Way to have separate installations of Picasa on the same computer

I do this with Picasa on my Windows XP ( Notebook and Desktop)

1. Make sure Picasa is closed

2. On Windows XP I went to the following directory:

   C:\Documents and Settings[user profile name]\Local Settings\Application Data\Google

3. Copy the following directories to another location (eg external Hard drive):

   Picasa2
   Picasa2Albums
   

4. Copy over your photo folder (in my case it was in c:\my documents\my photos) to your external hard drive.

To restore on the second PC:

*Download and install the same version of Picasa you used on the first PC:

1. On the second PC open the following directory:

   C:\Documents and Settings[user profile name]\Local Settings\Application Data\Google

2. Copy over the (Picasa2 / Picasa2Albums folders) to this directory.

3. Copy over your photo folder to the same location (e.g. c:\my documents\my photos)

4. Start Picasa.

You should have a duplicate copy of your Picasa setup.

Remember to only use one version to update and add photos and then repeat the process above.

PicasaStarter seems to be the only decent application addressing this major shortcoming of Picasa. Why Google won't address server/network abilities for Picasa is beyond me.

PicasaStarter is a small application that provides a solution for a number of shortcomings of Google's Picasa, the image organisation and editing application.

Picasa without PicasaStarter has the following limitations:

Picasa doesn't allow the database and pictures to be shared among different users (not on the same computer, not in a network).

By default, Picasa puts the Picasa database in the user's private Application Data folder which is on the C: drive.

You can only use/have one database per user, choosing between multiple databases is not possible.

PicasaStarter enhances Picasa and adds the following features:

You can create any number of Picasa databases and sets of pictures. This allows you to have separate pictures /database sets for different projects or uses. For instance separate databases for vacations, hobbies, and jobs.

Databases can be created in any location, including network drives, and can be shared by multiple computers and users.

It is very easy to create a portable solution where the pictures and database are on a portable or USB drive. The only thing that must be installed on the computer is Picasa itself. This makes it possible to show and work with your pictures on any computer.

You can create Shortcuts on your Desktop to start Picasa with each database. This gives one step access to any photo / database set.