First, you will need to add a Photo Directory to access your digital photos.  Then, you will setup your PhotoVu Photo Albums.  Last, you will select one or more Albums and make them Active for the Photo Show.  Any time you see the icon, click on it for context sensitive help.
 

Using the Photo Locations Menu, you will: Add a Photo Directory from the available shared folders to access your digital photos.   Use Photo Locations, Albums to mange the Albums and tell the PhotoVu which Albums to play.

Step 1 - Add a Photo Directory to Access Your Digital Photos In order to use PhotoVu Photo Albums, you first need to add a Photo Directory so that the PhotoVu can access your digital photos.  You will need to use the PhotoVu Computer Name and Computer Share Name you created in the last section.  This information will vary based upon your operating system. In the PhotoVu Web Administration Menu, click Photo Locations, Directories and look for the following section at the top:

This information will tell the PhotoVu where to find your digital photos.

1. Type:
   Select your type of computer operating system for the Photo Directory to add.  Choices include Windows, Mac, and NFS.
    
2. Computer Name:
   This is the name of the computer that has the shared folder.  Please see your notes from the prior step on the name of your shared folder.  Windows machines (Full computer name) can have both letters and numbers in the computer name.  Valid names for Mac, Linux, and Unix computers will look something like "192.168.1.10" (IP Address).  Spaces are not allowed.
    
3. Computer Share Name:
   This is the name of the shared folder where your digital photos are stored.  Please see your notes from the prior step.  On Windows, this is the Share name.  On the Mac, this is the Short Name.  For Linux, Unix, and NFS, shared folders must start with the forward slash "/".  Only NFS Computer Share Names can contain spaces.
    
4. Computer Username and Password:
   Most computer operating systems require you to enter a username and password for access to your shared folder.
    
   Windows Users: 
   Enter the same username and password as you use to login to your PC.  The PC login screen is shown after you start up Windows.  If using Windows XP Simple File Sharing (the default), just enter "guest" for the Computer Username and "guest" for the Computer Password.  If you are using Windows XP Professional with Simple File Sharing turned off, you MUST use an administrator account on your PC that has a password.  If not, you will not be able to add a Photo Directory.
   
   Mac Users: 
   Enter the same username and password as you use to login to your Mac.  The Mac login screen is shown after you start up your Mac.  Most of the time, the Mac Short Name and the full Mac username (Name) will match.   If not, always use the Short Name for the Computer Username field above.
   
   NFS Users: 
   No username or password is required.

Once you have entered all of the above information, click Add Photo Directory.  If you receive any error messages, please take the action given and try to add the Photo Directory again.

If you are a Mac user and confused by the above terminology, please click here to view the FAQ on naming conventions.

For a detailed explanation on Photo Directories, click here.

Now that you have added a Photo Directory to access your digital photos, it will show up in the Active Photo Directory section.  This simply means ready to be used by the PhotoVu Photo Albums.

Step 2 - Setup your PhotoVu Photo Albums

Next, you will set up your Photo Albums.  In the PhotoVu Web Administration Menu, click Photo Locations, Albums and look for the following section:

If you have a Mac and want to use an external hard drive with your Photo Directory as Albums configuration, please read this Mac FAQ first.  You will return to this section but please skip the section below and go to Step 3.

From the drop-down list, select "Photo Directory as Albums".  You will see something similar to this:

Based upon your selection, there are two fields to fill-in:

1. Photo Directory that contains your photos:
   This is the Photo Directory you created in the last section using the Share name or the Short Name.  You should see that Photo Directory in this drop down box.
    
2. Path within your Photo Directory:
   For Mac users, if you know the path to your top level folder containing your photos, enter it now.  The Mac OS X default is "Pictures".  Otherwise, leave this field blank.
    
3. Search how many folders deep:
   Depending upon your folder structure under your Photo Directory, you can select to search 1, 2, or 3 folders deep.  The search can be very slow depending upon your folder structure and number of photos.

Click on Get Albums.  In a few seconds, you should see your folders in the Available section below.  If you do not see any folders, please double check all information you entered in the fields above.  Also make sure you have cookies enabled in your web browser.

For a detailed explanation on Photo Albums, click here.

Step 3 - Making Albums Active

You should see a similar listing like the one below.  This will vary depending upon the names of your folders.

Click on one or more of the Available Albums.  Click on the Make Active button to move them to the Active column.  You will see the screen refresh and the Active list will be updated.  Only the Albums that are in the Active column will be played in the Photo Show.

If you have a large number of Albums, use the Filter to narrow down your search as shown in this example.

Now you're ready for the last step...lets play a Photo Show!