Gallery 2 User Guide

This tutorial is based on Gallery 2′s “Matrix” theme. Buttons, etc. may be in different locations in different themes. My images below are from my customized version of the Matrix theme. I entitled my gallery “portfolio”; by default the top-left navigation starts with “Gallery”.

Side note: Gallery2.org has an extensive How-To guide on some of the functions of using Gallery 2. However, it doesn’t really cover all the basic tasks I do regularly, and it covers too much stuff that my clients and I would rarely do. I’d love to have your feedback on this tutorial.

Quick Links

• add an album
• add items
• edit items
• highlight an item
• delete an item
• delete an album
• move an item
• move an album
• rearrange items (visually)
• reorder items (by Title)
• sort an album

Login

You’ll need to log in first before you can manage your gallery. Your login info would have been created by your Web designer (or you) during installation. Click the Login link at the top-right. Enter your login info and click the Login button at the bottom.

Login

Add an Album

Now that you are logged in, click the Add Album link in the left-hand navigation column.

Add an Album

Enter data for at least the first two fields: Name and Title. The Name will be the actual directory name on the Web server, so use only alpha-numeric characters with no spaces. The Title will be the visible name for the Gallery.

Create Album

You can also enter information for the following:

• Summary: this information will appear on the main gallery page, listed under the thumbnail for this particular album.
• Keywords: this information will also appear under the album thumbnail. Its purpose is to provide search engines with additional information about the album contents. Separate keywords with a comma.
• Description: this information will appear at the top of the page when you navigate into an album. You can put lots of detail here.

Click the Create button at the bottom to create your new album.

Add Items

Ready to add some photos? Make sure you navigate into the correct album. You will already be there if you just created it. Then click on the Add Items link in the left-hand navigation column.

Add Items

In the Add Items screen, you will see the opportunity to add two files with captions. To show more upload boxes, click on the More Upload Boxes… button. The default tab on this page, “From Web Browser” will allow you to upload images directly from your computer. If you want more options for adding items to your album, see Gallery2.org. To upload your first file, click on the first Browse button.

From Web Browser

Navigate to your first image file within the File Upload dialog box. Click on your image and click the Open button.

File Upload

Repeat for any other items. Add captions and click the Add Items button at the bottom.

Add Items

Check to see that your items uploaded successfully.

Successfully Added

Edit Items

If you leave your images as-is after upload, you’ll get the following when you navigate to its album: the image title will default to the file name, and the caption will be below the title as a summary.

Default Item Description

To add a more appropriate title and additional information, click on the Edit Captions link in the left-hand navigation column.

Edit Captions

Change the Title. You will find that the caption you already entered appears as both the Summary and the Description.

Edit Captions

The Summary appears below the Title when you view all the items in an album.

Item Summary

The description appears below the Title when you view the item detail page.

Item Detail

Go ahead and enter a longer Description if you like. You also have the option to add more keywords. You will be able to edit captions for up to nine items at a time on this screen. Click the Save and Done button at the bottom of the page to complete your edits.

Highlight an Item

When you highlight an item, you make it the thumbnail that is visible when you view an album page. By default, Gallery2 selects the first item uploaded into an album as that album’s highlight.

Highlighted Item

To change the highlight image, navigate to the item you desire, and click on the Make Highlight link in the left-hand navigation column.

Make Highlight

By default, Gallery2 will select the album that the item is in. You can also select to use this item to highlight one of its parent or child albums.

Album Highlight