I wanted to be able to display reasonably sized thumbnails on a page.   I also wanted the images to load and display fairly quickly within the browser and not to have to scroll around the window to see all the images.

So I came up with the idea of stacking the thumbnails.  Think of it as virtual pages, instead of the browser loading a new page it hides some thumbnails and shows others.  The result is a smoother/quicker change in the pages content and an uncluttered look to the pages.

RobM 

 
We have just added commenting in the skin section of the site. In addition to rating the skins with stars, you can now give kudos to your favourite skin developer, post feature requests or share skin related experiences.
Give it a try!

I recently had a mishap and lost my trusty Kodak DX6490 digital camera.  It dropped to the floor and forever joined the dead electronics bin in the sky.  Looking at new cameras to buy,  I started to relive some of my favourite photos this camera took.

The Kodak DX6490 was no powerhouse, it was a 4MP, medium quality camera.  I've seen Digital cameras with lenses that would make the Hubble telescope feel jealous, but there is no substitution for a good eye.  In photography, that's the Golden ticket.  Chances are your camera is just as capable and you don't have to break the bank and buy that mega dollar version.

Here is a picture of Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, AZ in the States.  I just love this picture.  People watching the game intently, the fielders in the ready position, the grass stripes easily recognizable, the stands on the opposite side, the lighting, just brings it alive.

 And this one:

 I love the sense of scale this photo gives.  What most people don't know, is that your camera you bought just to point and click may have really cool features that you aren't even aware of.  Take the time, read through your manual completely and experiment, experiment and experiment.  Everything is Digital so snap away.

Here's a photo I took, the Kodak was set for "Up Close" shots.  I trick I learned with the camera is when the button to take the picture was pressed half way down, this locked the focal lens.  So, I learned, If I locked the focal lens to a nearby object, then pointed the camera to a distance object, that object would of course be out of focus, the lens was locked to a fixed focal length.  Now, I kept that close object in view of the picture, that returned a neat effect like this:

 This was great, since I didn't need to manually set the focal lens in the menu system, or waste time fumbling through menu's, once the focal lens was locked, the viewfinder was also locked, so basically it became a WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get), and I could quickly take any picture.  It was easier to maneuver myself than the small controls on the camera.  Because of this experimentation, I was able to take a snapshot below on the spur of the moment, and this too has become one of my favourites !

I love how the person in the foreground is completely in focus, the brim of the hat, the whisp of the hair, and how the picture fades off and becomes blurry with the ocean in the background.  Contrasting the two.  Again, this picture was taken with a lowly stock Kodak DX6490 4MP camera, no where near top of the line.  I would never of achieved this shot if I needed to fumble around the camera's menu system.  But, with that trick I learned, I got it right away.

 So, go back to your camera's manual, read all the nuances, and try that Focal Lock trick a few times, I think you'll like how the result turns out.

You can always contact me here with questions

Happy Jalbuming!

Navigating web sites should be easy, you don't want visitors getting confused or lost!  A site navigation that system that lets you jump between sections is, to me, better than one where you have to go forwards and backwards.

So a key feature of my Notables skin is the ability to have a fixed navigation bar so visitors can easily switch between sections/themes.  The left column of the page, except for slide pages, can be configured to always show the same navigation links.  I've set my site to show links to the main themes, for example "Places" have links to geographically related areas such as local, London, Wales etc.

Having navigated to one of these themes, say, local and then selecting a set of images a visitor can go directly to another set of images within this theme via a set of links at the top of the page.  And, of course, they can also jump to any other of the themes on my site.

RobM

I found Jalbum during my search for an easy to use Photo Album generator.  I've been impressed ever since.  One feature I found a bit "ignored" in the forums, which by the way is an excellent source of information, is information on the built in Webserver in Jalbum.

You can visit my family album here .  What makes this album unique, well, when you view my album, you are actually connecting to the computer in my home.  No uploading files to a webserver, no paying for monthly hosting fees, no configuration of webpages, actually, Jalbum makes hosting an album so easy, if you can check email you can host your own pictures.

 What about bandwidth you may ask, that you can't host a website with your current bandwidth they say?  I hear that excuse everyday and I dismiss it.  Want proof, okay fine:

Click here to watch a video, or click here to see the photo album.  Both load quickly and the video plays just fine, both are running from my home computer through my high speed internet connection.  So, even if you have Dial-Up, pictures could work just fine. 

