A Detailed Look at Gallery Features

 Also see:
  How to use the gallery
 Get your pictures ready to publish
 Setup your own album

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A Detailed look at some of the Gallery Features.
You can read up here on some of the finer details of gallery features and options.

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Using the SlideShow Feature.
This feature is easy to access and is a great way to view the pictures in an album, here's how it works.

Go to the album of your choice and click on one of the thumbnails, this will bring up the full sized version of that image. On the upper left of the full size image you should see a link for 'SLIDESHOW' and when you click that it will return you to the thumbnail page, only this time you'll see a note telling you to "Click on an image to begin the slideshow from that image".

Once you click on one of the thumbnails the sideshow will start.
If you hover your cursor over the upper side of the slideshow image you'll see a set of controls that may be useful to you.

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Make a 'Bulk Upload' to an Album

• When you're in an album you can go to the bottom of the page where you'll see links for adding pictures and the "Bulk Add Pictures" link will let you upload up to 10 pictures at a time.
  
• Click on the link and browse to your picture folder on your PC and upload your pictures!
  Be sure to include lots of detail about each picture, like who's in it and where it was taken plus any other detail you think might be interesting.
  
  
  

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Allowed Image File Types and Sizes
... The gallery is setup to accept many of the common picture file types, here are theones currently accepted:
'gif', 'jpeg', 'png', 'psd', 'bmp', 'tiff'

...Max Sizes:

Height       2800px
Width        2800px
Megabytes 1.9
If your pictures are too big then you should see the "Get your pictures ready to publish" How-To for tips on how to fix them.

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Parent Categories & Sub-Categories (albums):

Using Parent Categories and Sub-Categories to establish a coherent file structure in the Gallery.

Sub categories or albums are used to collect albums into a single group or category so as to make it easier to find pictures that would naturally fall into the same group or overall theme. A good example is found in the 'year' categories like the one that has been set up for 2009. By using that single 'Parent Category' for all of the albums and pictures that get posted in this (2009) calendar year we are able to more easily find albums from this and other years and we can use the same album name on more that one album without the worry of having them get mixed up... an example would be a holiday like Mothers Day, we could have an sub-album for that holiday in each parent category and the Mothers Day albums could even have the same name and we would still be able to easily tell them apart because of them being in the parent category for their year.

The safe way to Clone or Upgrade your "livesite":
Create a testsite and you won't have the fear of breaking your livesite; here's how to do it.
Having a testsite can be very useful when trying out new mods and additions to your site and can also offer a safe and easy way to upgrade your livesite files to the latest versions of SMF/TP.
This How-to covers both the clone and upgrade methods so be sure to download the correct files for end result you wish to achieve.

NOTE: Always backup your livesite data before working on your files!

• 1. On your host server create a new database through your cPanel or phpMyAdmin.
• 2. Create a folder in your www/root or in your cPanel and name it "testsite".
• 3. Point your browser to Simple Machines Forum (SMF) forums and there you browse to their download section.
• 4. Download the "Full install" package for either the same version you're running on your livesite to create a clone of the livesite, OR the 'Full install' of the new version you want to upgrade to on your livesite. Please note that as this is written TinyPortal will not yet work with SMF 2.0.
• 5. Extract the package on your local computer and with your fav FTP software, go to the folder you created "testsite" and upload the extracted files and folders from the 'Full install' package to that "testsite" folder.
• 6. Now you point your browser to "install.php" in the "testsite" folder and you will get a screen (the same as you saw when you installed your SMF livesite ) where you fill in your account settings and the new DB you created for the testsite.
• 7. When the install of SMF is done, you now have a working 'testsite' to play with instead of your livesite and you will not have to worry about breaking it because it's just a testsite.  

To create a "clone" of your livesite, you installed the same version as you have on your livesite; but if you want to upgrade your site, you installed the newer version to the testsite instead.

Now you come to the part where you have some options:
If you want to upgrade your entire site you download the newer versions of the Mods you already have on your livesite. Start with TinyPortal (TP) of course as it will probably be the biggest Mod so it will be easier to install that first.

