Organize Your Photos

Overview
Create an Album
Edit Album Information
Rename Albums
Add Borders
Rotate and Flip Photos
Rename Photos
Edit and Enhance Photos
Sort Your Albums
Sort Friends' Albums
Saved Projects - Calendars, Folded Cards, Notecards
Tag your Favorites
Rearrange Photos
Move Photos
Copy Photos
Delete Photos
Remove Albums

Overview

In order to fully enjoy the Costco Photo Center, you might find it helpful to keep your photos organized. Please, create as many albums as you need, copy and move photos or rearrange them within an album to make finding your photos even easier when it comes time to share your photos, order prints or create photo gifts. Outlined below are some of the most common ways to keep your Costco Photo Center account organized.

If you do not have any albums of your own, please see the uploading photos section for details on how to upload your own digital photos so you can begin storing and sharing your photos online.

Create an Album

Creating an album is an important step in organizing and maintaining your digital photos. An album is similar to a folder on a computer because it makes it easy to find your photos when you need them.

Transfer digital photos to your Costco Photo Center account: you will have to select an album for your photos anytime you click 'upload photos'. To create a new album, click the empty album, type a title, a date, and if you would like, a description into the text boxes on the 'create album' page. The album will automatically be created and the photos you upload will be stored there.

Learn more about uploading photos

Move photos into a new album: select the photos you would like to move and click 'move photos' in the 'edit and enhance' menu. Click 'Create New Album' to create a new album to move your photos to. When the 'Create New Album' page appears, enter a title, a date and a description if you would like. When you are ready click the 'move now' button to create your new album and move your photos.

Learn more about moving photos

Copy photos into a new album: Select the photos you would like to copy and click 'copy photos' in the 'edit and enhance' menu. Click 'Create New Album' to create a new album to copy your photos to. When the 'Create New Album' page appears, enter a title, date and a description if you would like. When you are ready, click 'copy now,' and the photos you selected will be copied to the new album you created.

Learn more about copying photos

Edit Album Information

To edit the title, date, description or cover photo of an album, or to add an album to one of your group rooms, follow the steps below.

Click the album that you would like to edit.
Click the 'edit album settings' button.
Enter the information you would like into the album title, album date and description fields.
Click the 'update' button when you are ready to continue.

If you would like to change the cover photo, follow the steps below.

Click the album that you would like to edit.
Click the 'edit album settings' button.
Your current cover photo is displayed in the cover photo area. To choose a different one, click the photo from the thumbnails below.
Click the 'update' button when you are ready to continue.

To add your album to a group room, follow the steps below.

Click the album that you would like to edit.
Click the 'edit album settings' button.
Select a group room to add your album to in the 'add to group rooms' area by clicking the check box beside its name.
Click the 'update' button when you are ready to continue.

Rename Albums

Changing the name of any of your albums is easy. An album name can be up to 40 characters. Note that only the person who owns an album can change the name. You won't be able to change the name of albums that have been shared with you.

Select the album you'd like to rename.
While in the photo view, click 'edit album settings' button.
The 'album info' window will appear. Enter a new name for your album into the box and click 'update'. You can also choose a new date for the album, enter or edit a description, and choose a new cover photo.
To continue without entering new album information, click the 'cancel' button.

Add Borders

Borders provide an element of fun. They can turn an ordinary photo into a gift all on its own, or they can be used to add a touch of creativity to one of our many photo gifts.

Click 'add borders' in the 'edit and enhance' menu on the right side of the page.
If you selected a photo first, then clicked the 'add borders' link, you'll see the photo you selected in the edit preview.
Click the 'border' tab in the edit panel.
If you don't like the first border you choose, click another to see what it would look like with your picture.
The last border you click will remain unless you click 'remove border' at the bottom of the box, or 'revert to last saved' or 'revert to original photo' in the edit history at the bottom right of the page.

Tip: You can add a border that you like to all of your photos by clicking the link below the border previews.

