10 ms·

Actually, there is a setting in Google Photos (at least the web interface) which lets you choose between "High quality" and "Original" (Menu -> Settings). "Hig

by davb 11y ago

Actually, there is a setting in Google Photos (at least the web interface) which lets you choose between "High quality" and "Original" (Menu -> Settings). "High quality" recompresses large files, but gives you unlimited storage space for these recompressed files. "Original" doesn't recompress or alter the files at all, at the expense of using your Google Drive/Email/Storage space. I'm not necessarily on board with auto photo backup (I don't completely trust it - some photos should just remain private), but I like that they give you this choice. What I really (really) hate is that they've moved the delete button. It's no longer a button on the toolbar at the bottom (on the Android app), it's in the menu and labelled "Delete local copy". I take a lot of throwaways while trying to get the right shot - deleting photos is an every-day part of my workflow (I delete more than I keep). This has now gone from one quick tap to three (there's a confirmation dialog when you finally click the delete button). This is a very frustrating change.

timothya 11y ago
> What I really (really) hate is that they've moved the delete button. It's no longer a button on the toolbar at the bottom (on the Android app), it's in the menu and labelled "Delete local copy". Once you select one or more images, the delete button shows up in the toolbar. Just one tap. http://i.imgur.com/EH2M5iM.jpg http://i.imgur.com/EH2M5iM.jpg
- davb 11y ago
  That's the old Photos app. This doesn't happen on the latest build.
  - timothya 11y ago
    No, that screenshot is from the new Photos app (I took it from a review video of the new Google Photos app). And I've tried it myself on my own phone (which is an iPhone, but it looks just like this UI otherwise).
    - davb 11y ago
      Interesting. I'm on 1.0.0.94391081 on a Nexus 6 running stock 5.1.1 and I don't see that when I highlight multiple photos in thumbnail view. http://m.imgur.com/foXI16d http://m.imgur.com/foXI16d According to Google Play Store I have the latest version of Photos (I see all the other changes, including the welcome walkthrough). I don't get a trash icon in either photo or thumbnail view, with 0, 1 or more photos selected.
      - ikhare 11y ago
        You are using the device folders view. Try the default photos view.
        davb 11y ago
        I don't see an option to change the view. Does this mean I need to be signed in to do that? If so, that's a really poor design. I should be able to delete photos just as easily whether or not I'm signed in. I'm not sure why the toolbar UI needs to change depending on signed in status.
        ikhare 11y ago
        The Trash option available while signed in vs. Deleting locally mean different things. The first is moving the file to trash where it can be recovered for a little while, the second is blowing the file away from your file system. We wanted to keep these features distinct and clear. Though I can understand for those using the app entirely signed out this can be frustrating. Thanks for the feedback. I do hope you sign in however, there are a lot of things available to you signed in that simply don't exist in the signed out view.
        davb 11y ago
