Reviewer s Guide FotoShare Reviewer s Guide
Table of Contents Introduction... 3 Getting Started... 4 Browser Requirements... 4 Signing up for FotoShare... 4 Uploading Photos and Videos... 6 My FotoShare... 9 Adding Captions, Tags/Keywords... 9 Sharing Photos and Videos... 10 Administration Options... 10 Buying Prints and Gifts... 11 Contact Information... 12 Page 2
Introduction FotoTime s FotoShare allows digital photographers a way to easily upload, organize and share photos and videos online. FotoShare provides numerous methods for users to upload their photos and videos. Once a user has uploaded their photos, they can organize them into albums, add captions and tags/keywords. FotoShare provides several tools to share pictures such as sending email invitations, generating links to share on third party websites like forums and auctions, and RSS. FotoShare automatically tracks and provides real-time reporting of all views. This Reviewer s Guide will take you step by step through the exact procedure users will take to upload, organize and share their photos and videos using FotoShare. Unique Features FotoShare has numerous features that distinguish it from the competition. Some prominent features you should be aware of when reviewing include: Save time, organize your photos and videos once Using our image organizing software FotoAlbum (http://fotoalbum.fototime.com), you can easily organize and caption the photos and videos on your PC. With a few clicks, you can upload your photos and data to your FotoShare web account. Your guests are NOT required to register When guests view your photos and videos they do not have to register with FotoTime. Showcase your work FotoShare provides an environment devoted to displaying your photos and videos. Our uncluttered layout provides plenty of room to display and showcase your photos and videos. You can choose the size of your thumbnails and change your background styles to fit your desires. Access to your original photo and videos You always have access to the original photos and videos you upload to your account. Unlike other photo sharing sites, we do not charge you a pricey fee to download your original photos. FotoShare also provides tools that let you easily download your photos to your PC. Use your photos in auctions, blogs and forums With FotoShare you can easily share your photos and videos on ebay auctions, blogs, forums and thirdparty web sites. Your photos are secure - For each guest, you can control which photos and videos they see. In addition, you can control whether your photos are included in FotoTime s public gallery. Watermarking You can protect your photos by adding a watermark to your photos. Page 3
Getting Started Browser Requirements To use FotoShare, you only need a web browser. For Windows users, we recommend using the latest version of IE, Firefox, or Opera. For Mac users, we recommend Safari or Firefox. Some of the functionality of FotoShare uses popup dialogs to prompt for input, so if you have a popup blocker, be sure to configure it to allow popup windows from www.fototime.com. Signing up for FotoShare Getting started with FotoShare is easy. Enter http://fotoshare.fototime.com in your browser address bar to go to the FotoShare product page and to start the registration process. On that page, users can find more information and learn how FotoShare can help them easily upload, organize and share their photos and videos. To sign up, click the Join Now button. On the registration form, enter the necessary information, and then click the Accept & Continue button. Be sure to use a valid e-mail address, as FotoShare will send you a Welcome e-mail with a confirmation link to activate your account. Page 4
Page 5
Uploading Photos and Videos After you sign up for a FotoShare membership, the next step is uploading your photos and videos. After registering, you should be on the Welcome to FotoShare page. Click the Add Photos & Videos button to start configuring your account, which will bring you to the upload photos page. Page 6
Notice the several different upload methods that FotoShare supports for uploading photos to your store. The tabs along the top let you select from the different upload options, and may be different than shown below depending on what browser you are using. By default, the system creates a sample album called My Pictures. In your case, we want to add a new album called Vacations. Click the Add New Album button to add the new album. On the Add New Album page, enter Vacations next to the name prompt, and whatever you want for the description. Use the default options for the other fields on the page, and then click the Add button. You will then be re-directed back to the Upload Page, and the new album you added will be shown in the Upload To section. The steps to upload differ slightly with each of the different upload methods, although the concept is the same browse your computer for the photos you want to upload, add them to the batch, then send the batch to FotoShare. We recommend using Internet Explorer along with the Batch Upload method (the first tab). Using this method, you use the tree at the left to browse the different folders on your computer for pictures. Once you find the correct folder, thumbnails of your pictures will show on the right. Using the same methods for selection as you would in Windows Explorer (drag a range, shift-click, or control-click), you can select either single or multiple photos, then click the Add Photos & Videos Now button to start the batch upload. Page 7
