close ad
 
Important WebAssist Announcement
open ad
View Menu

Web development tutorial

Getting Started with PowerGallery

Tutorial created by Ray Borduin, WebAssist

Categories: PowerGallery

rating

PowerGallery is packaged ready for you to upload straight to your live server and start using it. Built-into the product is the Installation Wizard, which allows you to completely set up this Solution Pack in just a few steps.

This guide runs you through the process of uploading the Solution Pack files and running through the Installation Wizard.

arrow downWhat you need to start

- PowerGallery 2
- Hosting Provider and MySQL database
You will need to have already signed up for a hosting service from a hosting provider, and have access to a MySQL server to store your database. Click here for instructions on how you can set hosting up.

If you are upgrading from PowerGallery 1, first follow these instructions.

arrow downExtract the files

The Solution Pack files are stored within a compress (.zip) file. You will need to unzip the contents before you can upload the solution pack.

Windows: Right-click the .zip file and choose Extract All...

OSX: Double-click the .zip file to automatically extract the contents to the same location where the .zip is located.

arrow downRename the folder

Your next step is to rename the rename_and_upload_this_folder directory that was extracted from the .zip file.
We suggest to rename this folder 'powergallery' to help prevent conflicts with other solution packs. Most users will call the folder 'powergallery' and upload the entire folder to the root of their remote site.

When navigating to the PowerGallery admin you will need to enter this folder name as part of the URL. For example, if you upload this folder to the root of your site and it is called 'powergallery' the URL to access PowerGallery will be http://mysite.com/powergallery.

arrow downUpload the files

Upload the folder and all of its contents to your remote server within your existing website's files. If you have another WebAssist solution pack installed, be sure to PowerGallery is uploaded to a different directory than the extisting solution pack. This will prevent conflicts between the solution packs.
In order for your galleries to display on any PHP page of your site, this folder needs to be within the root folder of your website.

arrow downRun the Wizard

Once all the files are uploaded, open your web browser and navigate to the index.php file within the directory you just uploaded. For example: http://mysite.com/powergallery/index.php.

When loading this page for the first time, you will be directed to the PowerGallery Installation Wizard.

The PowerGallery Installation Wizard is designed to help you get this Solution Pack up and running as quickly as possible. The Installation Wizard will perform various checks on your server to ensure that it is running all the necessary scripts for PowerGallery to function properly.

It is important that your server passes all the server checks in the Installation Wizard. If it does not pass these checks, functionality in PowerGallery will likely not work.


Server Settings

The Server Settings step displays the result of the Server Diagnostic Check. This check analyzes your server and will alert you if necessary features are not enabled.

If anything fails, resolve the issue and click Run Test Again to see if it is fixed.

If you are alerted that PHP 5 is not enabled you will need to have your Hosting Provider upgrade your service. This is typically provided for free by hosting providers, you just need to ask.


Database Info

The database info step allows you to enter the details for the database you intend to use for PowerGallery, so that the Installation Wizard can automatically add all the database tables to your database for you.

Watch a video on obtaining your database credentials or creating a new database.

Since most servers do not allow external applications to create new databases, you will need to create the database first through your hosting provider's control panel. You can use an existing database, but to avoid conflicts it is advised that you start with an empty database.


Admin Info

The Admin Login step allows you to specify the username and password that will be required in order to enter PowerGallery to manage your galleries or add images.

The Watermark feature allows you to specify a watermark that would be added to the images in your gallery. You can always make changes to your watermark from within the Administrative area after completing the Installation Wizard.

arrow downUsing the PowerGallery Admin

Once you have completed the Installation Wizard, you will be provided a summary of what was accomplished and directed to the PowerGallery Administrative Area. You will no longer be able to access the Installation Wizard, and can do everything from within this area.

To access the PowerGallery Administrative Area, open your browser and enter the same URL that you used to launch the Installation Wizard earlier. You should now be redirected to the admin log-in screen.

Choose Gallery

There is no limit to the number of galleries you can create with your PowerGallery installation. Each gallery can be inserted to as many webpages as you would like, in any design of your choosing. The Choose Gallery page is the first step to perform each time you wish to add/modify a gallery.

