path: root/language/en_UK/help.html

<h2>Help</h2>

<h3>Quick start</h3>

<ol>
  
  <li>Create a local directory "test_category".</li>

  <li>Copy pictures in "test_category".</li>

  <li>Open an FTP connection to this remote gallery.</li>

  <li>Upload local directory "test_category" into your remote directory
  names "galleries". Set authorizations to 777 on directory
  "galleries/test_category".</li>

  <li>Connect to your Piwigo as an admin.</li>

  <li>Go to <span class="pwgScreen">Administration, Pictures,
  Thumbnails</span>. Piwigo find the picture from "test_category"
  without thumbnails. Ask to create thumbnails.</li>

  <li>Go to <span class="pwgScreen">Administration, Categories,
  Synchronize</span>. Check "directories + files" option, uncheck "only
  perform a simulation" and submit the synchronization.</li>

  <li>Job's done. You've created a category "test_category" at the root of
your gallery.</li>
  
</ol>

<h3>Adding elements</h3>

<ul>

  <li>

    <p>Category directories are in the Piwigo directory
    "galleries". Here follow the directory tree of a very small gallery (but
    using many features) :</p>

    <pre>
.
|-- admin
|-- doc
|-- galleries
|   |-- category-1
|   |   |-- category-1.1
|   |   |   |-- category-1.1.1
|   |   |   |   |-- category-1.1.1.1
|   |   |   |   |   |-- pwg_high
|   |   |   |   |   |   +-- wedding.jpg
|   |   |   |   |   |-- thumbnail
|   |   |   |   |   |   +-- TN-wedding.jpg
|   |   |   |   |   +-- wedding.jpg
|   |   |   |   +-- category-1.1.1.2
|   |   |   +-- category-1.1.2
|   |   |-- category-1.2
|   |   |   |-- pookie.jpg
|   |   |   +-- thumbnail
|   |   |       +-- TN-pookie.jpg
|   |   +-- category-1.3
|   +-- category-2
|       |-- piglet.gif
|       |-- pwg_representative
|       |   +-- video.jpg
|       |-- thumbnail
|       |   +-- TN-piglet.jpg
|       +-- video.avi
|-- include
|-- install
|-- language
|-- template
+-- tool</pre>

  </li>
  
  <li>Basically, a category is represented by a directory at any level in
  Piwigo directory "galleries". Each category can contain as many
  sub-level as you wish. In the example above, category-1.1.1.1 is at level
  4 of deepness.</li>

  <li>Basically, an element is represented by a file. A file can be a
  Piwigo element if its extenstion is among <code>file_ext</code>
  configuration parameter possibilities (see <span
  class="filename">include/config_default.inc.php</span> file). A file can
  be a picture if its extension is among <code>picture_ext</code>
  configuration parameter possibilities.</li>

  <li>Picture elements must have an associated thumbnail (see section below
  about thumbnails)</li>

  <li>Picture elements can have a high quality file associated. As for
  wedding.jpgin the example above. No prefix on the high quality picture is
  required.</li>

  <li>Non picture elements (video, sounds, file texts, what you want...) are
  by default represented by an icon corresponding to the filename
  extension. Optionaly, you can associate a thumbnail and a representative
  file (see video.avi in the example above).</li>

  <li><em>Warning</em> : the name of directories and files must be composed
of letters, figures, "-", "_" or ".". No blank space, no accentuated
characters</li>

  <li><em>Advise</em> : a category can contain elements and sub-categories
in the same time. Nerverthless, you are strongly advised for each category
to choose between category containing elements <strong>or</strong> category
containing sub-categories.</li>

  <li>Once files, thumbnails and representatives are correctly placed in the
  directories, go to : <span class="pwgScreen">Administration, Categories,
  Synchronize</span></li>

</ul>

<h3>Thumbnails</h3>

<ul>

  <li>As said earlier, each element of picture type must be associated with
  a thumbnail.</li>

  <li>Thumbnails are stored in the sub-directory "thumbnail" of the category
  directory. The thumbnail is a picture (same filename extensions possible
  than picture files) which filename is prefixed by the configured
  "Thumbnail prefix" (see admin panel, Configuration, General).</li>