• 8. Download the 'version of TP' you HAVE on your livesite if you are creating a clone, OR the newer version if you want to upgrade your entire site.
• 9. Install it through the SMF Package Manager and check so everything works the way it was meant to.
• 10. Check your livesites packages list now, note down a list of the Mods you have installed there and browse to the "SMF Customization" site. Search and find the Mods you have noted, and install them through the package manager to your testsite.
• 11. When you have the mods installed to your testsite, you now have a clone of your livesite.

If you are doing an upgrade to your livesite these steps will guide you through that process:
Now you need to set your LIVEsite to maintenance mode, and then set the theme to Default SMF Core theme and English ISO ( not utf8 ) language.
Be sure to backup your data!

• 12. To use this testsite to help you upgrade your livesite, you simply download all the files from your testsite folder to your local computer. Then upload them again but this time you upload into your livesite folder and choose to overwrite the older files in that folder.
• 13. When the files are uploaded, you browse back to SMF and the download section again but this time you download the 'Large upgrade' package.
• 14. Extract the upgrade package to your local computer, and take out the two (2) ".SQL" files and the "upgrade.php" file.
  Upload these 3 files to your livesites folder and point your browser to the "upgrade.php" and let it update your database, you will see the progress during the update.
• 15. When the upgrade is done, you point your browser to the file "manual_tp_install.php" and that will upgrade your TP tables and when it's done you refresh and the upgraded forum and TP should show on your screen now.
  

Here comes the tricky part... the other mods:
Open your FTP software and browse to your "livesite" folder called Packages.
Remove the old zips and rar files from that folder.
Then upload the new mods zips and rar files you installed on the testsite to the Packages folder.

Now you open your livesite and browse to the Package Manager and you will now see a list of all the mods, but they will all have the [install] link. Install them one by one; the mods are already in your files so you will get error on most files but ignore them as it doesn't matter. The mods will turn green and bigger mods like Arcade etc will update the DB that's important.

After you check to be sure everything is back to normal, you can set your forum to your custom default theme if you like. If you had really old versions of SMF or and TP, you might have to replace your themes with updated ones. But most themes will work so you can check things out.



Doc Written By: G6

The safe way to 'Fully Update' your "livesite":
? Create a test site and you won't have the fear of breaking your livesite; here?s how to do it.
Also see; The safe way to 'Clone' your "livesite".
NOTE: Always backup your livesite data before working on your files!

• 1. On your host server create a new database through your cPanel or phpMyAdmin
• 2. Create a folder in your www/root or in your cPanel and name it "testsite"
• 3. Point your browser to Simple Machines Forum (SMF) forums and there you browse to their download section.
• 4. Download the "Full install" package for the latest version of SMF.
• 5. Extract the package on your local computer and with your fav FTP software, go to the folder you created "testsite" and upload the extracted files and folders from the full to that "testsite" folder
• 6. Now you point your browser to "install.php" in the "testsite" folder and you will get a screen (the same as you saw when you installed your SMF live site ) where you fill in your account settings and the new DB you created for the test site.
• 7. When the install of SMF is done, you now have a working test site to play with instead of your live site and you will not have to worry about breaking it because it's just a test site.  

Once you have SMF working correctly you can start adding your Mods:
Start with TinyPortal (TP) of course as it will probably be the biggest Mod so it will be easier to install that first.

• 8. Download the 'latest version of TP'.
• 9. Install it through the SMF Package Manager and check so everything works the way it was meant to.
• 10. Check your live sites packages list now, note down a list of the Mods you have installed there and browse to the "SMF Customization" site. Search and find the Mods you have noted, and install them through the package manager to your testsite.
• 11. When you have the mods installed to your test site and everything on your testsite is working correctly you can upgrade the files on your livesite as detailed below..

Now you need to set your LIVE site to maintenance mode, and then set the theme to Default SMF Core theme and English ISO ( not utf8 ) language.
Be sure to backup your data!

• 12. To use this fully updated testsite to update your livesite you simply download all the files from your test site folder to your local computer. Then upload them again but this time when you upload choose to overwrite older files in your livesite folder and the process is going.
• 13. When the files are uploaded, you browse back to SMF and the download section again but this time you download the 'Large upgrade' package.
• 14. Extract the upgrade package to your local computer, and take out the 2 ".SQL" files and the "upgrade.php" file
  Upload these 3 files to your live sites folder and point your browser to the "upgrade.php" and let it update your database, you will see the progress during the update.
• 15. When the upgrade is done, you point your browser to the file "manual_tp_install.php" and that will upgrade your TP tables and when it's done you refresh and the upgraded forum and TP should show on your screen now.
  

