Picasa and deleting folders (hd, transfer, how to, Windows)

[MrRational]

argh!

I'm willing to manually delete folders or albums from the Picasa library...
but it seems that doing so deletes them from the HD in the process.
It shouldn't do that.

I'm OK with continuing to use Picasa to transfer pics from the camera but once I've done that and put the photo files where I want them...
I'd like for Picasa to clear it's involvement with them.

So... how can that be done? Thanks.
---

Not to pass by the more fundamental Q posedf above...
But generally, how do you disengage from Picasa having 'control' over every image on the computer? Can this be done?

(Picasa 3.97 on a MacBook)

[CHTransplant]

Originally Posted by MrRational

I'm willing to manually delete folders or albums from the Picasa library... but it seems that doing so deletes them from the HD in the process. It shouldn't do that.

But that's what Picasa is designed to do. As it says in the Help:

When you delete photos and folders in Picasa, they are deleted from your computer's hard drive as well. Deleted items are sent to the Recycle bin (Windows) or the Trash (Mac).

Here is an explanation of different ways to remove folders or pictures from Picasa without deleting from your computer:

How to Delete Photos from Picasa While Retaining Them on Your Computer

I'm not sure what you're otherwise referring to by Picasa clearing its involvement with pictures once you've transferred them. What is it doing that you don't want it to do? I'm not a Mac user. If it was Windows I would ask: do you have file associations for pictures (.jpg, .bmp, etc.) assigned to Picasa rather than another application?