Facebook photo upload tip - How to upload photos/pictures in Facebook

Several friends have asked me how to upload photos/pictures in Facebook, so I keep the following handy email message around. In case anyone else needs to know how to upload pictures in Facebook, here are my instructions:

Facebook photos - how to upload photos/pictures (initially)

In the first Facebook photo upload scenario, it's important to know that you store your photos in a photo album. So the first time you upload pictures to Facebook, you'll need to create a Facebook Photo Album, as described in these steps:

• In Facebook, click the Profile link.
• Once there, click the Photos tab.
• In there, click Create a New Photo Album (button on upper-right).
• Fill in the form that comes up, set privacy to "Only Friends" (that's what I usually do). (I have no idea what "Location" means, just skip that.)
• A Java applet comes up next that lets you upload pics. Just navigate to the folder that has the pics, choose the ones you want, and then upload them.
• Note that this Java widget goes crazy a lot of times, so you may need to quit Firefox afterwards and restart it. (As successful as Facebook is, some of their technology is really poor.)
• After uploading the pics you can add a description to them desired. Then when they ask you if you want to "publish" them, they are asking if you want them to appear on your wall so others will see them. Answer Yes if you want others to see them on your wall, or No if you just want others to find them by digging around in your photo albums.

How to upload pictures to Facebook after you have a photo album

In a second scenario, once you have an existing Facebook Photo Album, and you want to upload new photos to that album, just follow these photo upload steps:

• In Facebook, click the Profile link.
• Once there, click the Photos tab.
• Click an existing Photo Album.
• Click the "Edit Photos" link.
• Click the "Add More" tab (which is currently at the top of the panel which contains your existing photos).
• This brings up that same Java applet.
• After uploading the pics using this applet, you can add a description to them desired. Then when they ask you if you want to "publish" them, they are asking if you want them to appear on your wall so others will see them. Answer Yes if you want others to see them on your wall, or No if you just want others to find them by digging around in your photo albums.

These "Facebook upload photos" tips are valid as of January 21, 2010. I'll try to keep this post updated if/when the Facebook photo UI changes. (It leaves a lot of room for improvement, so I hope it does change.)