Panoramio Help

Help topics

Uploading and mapping photos

Uploading photos to Panoramio

Photos in Panoramio can be uploaded from your computer or transferred from your Picasa Web Albums or Google+ accounts.

There are no storage limitations in Panoramio for geoposiotioned photos. For other kinds of photos, we may enforce a 2 Gbyte limit in the total storage size. There is a current limit of 25 MBytes or 50 Mpixels per photo. Please resize a photo if it's larger than 25 MBytes or 50 Mpixels. Make sure you follow the Panoramio Photo Policy when uploading photos in Panoramio.

Uploading photos from your computer

To upload a photo, you'll first need to be registered. If you haven't registered yet, now is the time to sign up for Panoramio. If you are already registered:

Go to the Upload page
Click on the "Upload photos" button
Select one or multiple photos from your computer

After selecting the photos you want to Upload to Panoramio you will be able to add titles, comments, tags and map them while the uploading process is completing. You will also be able to see the progress of the upload of each photo in the progress bar.

Importing photos from Picasa Web Albums or Google+

You may have already uploaded your photos into your Picasa Web Albums or Google+ accounts. If your Picasa Web Albums or Google+ accounts are associated to the same Google Account as your Panoramio account, you can import those photos to Panoramio as follows:

Go to the Upload page
Click on the "import from Picasa Web Albums or Google+" link
Select an album
Select one or multiple photos from the album you previously selected

After selecting the photos you want to upload to Panoramio you will be able to add titles, comments tags and map them while the uploading process is completed. If the photos had titles or were already mapped, this will be imported to Panoramio as well.

To import photos from Picasa Web Albums or Google+, Show my photo locations to others needs to be enabled. Check the Map location visibility documentation to learn how to enable this feature.

Mapping photos

Panoramio photos are mapped at the location where you were standing when you took them. As an example, if you took a photo of a city while standing on a hill above the city, you associate the photo with the hill, although it shows the city. After you've mapped the photo, others can go to the actual location and see the same view.

You do not need to wait until the photos are completely uploaded in Panoramio. As multiple photos can be mapped at the same time, you can reference them with each other.

To map a photo do one of the following:

If you are uploading a new photo, click on Map this photo. If you are using a fully supported browser the "Map this photo" link will be already available while the photo is being uploaded. If you are not using a fully supported browser the "Map this photo" link will only be active when the upload is completed, as Panoramio needs to determine whether the photo contains EXIF GPS data.
If you are mapping a photo that's already in Panoramio, go to your personal page (Your photos), and click on the photo you want to map and then click Map this photo.

In the mapping dialog you can perform three actions to map a photo:

Mapping with Drag and Drop
On the left panel of the mapping dialog you will see miniatures of all the images that are available for you to map at this point in time. One of the images will always be highlighted which indicates which photo you are currently working on. If you click on the miniature image with the mouse, hold the left button of the mouse and drag the photo to the map to place you would like it to be mapped. When you are satisfied that the image is at the correct location you can simply release the image (by releasing the left mouse button).

Before dragging and dropping the photo to the map, you may want to position the map to the place where the photo was taken. You can use the Search box on top of the map and the controls on the left of the map to do so.
Mapping with a Mouse Click
If you click on the map with the left button of the mouse, the selected photo will be mapped to that position.
Mapping with an exact address or with exact coordinates
If the address that you enter in the Search box (located on the top of the map for photos that have not yet been mapped) is specific enough, then the selected photo will be instantly mapped.

You can also instantly map a photo by entering the exact coordinates where you took the photo. Here are two examples showing how you could enter the coordinates:
- Decimal example: 40.56345, -3.45678
- DMS example: 37° 4' 39.11", -110° 57' 53.09"

Uploading geocoded photos

When a digital camera saves a photo, it also saves some additional information, such as camera settings, date, shutter speed, or scene information. This data is saved in an exchangeable image file (EXIF) format. Some cameras have GPS receivers or can accept external GPS connectors, so that they can store the geolocation information with a photo. You can also process photos before uploading them to Panoramio to add geolocation information to the EXIF data, using hardware or software solutions.

If you have geocoded a photo before uploading it, you don't have to map it in Panoramio: the information contained with the photo lets Panoramio automatically map the photo. If you manually map a photo that's already geocoded, the manual mapping overrides the geolocation information and the original geolocation information is lost.

Modern browsers see EXIF information as soon as you select the file in the uploading process. Older browsers need to wait until the photo has been completely uploaded. Please refer to the Browser compatibility section for more information about browsers.

Mapping photos with Google Latitude

Google Latitude is a service which tracks your current location and makes it easy to share. To do this you must keep a Latitude enabled device (such as a smartphone) with you when you are on the road. Latitude will use GPS, Wifi, or mobile cell towers to determine your location.

Google Latitude is available on Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Symbian, Windows Mobile, and your Computer’s web browser. Visit www.google.com/latitude on your phone to install the app. If you connect your Panoramio account with Latitude, Panoramio will use your location information to help you automatically map photos.

How does this work?

First of all, in order to be able to map photos based on your location, there are a couple of preconditions that need to be fulfilled.

You need to have Google Latitude Location History enabled, and you need to give access to Panoramio (instructions below).
Your uploaded photo must have its creation time stored in its metadata (EXIF). Most digital cameras do this already, so you only have to pay attention that any post-processing you do should preserve that information.
You must have a Latitude enabled device with you and and make sure that it is active active around the same time when you take the photos.

