Web Gallery Creator

[Grasbeak]

One feature I really liked in IM 3 about a decade back was the Web Gallery script that created a collapsible category tree which essentially replicated IMatch category structure in a web page.  I believe this script was created by Ferdinand.  That script allowed me to create webpages involving hundreds of images in minutes.  I put the webpage on a DVD when distributing images and it allowed others to easily navigate IMATCH categories to find images of interest.  I think I lost functionality of this script around IM 3.5.  This was a very nice feature, but I only used it 2-3 times a year.

I have seen that IMATCH will not contain significant web scripts because they are readily available elsewhere.  Could someone tell me if they know of a script or program they would recommend that will easily  create a similar collapsible keyword or category navigation HTML document for large batches of images.

I do not have sufficient skills to do coding - modifying a template is about the extent of my abilities.

Thanks much

[Ferdinand]

Mario thinks that the approach used in the photo gallery script is too old and not worth updating and migrating.  Better to use Flickr or Smugmug or a PHP solution or the like.  I partly agree, but given the work I put into it I'd like to see it available all the same.   But it's a lot of work to migrate and there are large parts that are beyond my simple understanding.  I guess I'm concerned that I could start and invest quite some time and hit a brick wall.  I may try one day, but not today.

I thought that the script ran in IMatch 3.6, but I'm not sure if in ran in 3.6.0.118, which had an updated scripting engine.  If it runs in that then there's a fighting chance, as 118 has the same scripting engine behind it as V5.

[Mario]

Without even thinking I can probably name a dozen or more "web gallery creators" for Flash, HTML5, PHP-based etc. All free. Many of them come with some form of GUI where you can just drop images from IMatch to create your gallery. Often these are backed by dedicated developers or even entire teams.

And of course there are online galleries like smugmug, pbase, Flickr, Instagram, Facebook and others which allow you to upload files via your Browser, which means you can drag files from IMatch to your browser to upload them. Could not be easier.

To produce something that comes even close to free (!) solutions mentioned above, I would have to sit down several months exclusively and re-invent the wheel. I don't see reason for this.

IMatch includes a neat export module for the free JuiceBox web galley. This allows you to produce HTML5-based, cross-browser and cross platform (browser, phones, TV's, ...) galleries from your files. Give this a try. See the IMatch help for details.

[Ferdinand]

The attraction of the photo gallery creator script was that you could produce a gallery that featured your category tree in a collapsible and expandable form. 

[Mario]

The attraction of the photo gallery creator script was that you could produce a gallery that featured your category tree in a collapsible and expandable form.

I'm sure there are systems out there which can do that using hierarchical XMP keywords.

And if you want to play a bit with this, why don't you use the existing JuiceBox export module (which has been implemented as a script) and extend it to produce a navigation based on categories?

IMatch currently uses a simple 'hosting' HTML page for Juicebox:

C:\ProgramData\photools.com\IMatch5\scripts\system\Plugins\Juicebox\gallery.html

This page loads the JuiceBox as large as possible. But that's basically all it does for now. This page allows you display a gallery for any number of files in a responsive design.

Changing this page to display a category navigation on the left and the Juixebox on the right would be easy.
Make a copy of the script and add the code to emit the gallery navigation "control" to be used for the HTML. Create one XML file for each category and load it into Juicebox when the category is clicked.

If one knows the IMatch scripting language and a bit of HTML and JavaScript, this should be doable in one or two days, especially if you don't go for a full responsive design which scales and adapts across all platforms (PC, mobile, TV, ...)

[beickeb]

To answer Ferdinand's question, the script runs under 3.6.0.118. My solution is to maintain my web categories in 3.6 and generate my site from there. Because I maintain a separate collection of images for the web, this solution works for me.

[Ferdinand]

Well, that's encouraging.  I may have a play if I can find a bit of time, despite Mario's negativity. 

[Grasbeak]

Thank you all for the excellent information.  I may have lost my functionality after a hardware crash or other event unrelated to changes in IMATCH.  I may have never reinstalled the proper script.

I would certainly welcome a IM 5 compatible version of your script some time in the future Ferdinand, but I certainly understand competing priorities.

I had played with the juicebox module, but as Ferdinand noted the appeal of his script is the category navigation.  Sounds like modifying the Juicebox module is beyond me, but maybe a good project for a young computer student I know:)

[Ferdinand]

It's not my script.  Mario wrote the basic version and the extended version was the result of contributions by a number of people.  I made just a few minor contributions.

What I did do was create a template or preset for the script that seemed quite popular.  There was a lot of work involved and I'd rather not see it die.

But as I said, don't hold you breath.