Thread: Photoproblem

What phone/camera?

Your pictures 'file' is configurable to operate how you would like it too.

1/. it's not a file, it's a folder(or directory). Be sure to understand the difference. Your photo of aunty Doris is a file .. .jpg .bmp .nef ... these are files. Files have extensions after the dot.
Folders have 'no name' as such(more specifically no extension). You can right click the folder and do stuff to it.
By default the 'Pictures' folder should be set to operate as an image repository .. ie. optimised to show pictures. So, it should be that it shows thumbnails of images. This won't make any difference if there are subfolders within the Pictures folder either.

2/. you need to supply more details if you want assistance. We can offer many various tips on how to change things, but it's inefficient to offer a myriad of suggestions where we have to guess what computer operating system, what phone(and software), what camera(and software).. .. ie. what software is used to do things. So always explain that you have ... blah blah .. this and that .. hardware/software .. etc.

I'm a bit of a photography geek, so can offer some tips on how to store your files if you like. I can give you very detailed tips on a good way to manage your photos if you like, it'll be a tedious reply.
To keep it simple best way to manage photos, is via date and then location.

Assuming your computer is a PC/Windows 10 then the 'Pictures' folder is located on your C drive, Users, YOUR NAME, Pictures.
By default there shouldn't be a 'Photos' folder. As you suggested it's an added folder due to some software you use. This could be due to your cloud software or your camera software or your phone software(see point 2/. above)
It may also only be a link(this Photos folder) .. not a physical storage location.
I think(can't recall exactly!) Photos could be a product of Windows built in OneDrive system too .. just can't remember. I remember having it, I deleted mine .. too much flotsam.
The other thing here is that Windows has a built in photo viewing program called Photos too. Is this Photos issue that you are having, possibly that you are using the Photos app in Windows to view your photos?

The only reason you can't get rid of the "Pictures file" will be because some process has a file(or folder) open in it.
eg. Say you use the Photos app(in Windows) to view some photo. The photo that is displayed in Photos, will most likely be a file stored in the Pictures folder, in one of the sub folders with date names(as you described). That photo is now locked by the PC. They're not locked all the time, only when the file is in use. You can't delete it until you fully close the Photos app. This is true for all similar processes in any software, so it's not specific to the example I described here. Anyhow, I suggest you don't delete the Pictures folder, this is the physical location of the files themselves. Also if you do delete this folder, some other program may create a new version of it because this is the only place it has been programmed to store pictures! SO you may delete it, but it may also come back again later.

Any file(remember, has a name plus .extension) can be emailed.
What software are you using to email? If you use Windows built in email software, I can't help. (I use Thunderbird).
If your instance(or example) of Photos is a physical location, and not a program or link, it has to have a location address.

In this Photos thing you described, open it up, and go to a picture/photo/file. Right click and what options does it give you in the popup box?

If it has two options at the bottom of the list to 'open in Folders' or 'Open in File Explorer' .. then this Photos thing you describe is the built in Windows app called Photos .. not a folder, not a file.

If the 'Photo' thing you describe is a OneDrive hangover, apologies I can't remember how it works, I deleted all this flotsam long ago. But if this was the situation, it makes no sense why you can't email a photo directly from that folder.
I'm curious (for you) as to what the issue would then actually be.
Try a test: in your Photos thing .. right click the file, and in the list of options, does it have a 'Send to' option in the list? If so, in that 'Send to' option if you hover over it, it should have sub options .. send to another location, but also send to email(recipient). This is a quick and easy way to email a file(any file, not just photos).

So, right click .. Send to .. email recipient .. will open the file(in your case photo) in your email program(whatever you use).

Not really much more I can add without more info.