A progress bar shows as each photo is uploaded to your store, and a counter shows how many of the photos in your batch have completed so far. Once your batch has completed uploading, you can click the Return To Photos link at the top of the page to view the photos you have just uploaded. A sample album is shown below. Page 8
My FotoShare The My FotoShare page provides useful information, and links to common functions. To access this page, click the My FotoShare link in the top blue menu bar. The Getting Started section provides access to the most common functions you might use uploading photos, viewing photos that you have uploaded, and sharing your photos. To view your photos and videos you uploaded, click the View Pictures button. You will then see thumbnails of all the photos you have uploaded. To change albums, click the album using the tree on the left. To view a slideshow of your photos and videos, click on a thumbnail. To cycle through your photos and videos automatically, click the Start Slideshow link on the left. From this page, you can also add captions, tags/keywords, share pictures and buy prints. Adding Captions, Tags/Keywords First click on the View Pictures from the My FotoShare Page, which will show you your pictures as thumbnails. To add captions and tags, choose the Edit Captions & Tags menuitem from the Edit Web Albums menu. Next choose the album to work with and then enter your captions next to each photo. On this same page, you can also enter your tags/keywords. Use commas to enter multiple tags for each photo. You can also click on the Tags link to see a list of previously used tags. Keywords and tags are used in FotoShare s Public Gallery database. From the Edit Web Albums menu you can do many other organization tasks such as: Add, Edit, Delete Albums Add, Edit and delete albums. Add Group Add a sub-album to an existing album. Re-Order Albums Change the display order of your albums. Upload Pictures Allows you to upload photos and videos to your account. Download Pictures Download all pictures in your album to your hard drive in one step. Delete Pictures Delete individual pictures in your account. Re-Order Pictures Change the order of your pictures in your album. Copy/Move Pictures Copy and move pictures between albums. Edit Captions & Tags Add captions, tags/keywords to your photos and videos. Page 9
Change Security Control who can view your photos and videos. Compress Pictures Downsize your photos to take up less space. Sharing Photos and Videos There are several options from the Share Pictures Menu that allow you to share your photos and videos. You can easily share your photos and videos by sending an email invitation, as well as create a link to your pictures to share on third party web sites, such as forums and blogs. The Share Pictures menu has the following options: Send E-mail Invite Send an email invitation to your friends and family. You can choose to give access to all of your albums or just a select few. Create Link to Pictures Create a link to your pictures to use in third party web sites. You can choose to give access to all of your albums, a specific set of albums or individual photos. Creating a link to an individual photo is useful for sharing in forums and auctions. Public Gallery Opt-In Make your public photos and videos searchable in FotoShare s public gallery. Edit Address Book Edit your address book which is used to send email invitations. View Invite History See who you have sent email invitations to, as well as see statistics on your invitation views. You can also see a statistics on any links you have created. Send to Blog Automatically send a picture to your favorite blog. Create ebay Auction Automatically create an ebay auction showing your photos and videos. Administration Options FotoShare has many configuration options that can be found in the Admin Options menu. The Admin Options menu has some of the following options: Storage & Bandwidth Usage See how much storage and bandwidth your account is using. Album Activity See which albums are most viewed. Earn Commissions on Sales Markup print and gift prices and earn money from your photos. By marking up prices, your account automatically becomes a FotoStudio account. (http://fotostudio.fototime.com) Custom Domain Name Setup up a unique domain name to access your photos. For example, http://inthezoneimages.fototime.com Watermark Settings Protect your photos with watermarks. Edit Preferences Change your account s security and settings. Select Display Styles Change the way your account s colors, fonts and thumbnails look. Page 10
Buying Prints and Gifts FotoShare offers wallet size to poster sized prints, along with custom photo gifts like photo greeting cards, mugs and calendars. To purchase prints and gifts of your prints from the thumbnail page, click the Buy Prints and Gifts link on the left. Select the photos you want to purchase and then click either the Buy Prints or Buy Gifts button. If you want to buy prints, just select the print size and the quantity. If you want to buy a gift, select the gift you want to purchase. When finished ordering, click the Proceed to Checkout button. Page 11
Contact Information Technical Contact Andrew Pitts FotoTime, Inc. Email: mediarelations@fototime.com www.fototime.com PR Contact Barbara Kohn Kohn Public Relations Email: Barbara@kohnpr.com Phone: 650-342-9853 Page 12