to Microsoft Windows® XP Media Center®

The Print Control

If you want a quick route to printing a full-screen hard copy of your image, simply

select the Print tab from the Picture Details screen (see Figure 19.5). You’ll be given

only two choices: print a full-page photo using your default printer, or cancel the

process. More full-featured printing options are available elsewhere on your Media

Center machine (see “Print This Picture,” later in this chapter).

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ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO WINDOWS XP MEDIA CENTER

FIGURE 19.5

This pop-up

message is dis-

played when

you select the

Print tab from

Picture Details.

Additional Windows XP Photo Features

Now that you have mastered the image-related capabilities inside the My Pictures

interface, you may want to venture outside Media Center to take advantage of some

of the expanded image manipulation and output tools that your Windows XP oper-

ating system places at your disposal.

Picture Tasks

To get started, exit or minimize Media Center and select My Pictures from the Start

menu in the Windows XP desktop.

The Filmstrip View

A handy way to use the photo-handling features provided by XP is via the Filmstrip

view (see Figure 19.6). This view allows you to view thumbnail images along the

bottom of the screen while simultaneously viewing a large image (nearly 900×700

pixels) at the top center of your screen.

This large picture is the active image, and any of the options you select on the

screen will be applied to that image file. The options available include icons that

advance to the next or the last image in the directory, alongside icons that will

rotate the image 90 degrees to the right or left. These icons, centered directly below

the large image, work exactly as the controls in the My Pictures Picture Details

screen described earlier in this chapter.

The more interesting options are located along the left margin of this screen, under

the heading of Picture Tasks. The tasks listed may actually vary, depending on the

extent to which your PC manufacturer has customized the menu. Hewlett-Packard,

for instance, typically includes various advanced image-handling capabilities on the

Picture Task menu (see Figure 19.7).

Although your actual results may vary, the more common picture tasks available

from the My Pictures display generally include the following:

■ View as a Slide Show

■ Order Prints Online

■ Print This Picture

■ Set as Desktop Background

■ Copy to CD

CHAPTER 19 PREPARING AND SHARING DIGITAL IMAGES

259

FIGURE 19.6

The My Pictures

folder in

Filmstrip view

offers various

photo-handling

options not

available within

the Media

Center interface.

View as a Slide Show

The slide show option in Picture Tasks is convenient, but rather rudimentary com-

pared to the slide show capabilities found in Media Center’s My Pictures interface.

The most obvious feature lacking here is the choice of transitions, particularly the

animated transition (described in Chapter 18). However, as a tool to quickly view

and inventory the images placed in your My Pictures folder, the slide show feature

available here is quite adequate.

Order Prints Online

When you select the Order Prints Online option, Windows XP immediately launches

the Online Print Ordering Wizard (see Figure 19.8). This wizard guides you through

the process of designating print size and quantity, choosing a company to print your

photos, and providing that company with your billing and delivery address informa-

tion. Prices are generally comparable to having prints made at a retail camera shop

or drug store.

Print This Picture

Whereas the Print Picture option in My Pictures only allows you to print one full-size

copy on your currently selected default printer, the Print This Picture feature in

Windows XP gives you access to a full range of printing options. These are presented

via another wizard, aptly called the Photo Printing Wizard. By following the onscreen

prompts, you’ll be able to select the photo or photos you want to print (see Figure 19.9),

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ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO WINDOWS XP MEDIA CENTER

FIGURE 19.7

This example

from the My

Pictures display

on an HP Media

Center includes

options to create

fun backgrounds

and greeting

cards with your

pictures.

choose and configure the printer you want to use, and set your printing preferences.

You can choose the images you want to print individually, or click on Select All.

CHAPTER 19 PREPARING AND SHARING DIGITAL IMAGES

261

FIGURE 19.8

When you

choose to order

prints online,

this wizard

screen appears

to help you send

your photos out

via the Web.

FIGURE 19.9

The Photo

Printing Wizard

begins by show-

ing you thumb-

nails of the

available images

in your My

Pictures folder.

In the Printing Preferences menu, you’ll be able to select from several layouts, rang-

ing from a full-page shot, to a contact sheet containing 35 thumbnail images on a

single page, to a sheet of wallet-size photos (see Figure 19.10) or standard 3.5×5-inch

prints.