PicasaIMissYou

A Windows PowerShell utility that transforms your Google Photos albums into dynamic, creative desktop wallpapers.

Features

• Google Photos Integration: Access any of your Google Photos albums
• Smart Layouts: Automatically creates beautiful wallpaper compositions based on image orientation
• Creative Collages: Multiple layout styles including triptychs, polaroid stacks, film strips, and more
• Scheduled Updates: Configurable automatic wallpaper rotation
• Offline Support: Local caching with offline fallback
• Cache Management: Warnings at 1GB with easy flush options

Layout Styles

Style	Description
Landscape Fill	Full-screen with smart cropping
Portrait Blur	Centered portrait with blurred background
Diptych	Two portraits side-by-side with shadows
Triptych	Three portraits with artistic overlap
Polaroid Stack	Rotated frames with drop shadows
Film Strip	Cinematic horizontal arrangement
Mosaic	Mixed layout with hero image + accents

Prerequisites

• Windows 10/11
• PowerShell 5.1 or later
• .NET Framework 4.5+ (included with Windows 10/11)

Google Cloud Setup

Before using PicasaIMissYou, you need to set up Google Cloud credentials:

Step 1: Create a Google Cloud Project

1. Go to Google Cloud Console
2. Click Select a project (top navigation bar) → New Project
3. Enter a project name (e.g., "PicasaIMissYou") and click Create
4. Wait for the project to be created, then select it

Step 2: Enable the Photos Library API

1. In the Cloud Console, go to APIs & Services → Library
2. Search for "Photos Library API"
3. Click on Photos Library API in the results
4. Click Enable

Step 3: Configure OAuth Consent Screen

1. Go to APIs & Services → OAuth consent screen
2. Select External (unless you have a Workspace account) and click Create
3. Fill in the required fields:
   • App name: PicasaIMissYou
   • User support email: Your email
   • Developer contact email: Your email
4. Click Save and Continue
5. On the Scopes page, click Add or Remove Scopes
6. Find and select: https://www.googleapis.com/auth/photoslibrary.readonly
7. Click Update, then Save and Continue
8. On the Test users page, click Add Users
9. Add your Google account email, then click Save and Continue
10. Review and click Back to Dashboard

Step 4: Create OAuth 2.0 Credentials

1. Go to APIs & Services → Credentials
2. Click Create Credentials → OAuth client ID
3. Select Desktop app as the application type
4. Name it "PicasaIMissYou Desktop"
5. Click Create
6. Important: Click Download JSON to download your credentials
7. Save the file - you'll need it during setup

Step 5: (Optional) Publish the App

Note: While in "Testing" mode, your OAuth tokens will expire every 7 days. To avoid re-authenticating weekly, you can publish the app (it will still be private to you).

1. Go to OAuth consent screen
2. Click Publish App
3. Confirm the dialog

Installation

Quick Install

# Run in PowerShell as Administrator (for Task Scheduler)
.\Install-PicasaIMissYou.ps1

The installer will:

1. Ask for your Google Cloud credentials JSON file
2. Guide you through OAuth authentication
3. Let you pick an album
4. Configure your preferred schedule
5. Set up Windows Task Scheduler

Manual Installation

1. Copy files to a permanent location
2. Run Install-PicasaIMissYou.ps1
3. Follow the interactive prompts

Usage

Change Wallpaper Now

.\Run-PicasaIMissYou.ps1

Change Layout Style

.\Run-PicasaIMissYou.ps1 -Layout "Triptych"

Available layouts: Auto, LandscapeFill, PortraitBlur, Diptych, Triptych, PolaroidStack, FilmStrip, Mosaic

Manage Cache

# View cache status
.\Run-PicasaIMissYou.ps1 -CacheStatus

# Clear cache
.\Run-PicasaIMissYou.ps1 -FlushCache

Update Schedule

.\Install-PicasaIMissYou.ps1 -UpdateSchedule

Switch Album

.\Install-PicasaIMissYou.ps1 -PickAlbum

Configuration

Settings are stored in %APPDATA%\PicasaIMissYou\config.json:

{
  "albumId": "your-album-id",
  "albumName": "My Wallpapers",
  "scheduleMinutes": 30,
  "preferredLayout": "Auto",
  "cacheWarningThresholdMB": 1024,
  "lastRefresh": "2024-01-15T10:30:00"
}

File Locations

Item	Location
Configuration	%APPDATA%\PicasaIMissYou\config.json
OAuth Tokens	%APPDATA%\PicasaIMissYou\tokens.json
Image Cache	%APPDATA%\PicasaIMissYou\cache\
Current Wallpaper	%APPDATA%\PicasaIMissYou\wallpaper.png

Troubleshooting

"Token expired" errors

• If in Testing mode, re-run the installer to re-authenticate
• Consider publishing your app (see Step 5 above)

Wallpaper not changing

• Check Task Scheduler for the "PicasaIMissYou" task
• Run manually to check for errors: .\Run-PicasaIMissYou.ps1 -Verbose

API quota exceeded

• Google Photos API has daily quotas
• Increase schedule interval or reduce cache refresh frequency

Cache too large

• Run .\Run-PicasaIMissYou.ps1 -FlushCache to clear
• Adjust cacheWarningThresholdMB in config

Privacy & Security

• Credentials are stored locally in your AppData folder
• Only read-only access to your photos is requested
• No data is sent anywhere except to Google's APIs
• All processing happens locally on your machine

License

MIT License - Feel free to modify and share!

Acknowledgments

Named in loving memory of Google Picasa - the photo organizer we'll never forget.