Rotate and Flip Photos

Rotate Individual Photos

If your photo is sideways or upside down, you can easily rotate it to a better orientation. If you would like to rotate several photos at the same time, please see below.

Select the album that contains the photo you would like to edit.
Click 'edit and enhance' in the 'edit and enhance' menu on the right side of the page.
Select the photo you would like to edit if it is not currently displayed.
Click the 'fix' tab to the right of your photo in the 'edit panel'.
Click the 'rotate' icon.

Click the 'rotate' button until your photo is positioned how you would like.
Your photo will remain rotated. Be sure to click the 'save edit' button before navigating away from your photo.

Rotate Multiple Photos

Follow the directions below to rotate several photos in one easy step.

Select the album that contains the photos you would like to rotate.
Select all the photos you would like to rotate by clicking the checkbox beneath each one. To select all of your photos in the album, click the 'select all' link.
Click 'rotate' in the 'edit and enhance' menu on the left.
Each of your photos should now be surrounded by and . Click the to rotate your photo with that side as the top.
When you have rotated each photo to the orientation you would like, click the 'save' button to continue.

Flip Individual Photos

To flip individual photos horizontally or vertically, click on the picture you would like to flip and click the 'flip horizontally' or 'flip vertically' button.

Flip Multiple Photos

To flip multiple photos, click the album that contains the photos you would like to flip. Select each photo you would like to flip by clicking the checkbox beneath it. Click the 'rotate and flip' link. Flip each photo by click the upside down under the image.

Rename Photos

Some digital cameras provide a generic filename for your photos. You can change the name of the photos stored in your Costco Photo Center account to make them easier to identify by following the steps below.

Click the check box beneath each photo that you would like to modify.
Click 'rename photos' in the 'edit and enhance' menu on the right side of the page.
Next, you will see the photos you selected with a text box beside each one containing the existing filename. Type the new name for each photo inside this box. Your title can be up to 40 characters long.
Click the 'update' button to save your new titles. Click the 'cancel' button to return to your photo without changing the caption.

Edit and Enhance Your Photos

The Costco Photo Center offers many ways to enhance the quality of your photo. The list below is only the beginning!

Cropping your photos
Reducing red-eye
Auto-correcting your photos
Filling the flash in your photos
Adding fun tints and borders
And much more

Learn more about the many options for editing and enhancing your photos.

Sort Your Albums

There are a few different ways to sort your albums. By default, the most recently accessed albums are presented first. Use the drop down menu to select one of the sorting methods described below.

Sort by date
Click the 'sort by' dropdown menu above the album thumbnails. Select 'newest' or 'oldest' to apply the change.
Sort by title
On the 'photos' page, click the 'sort by' dropdown menu above the album thumbnails. Select 'A-Z' or 'Z-A'.

Sort Friends' Albums

If you would like to view your friends' albums, click 'friends' albums' in the photo library on the left. There are a couple of ways to sort your friends' albums.

Sort by date: Select a time frame to view the corresponding albums your friends shared by date.
Sort by title: Click 'A-Z' or 'Z-A' in the dropdown menu to organize your friends' albums alphabetically by name.

Saved Projects - Calendars, Folded Cards, Notecards

Creating a calendar, folded card or notecard can sometimes take more than one sitting. It is easy to access your saved projects.

Click either the 'home' or 'photos' tab.
Click 'projects' in the orange menu on the right.
Your saved calendars and folded cards are listed on the left side of the page and in the center. Click either the heading 'calendars' or 'folded cards' on the left to switch between showing calendar and folded card projects in the center.
Click the project you would like to edit.

Follow the steps below to delete a project from your saved projects.

Click either the 'home' or 'photos' tab.
Click 'projects' in the orange menu on the right.
Your saved projects are listed in the center. Click either the heading 'calendars' or 'folded cards' on the left to switch between showing calendar and folded card projects in the center.
Locate the project you would like to delete, and click the 'delete' link beside it.
A delete confirmation message will appear, click the 'ok' button to delete your project.

