Setting up iCloud for Windows 8 allows users to automatically download Photo Stream photos to a Windows 8 computer without the need to connect an iPhone or iPad.
iPhone and iPad make it easy to automatically back up and share photos with Photo Stream on iOS 5 and iOS 6. This means that most iPhone and iPad users can quickly share their photos on their computers.
Windows users can also upload photos taken at one point or DSLR to Photo Stream by placing them in a special folder with iCloud for Windows 8 setup.
Set up iCloud and Photo Stream in Windows 8 to automatically sync photos.
On Windows 8, iCloud and Photo Stream are free to use and take about 15 minutes to set up. After the initial setup, the photos should arrive automatically as long as the Windows 8 computer is connected to the Internet.
iPhone and iPad users need to make sure Photo Stream is turned on for this to work. Tap on iPhone or iPad.
Once you’ve accomplished that, here’s how to set up Photo Stream in Windows 8.
How to Set Up Photo Stream in Windows 8
Download the iCloud Windows 8 setup utility directly from Apple. Apple doesn’t mention Windows 8 in the main description, but this is the file you want. Apple calls it the iCloud Control Panel for Windows. As of now iCloud Control Panel for Windows is 2.1.2. The same file should also work with Windows 8.1, which is expected to come out this fall.
Install iCloud Control panel for Windows 8.
Once the iCloud Control Panel for Windows is downloaded, begin the installation. When asked. Choose whether to automatically update iCloud Control Panel. For most users, this is a good idea. When ready, the . A window may pop up asking if you want to allow iCloud Control Panel to make changes to this computer. .
The installation process will take three to five minutes and will include another pop-up window asking for permission to make changes to your computer. Once complete, a screen displays “Welcome to iCloud” and has a finish button. Click .
Sing in iCloud to set Photo Stream on Windows 8 PC.
When iCloud is turned on in Windows 8, . This is the same username and email you use to purchase music and apps in iTunes and on the iPhone or iPad. If you cannot remember this password, use the user at the bottom of this screen.
Select Photo Stream settings in Windows 8.
After signing into iCloud on Windows 8, you will see the following screen showing your iCloud backup space and iCloud Photo Stream options. In this case, iCloud will sync Photo Stream to the computer, but will redirect users to iCloud.com to view emails, contacts, reminders, and notes. Users can still sync favorites with Internet Explorer.
With , Photo Stream photos will automatically start downloading to the Pictures folder within a dedicated Photo Stream folder. Users can also upload photos to Photo Stream by copying them to this folder. If someone shares a Photo Stream, those photos are also downloaded to Windows 8.
Choose Photo Stream upload and download locations and decide if you want to download shared Photo Streams.
Users can change these settings or choose a new location to save photos downloaded from Photo Stream.
To upload photos to Photo Stream, place them in the Photo Stream folder; they should appear on your iPhone and iPad soon.
If you are sharing the computer with multiple users and want to connect to multiple iCloud accounts, you will need to give each person their own Windows 8 account and repeat the setup.
Photo Stream currently only supports photos, but iOS 7 will add support for videos to Photo Stream. We can see an update in iCloud Control Panel for Windows that allows users to choose whether to download videos or not. When this update comes to iPhone and iPad in Fall 2013.
