How To Copy a Photo in Windows

Introduction

Nearly everything in the Microsoft Windows operating system is automated, including many of the functions that surround photo files. For example, when you visit a website that is full of photos, you can save those files to your computer using right-click functions or menu options in the Internet browser. If you have a digital camera you can easily transfer photo files from the flash memory inside the device to your computer.

After you get the photos from an external location, such as the Internet or memory card, the Windows operating further automates the photo handling process on a computer. Many version of the OS, including Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 have folders that are dedicated to conveniently organizing photo files when they reach your hard drive. In some of the most recent versions, users will see Libraries in place of folders, such as the Pictures library. This Library is alive, in some sense, because Microsoft programmed this feature to look for photo files throughout the hard drive and aggregate them into one location. So if you download a file and are unsure where it has gone, it's possible that the Pictures library will automatically show the location of that file, especially if it has a common format, such as JPEG or GIF.

Copying photo files is not an easy automated process, but it is not a complicated manual process either. You just need to follow a few simple steps.

Step 1

Open the My Computer or Windows Explorer folder in the operating system so that you can find the photo file. When you open a window or folder from these main folders, you see more editing options, which also include the basic function of copying files.

 

Step 2

Find the photo files using the native search functions in Windows. Look in the upper right hand corner of the My Computer folder and you should see a search box. Type the name of the photo in that box.

Step 3

Right click on a photo if you only want to copy a single file. Alternatively, press the Ctrl + A keys while you have the folder open and this will highlight all of the photo files.

Step 4

Select the copy function from the pop up menu. This will copy your photo file to the clipboard in the background of Windows.

Step 5

Paste the copied photo in another folder in Windows by press the Ctrl + V keys.

Tips

You can also paste a photo file directly into a word processor document in Windows.

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