Albums can be Gigabytes of data, and if you are using a remote host, you need to "Upload" gigabytes of data to make your album work.  Just because your album might need a terabyte of storage, a user can only access small bits of it at a time.  You can only view so many pictures at once, you can only see one picture at a time.  Thus, a typical user only requests small bits of that terabyte of data at a time.  That small bit doesn't require high bandwidth, and your current Internet Connection is plenty fast. 

By using the built in Webserver, there is no "Uploading".  Albums are available the moment you generate it.  If you run out of hard drive space, just install a new hard drive, or install an external USB hard drive, those are all the rage lately.  Plug in an external USB hard drive, and bam, 200, 300 or even 500 gigabytes of data storage at your disposal, in an instant for little money.  All because you are using the built in webserver, these options are available to you. 

If your curious how I made the video, I used MS PhotoStory to generate the movie, then imported the movie into MS Movie Maker, added music and exported the video as WMV.  Guess what, all those programs are Free, and Jalbum puts everthing together nicely.  What a Deal !!!   If want to learn more about using MS PhotoStory and MS Movie Maker to generate movies of your pictures, drop me an email note here and if I get enough interest, I'll even make a sample tutorial or instruction manual.  It's really quite easy.

 I created a manual on how to use the built in webserver. It walks you through each step, explaining things simply without a bunch of technical jargon. You may download the manual here: JAlbum webserver manual.pdf

 So, is hosting your own album locally on your computer for you?  Honestly that depends.

Reasons for Local Hosting:

• You are not creating an album for a commercial enterprise
• You are not tech savvy and don't want to bother with FTP, HTTP, Cpanel and Webhost Admin tasks
• You want to maintain control of your pictures
• You want the flexibility of allowing friends and family to add to the album easily
• You want the flexibility to add unlimited amount of pictures without additional webhost fees
• You don't want to pay more for monthly web host fees, bandwidth usage and storage and hassle of uploading albums
  

So, if you're tired of trying to configure an FTP connection to a webhost, tired of getting connection issues and just want to get a web album up and running as painless as possible, then look no further than the built in webserver.  It allows you to get up and running fast, but also the expandability to increase functionality the more you learn.

Oh, one last thing.  Here's a question everyone asks and extremely difficult to implement if you choose an external webhost.

I have family all over the world and we want to be able to share our pictures.  How can I let family members add to my album, or how can I add pictures to my album, and I don't want to bother trying to explain FTP, HTTP or anything like that, nor do I want to be maintaining my album as a second life, there's got to be an automated easy solution?

What if I told you, your album can autogenerate itself when pictures are added, removed or deleted.  What if I told you family from around the world can add to that album as simple as using a standard Windows Folder from their computer.  In short, if the person knows what a folder is in Windows, they can add to your album and your album can auto-update itself when pictures are added, removed, or changed.  Now for the real kicker, what if I told you all this was Free.  Well, that's a blog for another day, or if you just can't wait, you can reach me here

 Happy Jalbuming.....

Chris (aka cinoaz in the forums)



 

(Please note: this blog entry is for advanced users)
Building a complete web site with JAlbum and the Notables skin.

Most people who are using JAlbum are probably only building photo albums with it.  A few use JAlbum to build an entire web site and this is an overview of how I do it.

First I plan the website structure and then made a directory structure based on JAlbum projects that matched the target web site.  So my project directories are all contained by a top level directory called “JAlbum images”:

JAlbum images/
    links/
    links.jap
    my_pages/
    my_pages.jap
    navlinks.inc
    photos/
    photos.jap
    restored_photos/
    restored_photos.jap


The navlinks.inc file contains the navigation links for the main pages in the web site.  The skin uses this file to map these links so that every page has the same set of links and they all work regardless of which project or at what directory level the pages have been generated from.

Each of the project settings file (.jap) configure the skin so that a particular type of page layout is generated.  There are two different layouts for thumbnail index pages, images are either aligned to a grid (layout 1) or alternate between left and right alignment down the page.  Index pages generated for for directories only (no images) follow the same style as the latter (layout 2).

Projects using layout 1.
The photos.jap makes what would be considered by most people as a standard JAlbum photo album.  

The restored_photos.jap makes a similar album but results in the slide pages having two images, which can be swapped by a cross-fade or a quick switch – ideal for showing an old photograph that has been restored and the differences between them.

