To create a new Album, just click the New Album button on the Navigation Bar.  Basic descriptive information can be entered for the Album, including Title, Author, Category and Time Period.  All of the items on this screen are optional and can always be entered or modified later via the Album Information function.  It is recommended to choose a Default Image Files Directory, which is used when loading photos and allows files to be stored without their full paths, making it much easier to later change album locations and share albums.

After pressing the Create and Save Album button, you will be prompted to enter a file name for the new Phota album, identified by the .pab extension.  The file name is set to the entered Title by default, but that can be changed to any valid name.

Additional options are then provided for the new Album.  Again, all of these actions are optional and can be done later via Album maintenance options.  Album Options accesses the Album Information screen to enter further descriptive information, format settings and display options.  Album Appearance allows customization of the Album style, scale, text and background.  Click Add Photos to begin loading photos from directories.  It's also possible to copy all or parts of other Phota albums by pressing Copy Album Pages.  Click Open this Album Automatically when Phota is run to load the new Album when Phota is initiated.  The ? buttons next to each option provide more detailed instructions for those functions.