        Thanks for explaining. It would be useful if the app made the differences clearer - you can see the confusion in this thread alone where people just can't see why my delete icon is missing and theirs is present (and the ensuing downvotes because it looks like I'm just doing something wrong). I have always used the app offline, so it's quite frustrating that a major part of my workflow has been made more difficult. I'm not sure what the benefit was in changing this behaviour for offline users - there's always been a trash/delete icon. Now someone has just taken it away. Ideally, I'd love to see it return and the confirmation dialog to disappear (or be configurable with a preference). Or if you're using it offline, add a confirmation dialog ("You're PERMANENTLY deleting this") with a "Don't show this warning again" box. And possibly add a "Deleted (Undo)" toast (delay actual deletion on the filesystem by 3-5 seconds). I think most users understand the semantics of deleting a file, and if this change only affects offline users then the affected users already know that delete means delete forever. I would actually consider signing in at some point, but I now feel my hand is being forced just to regain some fundamental functionality. Additionally - what about users who can't use the app online? For example users with limited data packages or users who travel a lot (where roaming data can cost upwards of $5/MB).
TulliusCicero 11y ago
You can delete multiple photos simultaneously if you go to the main photo grid and make a selection (long press, then either drag or tap) and click the trash icon at the top.
- davb 11y ago
  The trash icon doesn't show up anymore. When you select multiple photos you still have to go through the menu to select "Delete local copy". Even if it did show up, I like to review the photos full-screen and flip back and forth, then delete. Having to remember which of 5 shots was the best and select the bad ones in thumbnail view would just be painful. I think mine is a fairly common workflow too, as I've heard a few people complain about the same thing.
  - mvgoogler 11y ago
    Which device are you on? I just tested on Android with the latest build and I get a trash icon in the expected places - in the bottom right corner in the single photo view and in the top right corner in the thumbnail view (once at least one photo is selected). BTW, I work on the photos team.
    - Oletros 11y ago
      As you work there, there will be a geotagging feature like the one on Google+ and all the other features missing from there?
      - mvgoogler 11y ago
        Can you be more specific about which features you are looking for? There are geo-tagging feature in the new app: * For any photo you can click on the "info" icon (i with a circle around it) which will show the photo's location (if we have geo information for the photo) * The search functionality makes use of geo-tagging information - so you can search for photos from a specific place. Is that what you were looking for, or is there something else? I can't really comment on what might or might not happen in the future, but I can pass on requests/comments to our PMs and/or help you out with the application.
rubenv 11y ago
Author here: Note that I did select Original and it still seemed to compress the RAW file in Google Drive view. Single downloads do yield the original.
- jervisfm 11y ago
  Have you tried Google Takeout [1]? I understand that will let you download all your data. [1] - https://www.google.com/settings/takeout https://www.google.com/settings/takeout
  - patcon 11y ago
    Wow. That's a polished interface. Glad it exists
    - zo1 11y ago
      Unfortunately, it's a bit iffy for individuals that have unreliable internet. The download link expires after a while (last time I tried to do a large export).
      - bwillard 11y ago
        Sorry about that. Did you try the move to drive option? One of the reasons we added the ability to move the finished archive to Drive was to allow users with unreliable internet connections to use the Drive Sync tool to sync the finished download down to their computer. I know it is a little inconvenient but it should make it possible to download a large archive over an unreliable connection. (I work on the Takeout team)
        zo1 11y ago
        I didn't know about that option; I must have missed it at the time, or it wasn't available back then. I'll give it a go, thanks!
        oh_sigh 11y ago

