Michael Gorzka

Importing photos from a smartphone into a computer

A frequently asked question here on the Bridgeport Public Library Tech Help front is how to get photos and videos from a smartphone 📱 into a computer 🖥️ (in order to free up storage space on the smartphone).

Start with a physical connection

**iPhone connected to Windows 10 laptop with a Lightning cable**

Look for visual cues on both your computer screen and smartphone screen

**“Device is ready” message (lower right corner of computer screen)**

**This is a frequently missed visual cue. You have to give the laptop permission to access the photos and videos on the iPhone.**

The Import Procedure

After the physical connection is made and both devices are able to talk to each other, you can import (actually copy) the photos and videos stored on your smartphone into your computer.

To do this, you can start with the Photos application on your computer and then as always proceeding methodically while following visual cues 👀 (i.e. “Think about what you want to do and then look around for a way to do it”), start the import procedure…

**You can use the mouse to noodle around an app’s interface to find the functionality you need**…

Still proceeding methodically, select what you want to import from the smartphone into the computer…

**Conceptually speaking, this is copying “stuff” from Point A to Point B**

Don’t forget the backups

Before you delete the photos and videos on your smartphone, I would recommend backing up your photos and videos to an external storage device — which we will cover how to do in the next Tech Help blog post..

Steps to Self-Publishing

write the book
choose hard cover or soft cover or both?
select an available trim size
format your book manuscript
export your book manuscript as PDF
download cover template
create your cover using the template
get an ISBN number (optional, we’ll cover this in the workshop)
research keywords & categories
upload your book to Amazon KDP and/or IngramSpark®
publish

Self-Publishing Workshop
Location: Library Conference Room
Tuesday, February 15
6:00pm – 7:00pm

Register: https://www.bplwv.org/event/5984147

How to download Libby to an iPad

Libby is a free app where you can borrow eBooks, digital audiobooks, and magazines from the Library with your library card.

I lost a file on my computer. Where did it go?

“Where’s my stuff?” is a very common question and sometimes confounding conundrum.

Finding a missing document or app may take a little detective work, but your computer has a lot of tools to help.

First, check your Recycle Bin to see if you accidentally deleted a file.

If not, check if you saved the file in a different place. In general, carefully noting where you are saving a file on your computer will save you a lot of time and stress…

If a file is not where you expect it to be, try opening the program you used to create the file (like as Microsoft Word for a document or PowerPoint for a presentation). Each program has a list of recently opened files, and if you go to File -> Save As, it will display the folders where you recently saved other files.

Lastly, Windows 10 has a search box at the lower left corner of the screen. Just click inside the box and type in what you are looking for (e.g. name of a file, words that you know are in the file, applications, et al.)

Ransomware

Ransomware is malware (Malicious software) that employs encryption to hold a victim’s information at ransom. A user or organization’s critical data is encrypted so that they cannot access files, databases, or applications. A ransom is then demanded to provide access.

What to do about Ransomware

Do not engage in any way shape or form with any form of threats or coercion.
Context matters! If the threat is emanating from a web page, close your web browser window and clear your web browser’s cache.
If the ransomware threat has locked up your entire computer, try holding down the power button on your computer to shut it off completely. Disconnect it from the Internet and power it back on again. If the threat persists, contact your computer’s tech support.