Thanks. A lot to digest

OK I will try ans explain better. in my pc I have two folders. One is called pictures and the other folder is called photos. I suspect the second folder is associated with Google Cloud which I have discontinued. Now when I upload photos off my mobile or camera they go to the Google photo folder. However If I want to upload a photo to here when I click on attach, the picture folder is opened. but the photo is naturally not there. To be able to do this I have to drag the required photo across from the photo folder to the picture folder and it then works. To overcome this I would like to have my photos upload to the pictures folder instead of the photo folder. Maybe then I can delete the photo folder. Either that' when I press the attach button the photo folder opens. Either way, whichever is the simpler to do. Hope this is less confusing

Originally Posted by jx2mad

.... To overcome this I would like to have my photos upload to the pictures folder instead of the photo folder. Maybe then I can delete the photo folder. Either that' when I press the attach button the photo folder opens. Either way, whichever is the simpler to do. Hope this is less confusing

OK, this makes a bit more sense.
Google's virtual services are another lot of bloat I have removed from my PC, so I can't recall all of the steps.

This 'Photos' place where these photos get stored at in your PC and could be a virtual link to another location on the PC .. I just can't rememeber.
But, something you can try .. easily right from the comfort of your computer deskchair!

It doesn't really matter too much where the photo(or file, or widget or whatever) is located, as long as you have 'easy' access to it.
You can do this and not move anything, delete anything .. etc, etc.

Pictures is a little bit configurable(not really, but for this simple version, lets say it is!) You can point it to show pictures from many sources. The actual tech version of this tip is to use the Libraries feature in Windows.

So, with the 'Photos' folder that Google made on your PC, rightclick the folder, and look for the listing on the popup box that says [Include in Library] -> hover and choose [Pictures] from the next pop up box.
Once done, it will link 'Photos' to the 'Pictures' area, but not directly, this is done via the Libraries feature.

I assume you access 'Pictures' from the Quick Access area on the Left Hand navigation pane in Windows File Explorer???
If so, then what you will then need to do, is:

In Windows File Explorer, in the LH navigation pane, look for the Libraries folder link. For every PC this looks different, but near the bottom of the list. Quick Access links are usually at the top of the pile.
Find the Libraries nav link, open Libraries if not already expanded, find the Pictures folder link. When you click this specific 'Pictures' folder icon, it will display all your linked library locations.

So it will show you your normal 'Pictures' folders and file links like you used to see PLUS .. it will now also show a new folder called 'Photos'(if you followed the process above).

it hasn't moved anything. Every file and folder is in it's original locations as before, using this Library style of access is just an alternate method.

What I would also suggest is to:

1. rightclick and 'remove' the link to the Pictures in Quick Access on the LH navigation pane. The rightclick popup option you want to do this is called [Unpin from Quick Access] .. or something.
As it suggests, all this does it to remove the Pictures Link from that particular location in the LH nav pane.

2. Go back to the Libraries version of 'Pictures' in the LH pane, rightclick it, and look for the [Pin to Quick Access] option. Better option for Quick Access photos access is the Libraries version of 'Pictures'.This includes the new link to 'Photos', the old deleted one probably doesn't.

Note that Quick Access is just a link to make it easy to navigate to whatever file/folder .. it's not the physical location itself. It's not a copy of the thing you are Pinning or Linking.
If you access stuff via icons on the desktop instead, similar steps apply. Rightclick and 'pin to desktop' or link to here or there, or create shortcut .. it's all quite simple on how you want to configure it all.

As for the reason you can't attach a pic into an email directly from Photos folder ... I would say (now) more than likely is that the photo you want to attach is not actually on your PC. It's a hyperlinked file that is actually on the Google storage location. What you are seeing is probably just a very small thumbnail of the photo only(not the full 1.3Mb photo file)

I dunno, I don't use cloud services in that manner, not on the phone, not on the PC. I only use cloud services(really only OneDrive now) as a backup, and very rare instance where I may need a file when not at my PC.
This is why I'm not sure of my description above, but I would be confident to say this is 99.9% most likely the reason.
I know you can physically download all of the stuff on the cloud storage area you have to be on your preferred physical location .. ie. like I use it.
I just don't know the specific steps you need to do it, if you want the Google cloud photos on your PC's HDD.

PC = primary access = speed, and well.... it's mine!
Cloud = backup, and or remote access.

If you rightclick one of the photos in the 'Photos' location, choose Properties what doe sit say for location? and what does it say for file size .. in the Properties. This will tell'ya if the file is on your PC or linked to the cloud.

OK Just found that my photos folder is connected to one drive. Now how do I get my pictures to upload to my pictures folder instead of one drive?