  1. Start by adding your first gallery by clicking the "Add Gallery" button.
  2. Enter a name for your gallery and click "Add Gallery".
  3. Now that you have created your gallery, and that gallery is selected, you will want to proceed to the "Add Images" page to add images to your gallery.
All galleries that you create, including galleries that are generating using the new auto-generate feature will be listed here. Click "Edit This Gallery" beside the gallery you wish to work with prior to moving to any of the other pages.


Adding Images

The "Add Images" page allows you to upload images to your gallery two different ways.

  1. Single Image Upload: Allows you to upload a single image to the currently selected gallery.
  2. Server Upload: Allows you to import all images within a directory on your server.
    In order to use this feature, you will first need to upload the directory of images to be imported.


In addition to the options on this page, you can also upload images to PowerGallery automatically using the auto-generate feature. For more information on this feature, read the Auto-generating Galleries section below.

Once you have added all your images, click "Manage Images" to make modifications to your images and how they appear in your gallery.

Manage Images

The "Manage Images" page allows you to reorder your images, rotate images, delete images, and update the image titles and descriptions.

  1. To reorder images, drag-n-drop each to where you would like to be displayed.
  2. To rotate an image, hover over the image thumbnail and click the rotate icon. From the dialog, choose how you would like to rotate and click "Close" when complete.
  3. To delete an image, hover over the image thumbnail and click the Delete icon.
  4. To update image titles and descriptions, select the image thumbnail and enter the new title and description. Click "Save Changes" when complete.


Once you have finished managing your images, click the "Choose Design" option to select the design you would like to use for this gallery.

Choose Design

The "Choose Design" page allows you to select from the included design, as well as launch the Design Editor for modifying the colors, images, and text of a selected to design to create a completely custom looking design.

To customize the appearance of a design, choose the "settings" link under the gallery you would like to customize.

For assistance with modifying a gallery in the Design Editor, choose the "Tips" option provided within this interface to launch the built-in help system.


Once you have customized your design, apply your design by selecting it from the dropdown provided below the design thumbnail. Then, select the thumbnail graphic to apply that design.

Once you have completed this step, proceed to the "Add to Site" page to see how you can add this page to your website.

Add to Site

The "Add to Site" page provides you with two methods for adding your gallery to your site.

  1. Direct Link: Allows you to provide a direct link that launches your gallery in its own webpage. This can be added to any page type and does not require the page to be PHP.
  2. Embed in PHP page: If you have PHP pages to add your galleries to, you can apply your gallery to your page by copying and pasting the provided code chunk into your pages HTML.

arrow downAuto-generating Galleries

PowerGallery 2 includes a new feature that allows you to automatically create galleries by just uploading a set of files.

  1. Using your preferred FTP application, upload a directory of images within the /images directory of your PowerGallery 2 files.
    The exact path to this directory is provided for you on the "Choose Gallery" page.

  2. Log into your PowerGallery admin and access the "Choose Gallery" page.
    Your new gallery will automatically be added based on the images in the directory you uploaded

arrow downFor more...

For more information and tutorials, see the PowerGallery support page.

arrow downReviews and comments

Comments will be sent to the author of this tutorial and may not be answered immediately. For general help from WebAssist, please visit technical support.

Sign in to add comments
rating

Build websites with a little help from your friends

Your friends over here at WebAssist! These Dreamweaver extensions will assist you in building unlimited, custom websites.

Build websites from already-built web applications

These out-of-the-box solutions provide you proven, tested applications that can be up and running now.  Build a store, a gallery, or a web-based email solution.

Want your website pre-built and hosted?

Close Windowclose

Rate your experience or provide feedback on this page

Account or customer service questions?
Please user our contact form.

Need technical support?
Please visit support to ask a question

Content

rating

Layout

rating

Ease of use

rating

security code refresh image

We do not respond to comments submitted from this page directly, but we do read and analyze any feedback and will use it to help make your experience better in the future.