The .ini is the source
Live Gallery reads .picasa.ini where it already lives. It does not ask you to export, import or upload the folder first.
Picasa alternative · .ini ready
Picasa is gone. Your library is not.
Live Gallery is a local-first Picasa alternative for Windows 11. It reads the .picasa.ini sidecars Picasa left behind, keeps the folders where they are, and never uploads or copies the originals.
- Picasa .ini
- Windows 11
- Read-only source
Picasa libraryRead in place
Picasa .iniThe sidecar stays with the folder.
Faces and peopleRead
Stars and captionsRead
Album namesImported as tags
Picasa’s organisation is read; the originals are untouched.
Illustrative Picasa compatibility. The .picasa.ini file remains in the source folder.
The library Picasa left behind
Keep the organisation, not the old app.
Picasa’s useful history is often still inside the folder: a .picasa.ini file with face rectangles, contact names, stars, captions and album names. Live Gallery reads that sidecar in place and turns it back into browsable people, tags and ratings.
People, stars, captions and albums
Picasa contacts and face rectangles become people; stars and captions are read; album names become tags. The sidecar support is ready now.
The originals stay put
No copy, no upload and no source-folder writes. The index and thumbnail cache live under app data, exactly as they do for any other folder.
Point at the Picasa folders
Choose the folders that still contain the photos and their .picasa.ini sidecars.
Let the metadata pass run
The reader picks up contacts, face rectangles, stars, captions and album names without opening Picasa.
Browse what survived
Open People, Tags or the gallery. The old organisation is now part of the local library.
The honest part
A manager, not a Picasa clone
- Picasa is discontinued; Live Gallery is an independent local photo manager, not an official Google product.
- Only metadata that still exists in the files or .picasa.ini can be recovered. If the sidecar was deleted, it cannot be recreated.
- Picasa’s pixel edits and “redo” instructions are not reapplied; the original file on disk is the source.
- There is no metadata write-back. New edits stay in the local library.
Good questions
Picasa alternative, answered.
Is Live Gallery a good Picasa replacement?
It is a local-first photo manager in the same spirit: folders, faces, stars, tags and a fast library. It is not a pixel editor or a clone of Picasa’s UI.
Does it read .picasa.ini files?
Yes. It reads the Picasa sidecar in place, including faces, contacts, stars, captions and album names. Album names are represented as tags.
Does it import Picasa edits?
No. It reads organisation and metadata, not rendered pixel edits. Picasa “redo” instructions are not reapplied to the originals.
Will it change my Picasa folders?
No. The source folders are read-only; the library index and thumbnails live under app data.
Keep exploring
Related features.
Local photo library
A library, not a second copy.
Index the folders you already have. No import, no upload, no proprietary store.
Photo metadata
The story is already in the file.
Read keywords, ratings, dates, camera and GPS from the library you already have.
Star ratings
Five stars. One quick decision.
Rate 1–5, import xmp:Rating, and find the keepers with Ctrl+R.
See it on your own library
Bring the folder.
Keep the originals.
Download the free beta, point it at a folder and try this on your own photos. No account, no upload, no card.
Windows 11 · Free 5,000-photo beta · No account needed