If all these conditions are met then during the mapping process Panoramio will automatically find a location that stored a time as close to the time at which your photo was taken. The mapping window will display the Latitude position under the search box, and a green arrow in the map. To acknowledge the position click on the "Accept" button.

As Google Latitude location can often be inaccurate you can always manually adjust the pin to the right location. If after adjusting the pin you want to rectify and go back to the exact same position it was before, click on the "Show" link and the Latitude position will reset so you can "Accept" the suggestion again.

How can I enable Mapping by Google Latitude?

Mapping by Google Latitude History is disabled by default, you must opt-in explicitly to use this feature. If you already have Latitude and Latitude Location History enabled, granting access to Panoramio allows us to retrieve any of your past locations.

The most simple way to enable the feature is to go to your Panoramio Settings and select Enable under the section "Mapping using Google Latitude". After clicking "Save" you must go through a two-step process to allow Panoramio to access your latitude History.

How can I disable Mapping by Google Latitude?

Go to your settings and uncheck the "Enable" box under "Mapping using Google Latitude". Note that this will not disable Google Latitude, it will only prevent Panoramio to access your location. You can re-grant access at any later time.

Why is the found location inaccurate?

There could be various reasons why the found location is inaccurate:

Panoramio does not know the time on your camera.
Go to your settings and make sure that "Camera time" matches to the current time on your camera.
There were no location snapshots at the time you took the photo.
Next time make sure that your latitude device is active while you are taking the photos.
The location service on your device (e.g. smartphone) is inaccurate.
Depending on what service your latitude device is using, locations sometimes may be inaccurate. For the best results keep your device charged and try to turn the GPS on when you are outside.

Adding titles, comments and tags

Titles, comments and tags can be added to your photos while your photos are being uploaded to Panoramio.

Adding titles

We display (only to you) the original name of the photo that you decided to upload to Panoramio. If you do not take any action we will not keep this original name and the photo will not have a title.

If you want to add a title click in the box where the original name is displayed and enter a title that describes the photo. After changing the title of the photo you just need to press Enter on the keyboard or click anywhere on the screen with the mouse and the title will be saved.

Remember that you can always change the title of the photo from the photo page later on.

Tagging photos

Tagging photos helps you organizing your photos and makes them more discoverable in Panoramio, so you will gain more exposure for your photos by tagging them.

As with mapping and with titles you can tag your photos while they are being uploaded.

Adding tags to a single photo

After selecting the photo that you want to upload to Panoramio, you will see the "Add tags+" link under the "Add a comment..." field for each photo you are uploading in the upload session. This link will give you the option to select either Suggested tags and Your tags.

Suggested tags will suggest different tags regarding time and location during the Panoramio upload.

Time: Panoramio will suggest a year tag from the EXIF of your photo.
Location: Panoramio will suggest Country, State/County and City tags following the Latitude/Longitude data from the EXIF of your photo. If the EXIF does not have Latitude/Longitude data, tags will be suggested when you map the photo. Location tags are suggested in the language you are viewing Panoramio in at Upload time.

Your tags will provide you the whole list of tags that you are already using in other photos in Panoramio.

Adding tags to multiple photos

You may want to use the same tag for all the photos you are uploading in the same upload session. On the right side of the uploader you will see a section called "Tag all the photos". Tag all the photos will also provide you with the option to select between Suggested tags and Your tags.

For more information on how to add and manage your tags once the upload process is concluded, please refer to the Tagging Photos section.

Adding a comment to your photos

You may want to add a better description of your photo than a one line title. In this case you can click on "Add a comment...".

As soon as the upload of an individual photo is completed, the photo is immediately available in your public Panoramio account. It may be possible that another Panoramio member that is following your gallery comments on your photo before you do, and in that case your comment would not be the first to be displayed under your photo. You can always delete the comment from the other user and friendly ask him if he/she could re-publish the comment after yours.

Browser compatibility

We work very hard to make Panoramio and specifically our Uploader compatible with as many browsers as possible. Despite our efforts to remain as compatible as possible with all the existing browsers, there are some features that are only available on newer browsers that are not supported by older ones. It is for this reason that we recommend you to be always up to date with the version of the browser you use to access Panoramio.

To have the best experience possible with Panoramio we recommend you to use the following browsers:

Firefox version 4.0 or higher
Any version of Google Chrome

Partially supported browsers:
These browsers will work well with the Panoramio Uploader. The only differences are that you will not be able to select multiple files at once, and mapping and visualisation of the photo thumbnails will not be possible as long as the photos have not been fully uploaded.

Firefox versions before 4.0
Internet Explorer version 8.0 or higher
Internet Explorer 7.0 does not allow importing from Picasa Web Albums or Google+
Safari
Opera

Non supported browsers:
Versions of Internet Explorer before 7.0 are not supported.

Visit the following links to download the latest version of your browser for the best browsing experience with Panoramio and on the web in general:

Viewing your uploaded photos

As soon as you've uploaded your photos to Panoramio you can view them on Panoramio's map, and in a local Google Earth KML file, where your photos appear as miniatures.

To view your photos on Panoramio's map:
While viewing Panoramio's map, click the Recent tab or the Your photos tab.

To view your photos as they will appear in Google Earth:
Refer to How to preview your photo in Google Earth.