by davb 11y ago

timothya 11y ago

> What I really (really) hate is that they've moved the delete button. It's no longer a button on the toolbar at the bottom (on the Android app), it's in the menu and labelled "Delete local copy". Once you select one or more images, the delete button shows up in the toolbar. Just one tap. http://i.imgur.com/EH2M5iM.jpg http://i.imgur.com/EH2M5iM.jpg

davb 11y ago
That's the old Photos app. This doesn't happen on the latest build.
- timothya 11y ago
  No, that screenshot is from the new Photos app (I took it from a review video of the new Google Photos app). And I've tried it myself on my own phone (which is an iPhone, but it looks just like this UI otherwise).
  - davb 11y ago
    Interesting. I'm on 1.0.0.94391081 on a Nexus 6 running stock 5.1.1 and I don't see that when I highlight multiple photos in thumbnail view. http://m.imgur.com/foXI16d http://m.imgur.com/foXI16d According to Google Play Store I have the latest version of Photos (I see all the other changes, including the welcome walkthrough). I don't get a trash icon in either photo or thumbnail view, with 0, 1 or more photos selected.
    - ikhare 11y ago
      You are using the device folders view. Try the default photos view.
      - davb 11y ago
        I don't see an option to change the view. Does this mean I need to be signed in to do that? If so, that's a really poor design. I should be able to delete photos just as easily whether or not I'm signed in. I'm not sure why the toolbar UI needs to change depending on signed in status.
        ikhare 11y ago
        The Trash option available while signed in vs. Deleting locally mean different things. The first is moving the file to trash where it can be recovered for a little while, the second is blowing the file away from your file system. We wanted to keep these features distinct and clear. Though I can understand for those using the app entirely signed out this can be frustrating. Thanks for the feedback. I do hope you sign in however, there are a lot of things available to you signed in that simply don't exist in the signed out view.
        davb 11y ago
        Thanks for explaining. It would be useful if the app made the differences clearer - you can see the confusion in this thread alone where people just can't see why my delete icon is missing and theirs is present (and the ensuing downvotes because it looks like I'm just doing something wrong). I have always used the app offline, so it's quite frustrating that a major part of my workflow has been made more difficult. I'm not sure what the benefit was in changing this behaviour for offline users - there's always been a trash/delete icon. Now someone has just taken it away. Ideally, I'd love to see it return and the confirmation dialog to disappear (or be configurable with a preference). Or if you're using it offline, add a confirmation dialog ("You're PERMANENTLY deleting this") with a "Don't show this warning again" box. And possibly add a "Deleted (Undo)" toast (delay actual deletion on the filesystem by 3-5 seconds). I think most users understand the semantics of deleting a file, and if this change only affects offline users then the affected users already know that delete means delete forever. I would actually consider signing in at some point, but I now feel my hand is being forced just to regain some fundamental functionality. Additionally - what about users who can't use the app online? For example users with limited data packages or users who travel a lot (where roaming data can cost upwards of $5/MB).

TulliusCicero 11y ago

You can delete multiple photos simultaneously if you go to the main photo grid and make a selection (long press, then either drag or tap) and click the trash icon at the top.

davb 11y ago
The trash icon doesn't show up anymore. When you select multiple photos you still have to go through the menu to select "Delete local copy". Even if it did show up, I like to review the photos full-screen and flip back and forth, then delete. Having to remember which of 5 shots was the best and select the bad ones in thumbnail view would just be painful. I think mine is a fairly common workflow too, as I've heard a few people complain about the same thing.
- mvgoogler 11y ago
  Which device are you on? I just tested on Android with the latest build and I get a trash icon in the expected places - in the bottom right corner in the single photo view and in the top right corner in the thumbnail view (once at least one photo is selected). BTW, I work on the photos team.
  - Oletros 11y ago
    As you work there, there will be a geotagging feature like the one on Google+ and all the other features missing from there?
    - mvgoogler 11y ago
      Can you be more specific about which features you are looking for? There are geo-tagging feature in the new app: * For any photo you can click on the "info" icon (i with a circle around it) which will show the photo's location (if we have geo information for the photo) * The search functionality makes use of geo-tagging information - so you can search for photos from a specific place. Is that what you were looking for, or is there something else? I can't really comment on what might or might not happen in the future, but I can pass on requests/comments to our PMs and/or help you out with the application.

rubenv 11y ago

Author here: Note that I did select Original and it still seemed to compress the RAW file in Google Drive view. Single downloads do yield the original.

jervisfm 11y ago
Have you tried Google Takeout [1]? I understand that will let you download all your data. [1] - https://www.google.com/settings/takeout https://www.google.com/settings/takeout
- patcon 11y ago
  Wow. That's a polished interface. Glad it exists
  - zo1 11y ago
    Unfortunately, it's a bit iffy for individuals that have unreliable internet. The download link expires after a while (last time I tried to do a large export).
    - bwillard 11y ago
      Sorry about that. Did you try the move to drive option? One of the reasons we added the ability to move the finished archive to Drive was to allow users with unreliable internet connections to use the Drive Sync tool to sync the finished download down to their computer. I know it is a little inconvenient but it should make it possible to download a large archive over an unreliable connection. (I work on the Takeout team)
      - zo1 11y ago
        I didn't know about that option; I must have missed it at the time, or it wasn't available back then. I'll give it a go, thanks!
      - oh_sigh 11y ago