Here comes the tricky part... the other mods:
Open your FTP software and browse to your "livesite" folder called Packages
Remove the old zips and rar files from that folder.
Then upload the new mods zips and rar files you installed on the test site to the Packages folder.

Now you open your livesite and browse to the Package Manager and you will now see a list of all the mods, but they will all have the [install] link. Install them one by one, the mods are already in your files so you will get error on most files but ignore them as it doesn't matter. The mods will turn green and bigger mods like Arcade etc will update the DB that's important.

After you check to be sure everything is back to normal, you can set your forum to your custom default theme if you like. If you had really old versions of themes for SMF or SMF/TP you might have to replace your themes with updated ones, but most themes should work.



Doc Written By: G6

This how-to will give you the details on how to setup and use your personal album in the FamilyForum Gallery.

Its really very easy to get started posting your pictures to your gallery and setting it up is easy as well...

• First; you can find links to the gallery on all of the forum pages so use one of them to go to the gallery.
  
• Once in the gallery look to the upper right for the [MyGallery] link.
  
• On this page click on the link for "Add Category"
  
  



• This next window is where you pick a name for your album and other details like how you want to describe the album.
  We've named this one Minnie's Album.
  Don't worry about the "Gallery Icon URL" and the "Upload Gallery Icon" for now... we will talk about those later.
  Also don't worry about the "Parent Category" setting for now because it will just say None but it can be changed later if needed.
  
  
  
• Once you have the details entered in this screen just click on the Add Category button and you are finished!!!
  After you click on the Add Category button you will go to your new album, but there will be no pictures of course so lets add one or two to see how that part works.
  
  
• Under the Gallery Name heading you can see your album listed (Minnie's Album for this example)
  To add some pictures lets go ahead and click on the album name.
  
  
  
• When you click on your album name it will take you to this next screen where you can upload your pictures.
  The "Add a picture" link is for only one picture at a time but the "Bulk Add Pictures" link will let us upload up to 10 pictures at a time and that's the one we'll use this time.
  
  
  



• Now just browse to your picture folder on your PC and upload your pictures!
  Be sure to include lots of detail about each picture, like who's in it and where it was taken plus any other detail you think might be interesting.
  You can see Minnie's finished album HERE.
  
  
• If you have any questions or issues be sure to shoot me a note and I'll help you sort it out.
  
  
  Enjoy... GPa Ken
  

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Using the 'New & Improved' FamilyForum Gallery:

You should find that the new & improved FamilyForum Gallery is lots easier to use but here are a few basic tips in case you need a little detail on how to get started.

You can find the Gallery by clicking on the 'Gallery' link/button at the top of each page: Once you're in the gallery you'll be able to see the Albums that are already there and you'll be able to add your own pictures to most of them... you will also be able to set up your own albums if you wish, but more about that later.

For now lets learn how to place your pictures in the existing albums.

At the top and at the bottom of each album page there will be a link that you can use 'Add a picture'... click on it and it will return a screen where you can browse to your pictures and upload them to that album.
There are also some options to consider...

• Title: You must enter a title for your picture.
• Category: (albums) The dropdown list will show you all of the albums and you can pick the one you want your picture to upload into.
• Description: Its always good to enter some of the details about who is in your picture like where, when, how... you know all that stuff.
• Keywords: Don't worry about that one, but it would be words that a search would use and relate to the picture like... vacation, Christmas, reunion or things like that.
• Upload Picture: Use the Browse button to find the picture wherever you have it on your computer.
• Additional Options: Just what it sez of course, I like to leave both options checked for OK.

After that just click the Add Picture button and wait for the upload to finish.
It may take a minute or two so be patient...
That's it! Your picture should appear in the album of your choice now.

Please Note:
The 'Quota Limit' that you see at the bottom of this next window is a very important value, please read more about it in "Getting Your Pictures Ready to Publish"....

Enjoy... GPa Ken.
You can post a comment or question below if you wish too.