Using a USB or Thumb Drive.
Called Thumb Drives since they are about the size of a thumb, these drives are also known as USB or Flash Drives. These portable memory storage devices are rewritable, that means you can store information such as pictures, music, video, or document files and when you no longer want them, just delete them and put something new on it.
They attach to any USB port on your computer, you do not have to turn the computer off and on again to use one. (That’s called “hot swap”.) They are known to be quite reliable, meaning you can expect them to work for a long time, thus are another option for backing up files, and can be used on both Mac’s and PC’s. They come in various capacities, and are continually dropping in price. At the time of writing, you could purchase an 8 gig drive for less than the price of a 1 gig drive a few years earlier.
The Memory Stick, also known as Memory Cards are used in Digital Cameras, Cell Phones, game consoles etc. For steps on using a Memory Stick Click here.
Some potential uses:
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-Store your favorite pictures, photo albums.
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-Take photo albums, slideshows with you when you travel and show them on a family’s computer.
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-Use to transfer photos to a Digital Photo Frame.
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-Back up important documents that you have scanned into your computer. Hey, here’s an idea, use a scanner and make electronic copies of all your important documents, pictures etc. Then store the drive(s) somewhere away from home, even in a safety deposit box at your bank.
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-Keep a copy of your important papers, i.e. driver’s license etc in a safe place in case you loose the originals.
1 - Slide the drive into an empty USB port. In a moment or two, you should see an icon on your desktop depicting the drive.
- Double click on the drive.
2 - A new window opens that looks like a regular Finder window. The drive is listed under “Devices”. When it is highlighted, as in the picture, the contents of the drive are listed in the right-hand pane. The name of the drive will likely be the brand name.
10 - Open iPhoto by clicking on the icon in the dock.
Now let’s get ready to put something on the drive.
3 - The drive I am using is totally empty, so nothing shows in the window.
5 - If your drive was empty, you may want to consider setting a folder or two to help you keep your files organized. Let’s set up at least one folder for pictures.
With the iPhoto window open, you should still be able to partially see the window for the Drive. If you can, skip to step # 12.
6 - Click on the “Action” button to open a small drop-down menu, click on “New Folder”. (6a)
8 - Open the new “Pictures” folder by double clicking on it. Notice the right pane is empty and the title at the top of the window is “Pictures”. (8a)
11 - If not, place your pointer somewhere on the grey bar along the top of the window, hold it down, and slide the pointer towards the left, the window should move towards the left side of the desktop. When you are near the side, let go and the window should stay in that location.
7 - Give the folder a name. Notice that the words “untitled folder” are highlighted, ready to type over. Type a name you would like to use. For instance “Pictures”.
12 - You should now be able to see both windows. Note the “Drive’s” window is partially hidden.
14 - Select a photo by clicking on it, hold the pointer down and slide it towards the Drive window. You should see a ghost image. When you are over-top of the drive window, let go, and a copy of the photo will drop into the Pictures Folder.
You have just put a single photo into the Thumb Drive by “dragging and dropping”. This method can be used to move a lot of different files into the drive. You can even drag folders into the drive. To do more than one photo, the best way is to make an album first, then drag the album to the Drive. Without going into the details of why, “Dragging and Dropping” does not necessarily place the best quality picture into the Drive. The quality will be fine for viewing on another computer, but if you want to be sure you have the highest quality, then you should “export” the pictures or album to the drive. Click on the words in bold print to see “easy-to-follow-steps” for making an Album.
First, we will move the “Pictures” window (sorry about the pun) over towards the right of the desktop so it will at least partially show up and not be hidden behind iPhoto .
9 - Place your pointer somewhere on the grey bar along the top of the window, hold it down, and slide the pointer towards the right, the window should move towards the right side of the desktop. When you are near the side, let go and the window should have moved.
13- If you still cannot see both windows, you can make the iPhoto window smaller. Click on the bottom right hand corner and hold the pointer down. Drag your pointer towards the middle of the window. The window should become smaller, revealing the other window behind it.
Successful drop.
Let’s try putting some pictures on a drive by using the “Drag and Drop” method.
15 - Eject the Drive by dragging it to the Garbage Can. Note that as soon as you start to drag it, the Garbage Can turns into an Eject Button.
16 - Once you have ejected the Drive, you can remove it from the USB slot. If you remove it without doing step #15, you will see the message on the right about Device Removal. Most likely your Data is safe, however, best plan is to eject first. Click OK and you are done.
