Google__ The Missing Manual - Kevin Purdy [71]
Tap the Circles tab at the top to switch to a list of circles. Then tap the name of a circle, and you’ll see a list of all the people in it. Tap anyone in that circle to scoot over to the mobile version of their profile page.
Mobile profile pages are full of stuff you can click:
The person’s profile picture to display his other profile photos.
The box under the person’s name (which contains the name of one of your circles) to add or change which circles you have him in. (You won’t see this button in the mobile-browser version).
About to switch to a view of the person’s full profile.
Posts (the default view) to see this person’s recent posts
Photos to see pictures this person has posted that you have permission to see.
Viewing Photos
YOU LEARNED HOW TO upload photos to Google+ through a mobile app in Chapter 5 (starting on Uploading from Your Phone). Now it’s time to learn how to view, share, and manage your Google+ photos on your phone.
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As of this writing, viewing photos using the mobile-browser version of Google+ is, shall we say, less than optimal. While some of the basic features work (like swiping to view different images), the controls can be a bit awkward. This version will work, but for a more satisfying photo-viewing experience while on the go, use the Android or iPhone app instead.
Head to the Google+ home page, and then tap the Photos icon. You’ll arrive at a screen with basically the same options Google+ offers in a full web browser. The Android and iPhone versions of this screen are quite similar, and the browser version is fairly close. The images in this section all show the Android screen, but you should be able to follow along regardless of which version you’re using.
The “From your circles” category includes photos posted by people in your circles—in other words, every photo that’s been in your stream lately, whether you saw it there or not. “Photos of you” includes all the photos where you’ve been tagged (Tagging Photos), either by yourself or by others. “Your albums” is the personal stash of photos you’ve uploaded to Google+ (covered in detail in Chapter 5 starting on Sharing Photos). And “From your phone” (which you see only in the app versions, not in the browser version) is a handy way of looking at photos stored on your phone, so that you can easily send them to Google+ for sharing.
Tap “From your circles” to check out photos by other people, and tap any photo to view a larger version of it. Tap the photo again to see it alone, without any Google+ buttons around it, on a black background; tilt your phone to rotate the photo for a wider landscape view. Tap the photo again to return to the standard view, with all the buttons and comments. You can tap the tiny “View tags” bar below the photo to see any tags that have been added to it (Tagging Photos), and at the bottom of the screen, you can comment on the photo, or scroll down to view others’ comments.
To view part of a photo more closely, use the standard pinch and spread gestures to zoom out and in on the photo, respectively. Swipe left and right to see the next photo in this particular group (other photos in this album, from this circle, or whatever).
Uploading Photos
As noted in Chapter 5 (Uploading from Your Phone), sharing photos on Google+ from your smart-phone is relatively easy—unless you’re accessing Google+ via your phone’s browser, in which case you should probably hold off on uploading images until you get home to your computer.
To recap Chapter 5 very briefly, here are a few ways to send photos to Google+ for posting and sharing:
Use Instant Upload (Android only) so that the photos automatically show up in your “From your phone” gallery.
On an Android phone, tap the Share option on any photo in your photo Gallery or in any other app on your phone that includes photos, and then choose Google+ from the list of sharing options.
In the Android or iPhone app, tap the