minishowcase version 0.9 beta
the super-easy gallery

 

Installing and usage
for version 0.9 beta

Requirements

This is what you need to run this software:

• PHP scripting language: your server must have at least php v4.2.0 (I'm not 100% sure) installed. if you are unsure see below
• GD/GD2 extension: either the GD or GD2 extension is required by PHP for manipulating images, hence you'll need it if you want the gallery to generate its own thumbnails on-the-fly. GD/GD2 are image manipulation extensions, are usually bundled with PHP for linux/unix/(windows?) and may just need to be enabled (by your Host, probably). if you are unsure see below
• If you don't have GD/GD2 installed, you can turn the $settings['create_thumbnails'] variable to false in the /config/settings.php file. This way, the thumbnails will show as a scaled version of the main picture.
• An FTP account and client.
• The user's (the person looking at your photos) browser must be JavaScript Enabled (not just have it, but have it active) and support for AJAX (XmlHttpRequest Object or ActiveX).

  Note: This gallery is not compatible with IE 5.x Mac since it seems not to support AJAX. the gallery will show a message to the user explaining this (this browser is discontinued by Microsoft, so please do not ask support for it).

 

Server Check: If you don't know if you have PHP installed in your host, try the following:

• Copy and paste the following into a text file:

  <?php phpinfo(); ?>

• Save the file as test.php and upload it via ftp to your webspace.
• Now fire up your favourite web browser and go to http://yourdomain/path/to/file/test.php. Scrolling down you will find the current version of PHP and whether or not GD/GD2 is installed.

Installing

Once you have checked that your server meets the prerequisites as listed above you are ready to begin the installation.

• Open the file /config/settings.php in a text editor (not Word! Notepad/TextEdit will do, saving as plain text) and make the changes you wish. Save and close the file.
• If you want to save thumbnails when created (for faster showing) just enable $settings['create_thumbnails'] and $settings['cache_thumbnails'] (check other variables that might be related). The thumbnail folders will be created inside the /cache/ directory, named after the gallery starting with cache_ (e.g. /cache/cache_yourgallery/).
• Put all the images for a gallery inside a folder, name it as you want the gallery to be named (Tip: better use underscores for spaces), and then put this folder inside the /galleries/ folder.
• Upload the entire minishowcase folder to the location you have chosen in your webserver. Rename it if you want.

  Note: be careful to upload images in data (binary) format, and text files in text (ascii) format.

• IMPORTANT: Set permissions for the /cache/ directory to 0777.

That should be all!

Tips:

• If you want to have your galleries to appear in a specific order in the menu, just prepend a number and a dash NN- to the folder name in the order you want. These numbers won't appear in the gallery title. In my opinion, a good practice is to append every gallery with the date formatted as YYMMDD- if you want to order them by date.

  Note: this setting might not work in some OSes/Hosts. If this is your case, let me know in the community

• If you want your images to appear in a specific order, prepend a number and a dash NN- to the image name. If you set $settings['show_thumb_number'] to false those numbers won't show as part of the image caption.
• If you want a gallery temporarily not to show in the menu, just prepend an underscore (_) to the gallery folder name (eg. /galleries/_yourgallery/). The same applies to images you want temporarily not to appear in a gallery.
• If you want a description for the gallery, put it on a text file, name it _info.txt (the default name) and save it inside the gallery images folder.

  Note: you can change this file's default name in the /config/settings.php file.

• If you want to show a description of the image, just name the image with the text you want to appear as a caption.

  Note: Underscores (_) will be parsed and shown as spaces ( ), and Dashes (-) will be parsed and shown like this ( - ), eg. my_image-comment.jpg will look like my image - comment.

• If you want to change any text on the gallery, look for it in the language files, inside /languages/ directory

Customisation

minishowcase is supplied with a generic set of default values that can be customised to work better within your own site. Most of the variables for the working of the gallery are contained in the /config/settings.php file. This means that you can change many of the features by editing just one file.

At this stage, customisation is still at a minimum level. Expect improved and more thorough customisation in the (near) future.

There are /*comments*/ throughout to assist with site redesigns.

Themes

Note: themes are now working again. Be aware that old themes are not compatible with the latest release of minishowcase Luckily, they're easily upgradeable. Just duplicate a new theme, copy the values of your old theme and add the missing ones accordingly. Please check afterwards since some values might have change their appearance.

Themes are preconfigured visual styles and they include overall color scheme and images. They're a good way to adapt (for now, colors and images) minishowcase to resemble more your website's appearance.

Themes are contained within the /themes/ folder. To make your own theme, just copy one of the provided ones, modify the images and the colors in the /themes/data.php file. Then rename the theme's folder (it acts as the theme's name)

Themes included in the minishowcase download:

• default theme by victor
• blue theme by victor

Other themes available for download:

• none yet

If you make a new theme, and want to share it with the rest of us, send a .zip compressed copy to minishowcase@frwrd.net and it may be showcased in the themes section. Please include all relevant information, including:

1. Your name
2. Name of the theme
3. Your e-mail [optional]
4. A site you want the theme to be linked to [optional]

Contact

Any doubt, information or request might be discussed in the community. I am oftentimes very busy, a freelancer that travels from time to time, and it may happen that I don't check the threads immediately, but do not doubt that your suggestions and requests will be taken into consideration and a prompt answer is likely to be delivered.

IMPORTANT: Please read this INSTRUCTIONS thoroughly before sending any complaint/bug/feature request. If you don't receive an answer to your post or email, chances are the answer has already been covered here and I just cannot be bothered to rewrite it.

Disclaimer

This program is freeware, you may use it at your own discretion, If you want, you can write to me and tell me where are you using it, just to check it out.

This program is in a very alpha version, I am only distributing it because it is such a simple gallery, it might be useful to others. The web is full of full-fledged, perfectly-functional php image galleries, this one is for those that want an extremely simple, easy yet powerful and configurable gallery. If you're learning php, this is a very nice place where to start. And, after all, it is offered at no cost.

Legal stuff

This software is provided 'As Is', and no implied warranties are to be considered in any way watsoever, not even the implied warranty of FITNESS OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. It is free, you can do whatever you want with it, it is safe, it is just server scripting code, that should be enough. By downloading this software you are deemed to this agreement.

 

minishowcase | community | frwrd.net