A common way to send and share picture files is on removable optical media — that is, CDs or DVDs. Saving data to an optical disk is called burning, in the language of computers. If burned properly, CDs can be read by virtually any computer because the format has been standardized.

While DVDs hold considerably more data than CDs, the world of computers has yet to settle on a standard format. Therefore, to share data you should always use CDs unless you are certain that the other computer that reads your data can read your DVDs.

While CDs can be read by both Macintosh and Windows computers, you may need to save your CDs in a Mac-compatible format (also known as ISO 9660 or the universal format). Your CD-burning software should offer you this choice in one of its menus. When you save in this format, file names will be limited to eight characters. While the software can often take long Windows names and cut them off at eight characters (called truncating), you will have much more control over the naming of your images if you name them yourself. To simplify your task, make a folder just for saving images in the Mac format if you are a Windows user. In this folder, all your image files will be limited to eight characters plus the extension.

After burning a CD, check that your images were burned properly onto the CD. Put the CD back into your CD drive; even better, put it into the CD drive on another computer and make sure that you can read the CD properly.