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Share your photos with friends and family

To keep your loved ones informed about what's happening in your life, publishing photos on Windows Live is the way to go. First off, it's free to store them! Also, you don't clog people's inboxes with large photo attachments and you don't have to worry about people losing the photos you send. The photos stay online for as long as you want, so your friends and family can return to view them in the weeks, months, or even years to come.

If you have Windows Live Photo Gallery installed, publishing photos on Windows Live is a snap. Start Photo Gallery, click Publish, click Online album, and then follow the instructions. If you're working on a computer that doesn't have Windows Live Photo Gallery installed, you can still publish photos on Windows Live. Follow these steps:

To publish photos on Windows Live

  1. Before you publish your photos, make sure that you have made any edits you want to them. For example, first crop them, remove red eye, or adjust the brightness or color. It is also helpful to put all the photos you want to publish in the same folder so they're easy to find. File names will be used as default captions; you can change the captions later to make them more descriptive. The photos will be published in chronological order.

  2. Sign in to Windows Live and click Photos.

  3. Click Create album.

  4. Enter a title to describe the set of photos, select who you want to be able to view the album, and then click Next.

    Picture showing the creation of an albumCreating an album

  5. If you're prompted to install the upload tool and you have more than a handful of photos to upload, click Install the upload tool. It will save you time.

  6. Select the photos you want to share.

    Picture showing photos being added to an albumAdding photos to an album

  7. If you've installed the upload tool and you think your friends and family might want to print the photos you're publishing, change the upload size to Original or Large.

  8. Click Upload.

  9. To let people know about your new album, click Let people know.

    Picture showing an album that has been publishedA published album

  10. Enter the recipients' e-mail addresses, enter a personal message if you want, and then click Send. Your friends and family can view the album, download copies of your photos, or order prints.

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