  <li>Thumbnails don't need to have the same extension as their associated
  picture (a picture with .jpg extension can have a thumbnail in .GIF
  extention for instance).</li>

  <li>Advise: use an external module for thumbnails creation.</li>

  <li>You can also use the thumbnail creation page (<span
  class="pwgScreen">Administration, Pictures, Thumbnails</span>), but it is
  not recommended. Indeed, thumbnail quality may be poor and it uses a high
  CPU load which can be a problem if you use free web hosting.</li>

  <li>If you choose to use your hosting provider to create thumbnails, you
  must give write rights on all category directories and sub-directories
  "thumbnail" for ugo (user, group, other).</li>

</ul>

<h3>Access authorization</h3>

<ul>

  <li>You can forbid access to categories. Categories can be "public" or
  "private". Permissions (for groups and users) can be set only if the
  category is private.</li>

  <li>You can set a category to private by editing a single category (<span
  class="pwgScreen">Administration, Categories, Manage, edit</span>) or by
  setting options to your whole category tree (<span
  class="pwgScreen">Administration, Categories, Properties, Public / Private</span>).</li>

  <li>

    <p>Once the category is private, you can manage permissions for groups
    and users through 3 screens :</p>

    <ul>

      <li><span class="pwgScreen">Administration, Identification, Users,
      permissions action (one link per user)</span></li>

      <li><span class="pwgScreen">Administration, Identification, Groups,
      permissions action (one link per group)</span></li>

      <li><span class="pwgScreen">Administration, Categories, Manage, edit
      category permissions action (one link per category)</span></li>

    </ul>

  </li>

</ul>

<h3>Users Groups</h3>

<ul>

  <li>Piwigo is able to manage groups of users. It can be very useful
  to have common permission access for private categories.</li>

  <li>You can create groups in <span class="pwgScreen">Administration,
  Identification, Groups</span> and associate users to this group in <span
  class="pwgScreen">Administration, Identication, Users</span>.</li>

  <li>A user can belong to several groups. The authorization is stronger
  than prohibition : if user "jack" belongs to groups "family" and
  "friends", and that only group "family" can see category "Christmas 2003",
  "jack" will be able to see "Christmas 2003".</li>

</ul>

<h3>Files upload by users</h3>

<p>Piwigo offers the possibility for users to upload images. in
order to do it:</p>

<ol>

  <li>authorize upload on any categories (<span
  class="pwgScreen">Administration, Categories, Manage, edit</span> or <span
  class="pwgScreen">Administration panel, Categories, Properties, Upload</span>)</li>

  <li>give write rights on directories for ugo (user, group, other)</li>

</ol>

<p>Files uploaded by users are not directly visible on the website, they
must be validated by an administrator. For that purpose, an administrator
must go in <span class="pwgScreen">Administration, Pictures, Waiting</span>
in order to validate or to refuse the files proposed, then to synchronize
filesystem with database.</p>


<h3>Links between elements and categories, virtual categories</h3>

<ul>

  <li>Piwigo dissociates categories where elements are stored and
  categories where they are shown.</li>

  <li>By default, elements are shown only in their real categories : the
  ones corresponding to directories on the web server.</li>

  <li>To link an element to a category, you just have to make the
  association on the page of element edition (link to this screen on
  picture.php logged as an administrator) or on the informations of all
  elements of a category.</li>

  <li>Using this principle, it is possible to create virtual categories : no
  directory coresponds to this category. You can create virtual categories
  in <span class="pwgScreen">Administration, Categories, Manage</span>.</li>

</ul>

<h3>Miscellanous informations</h3>

<ul>

  <li>As soon as you created your gallery, modify default display properties
  in <span class="pwgScreen">Administration panel, Configuration,
  Default</span>. Indeed, every new registered user will have by default the
  same display properties.</li>

  <li>If you have any question, do not hesitate to take a look at the forum
  or ask a question there. The <a
  href="http://forum.phpwebgallery.net">forum</a> (message board) is
  available on the presentation site of Piwigo. Check the <a
  href="http://phpwebgallery.net/doc/">official Piwigo
  documentation</a> for further reading.</li>

</ul>