Tag Favorites

One of the best features of the Costco Photo Center is the ability to easily gather copies of all your favorite photos into an album. You can tag photos whenever you are viewing them in your own albums or a friends' albums. To tag a photo as a favorite, simply navigate to that photo's individual photo view page. Then click 'make this a favorite' at the top right of the photo.

To view your favorites, click the 'photos' tab and click 'favorites' in the toolbar to the left.

Rearrange

You can change the order of the photos in your album at any time.

Select the album you would like to rearrange.
Click the 'rearrange' link above the thumbnails of your photos
Click a photo you would like to move to select it.
Click the box between the two pictures where you would like to place your selected photo.
You're done! Repeat this process for as many photos as you want to rearrange.
Click the 'save' button.
Click the 'cancel' button to return to your album without changing the order of your photos.

Tip: Click the 'reverse all' button at the bottom of the page to reverse the order of your photos. Then, click the 'save' button. If you would like to rearrange all of the photos in your album alphabetically, click the 'arrange photos a-z' button. Click 'save' to continue.

Move Photos

Move photos to a new album or between your current albums. Moving photos is important for keeping your photos organized.

If you have shared an album and you move photos into or out of it, then the people with whom you shared the album will see the changes.

It is easy to move photos between your albums. Follow the steps below:

Click the album from which you'd like to move your photos.
Select each photo you'd like to move by clicking the checkbox beneath them. When you are ready, click 'move photos' in the 'edit and enhance' menu.
Select an album for your move. If you would like to move your photos into a new album, click the new album. Enter a title and date for the new album and a description if you would like.
Click the 'update' button.
The photos you selected will be moved into the album you selected.

Tip:

Click the 'cancel' button to stop the moving process without moving any photos.
Moving all of the photos out of an album will delete that album from your account.

Copy Photos

You can have multiple copies of the same photo in your account by copying a photo. Copying a photo is useful if you would like to edit or enhance a photo without losing the original.

Note: If your friends have shared albums with you, and they have not limited your access to the albums, then you can copy photos over to one of your albums. The people with whom you have shared albums will see photos that you've copied into those albums.

Follow the steps below to copy photos to another album.

Click the album that contains the photos you'd like to copy.
Select each photo you'd like to copy from this album by clicking the checkbox beneath its thumbnail preview.
Click the 'copy' link in the 'edit and enhance' menu.
Click the album where you would like your copied photos to appear. If you would like to copy them to a new album, click 'Create New Album'. On the New Album page, type an album title, date and a short description in the text boxes provided. Then click the 'copy now' button.

Click the 'cancel' button if you change your mind about copying photos.

Delete Photos

If you decide you don't want to keep any of your photos in your online account, it is easy to delete them.

Deleting photos from your online account will only remove them from the website. The photos will still exist on your computer as long as you haven't deleted them there.

Important: If you delete photos from your account, it cannot be restored.

Select the album that contains photos you would like to delete.
Click the checkbox beneath the photos you would like to delete.
Click 'remove photos' in the 'edit and enhance' menu.
A confirmation window will appear asking if you are sure you would like to delete the selected photo.
Click 'remove' to confirm that you want it to be deleted, or click 'cancel' if you've changed your mind.

Remove Albums

It is possible to remove any of the albums in your Costco Online Photo Center account.

Removing an album from your account is permanent. The photos will no longer be available online, but they will still exist on your computer as long as you haven't deleted them there.

You can remove a friend's album from your account, but it does not remove it from their account.

Important: A deleted album can't be restored.

Select the album you would like to remove.
When the album appears click the 'select all' link to select all of the photos in the album.
Click 'remove photos' in the 'edit and enhance' menu.
Click the 'photos' tab to return to viewing your albums. The album you just deleted should no longer be listed.