Projects using layout 2.
links.jap has include thumbnails ticked, which results in a page that has the same look as an intermediate directory's page.  Each image is turned into a link to an external web site page, rather than to a standard slide page.

my_pages.jap has include thumbnails unticked.  This time a page is created with the image in the source directory only being used as a means of getting JAlbum to process a text file that contains the output pages content (html code).

Other files within each of the project directories control the content of each page, such as banners/logos, background images, links to web sites to be associated with images etc.  The end result is a complete web site, of varied content, and with all of the pages having a consistent look to them.

Have a look at another JAlbum users site ffotos.org or at my site for two examples of sites made using this skin.

For more detailed information on specific settings for different styles of pages download this file: Making a complete web site.pdf or post a message/email me.

 
Below is a shot of the skin specific settings:

As you probably know we are offering you the brilliant possibility to have your digital images bound in a book. Select your most beautiful pictures, re-arrange them and tailor them to your needs. You can also add texts or captions, as well as choose the colour and binding of your photo book.

Now, together with our nice partner, we are presenting a new product: the Maxi photobook, measuring 30 cm x 30 cm with a durable linen binding. You can select between a complete linen cover or creating your own personalized cover with a linen book spine. Whether its panoramic images, wedding photos or professional designs, the Maxi photobook offers you the optimum way of presenting them.

The photo book software works on Mac and PC, try it out - I'm sure you will like the result :)

 
The service is so far available in Europe only



 

It is so stimulating to run JAlbum. I can feel the good vibes from the good-will we generate by providing JAlbum for free. It shows in all encouraging emails we get every day. I think this must be the very opposite to running a parking ticket company where you only cause anger and annoyance to your "users". People often ask if it is ok to link to us. Of course it is! Spread the word out there! We want to keep JAlbum free and not spend a cent on marketing. Enthusiastic users spreading the word is the best marketing one can have anyway. Some of you have even designed their own "Powered by" JAlbum buttons. That's a great initiative and it made us realize we should really improve on making cool "Powered by" banners and buttons that you can stick on your web site to show your support for JAlbum. Said and done. We now have a page dedicated to JAlbum banners and buttons that you can pick from. They come in all possible shapes and colors in order to blend well with your existing site design. Thank you for showing your support by using them.

Make your choice at: http://jalbum.net/banners

/David

Maintaining large albums and combining existing ones into one can be a bit complicated. If you have a large number of albums already added to your site you might not want to rebuild the whole album again each time you add new albums. In this tutorial we'll show you how to handle the sub-albums individually and finally make a master album of all.

1. Prepare the folder for the site

Create a folder e.g. 'My Sites' under 'My Documents' and inside add the Folder for this site you plan to create, e.g. 'FamilyAlbum'.

2. Generate the sub-albums the regular way

• In JAlbum create a 'New Album', eg 20051017_London
  
• Set the output folder to the subfolder of FamilyAlbum (Setting / General). Use the exact same name as for Album name. (E.g. My Documents/My Sites/FamilyAlbum/20051017_London)
• Add your images by draging and droping or by clicking the green '+' button
  
• Add a meaningful name to the gallery by right-clicking the album name and choosing Properties
  
• Specify the link to the master album (Settings / Chameleon / General / Uplink). Choose "This", type its name in the "Name" box (e.g. 'Family Album') and leave the link as "../" 
  
• Sort images by 'Camera date' (Right-click + Sort + Camera date) or any other order if you want. You can also move the thumbnails around in a custom order
• Choose a folder thumbnail by right clicking the desired picture and choosing 'Use as folder thumbnail'
• Choose the skin and style for this album
  
• In Chameleon choose the 'Uplink from main page' as 'This' or 'Default' to make sure your uplink to the Master page works
• Generate the Gallery with the 'Make Album' button
• Save the Project (Ctrl + S)
• Do this with all the Albums you want to add

3. Create the Master album

• Create a new album called e.g. 'Family Album' (under 'My Albums' — this is the default)
• Add the previously created sub-albums by drag and dropping the folder names under 'My Albums' on the right pane. Not those you've created under 'My Site'!
• Turn off the 'Process subdirectories' option in Settings / Advanced / General tab. This way JAlbum will not process the ready made sub-albums.
• Hit the 'Make Album' button, and check the result with 'View album'

4. Adding new albums to Master album

When you want to add new albums, you have to repeat the steps in Section 2, add the new folder to the master project (see Section 3) and regenerate the master album. That's all.

See an example of a master album with sub albums

The full version of this tutorial can be found on Laza's site, author of the Chameleon skin. A big thank you to MarkE and Laza for writing this tutorial.