FAQ - Photo Albums

General jAlbum questions

Can I publish albums to my own site?

Yes, you can publish jAlbum albums to any site you have access to if you are using the jAlbum Desktop Application. Learn how.
What's up with the frog?

The frog is called Dor and was a hand puppet David (jAlbum founder) had as a child. It has come alive with jAlbum and is now our community mascot and company logo.
Can I use jAlbum for commercial purposes?

Yes, with a Pro License (or Power/Super account) you can use jAlbum for commercial purposes.
For private and non-commercial use choose the Standard License (or Premium account).

jAlbum accounts

I've forgot my password and can't log in. What do I do?

You can always reset your password.
I have not received my confirmation e-mail can you help me?

First, make sure the confirmation e-mail isn't blocked by your e-mail service (put in the spam folder for instance). If you still can't find it, please e-mail support@jalbum.net with your username from the e-mail address you used when you registered the account.
How do I change the e-mail address I signed up with?

Sign in to jalbum.net and go to Settings tab. Click the Change E-mail box and change it there. When you have changed your address you need to validate the new address by clicking a link in the validation e-mail that we send out to you.
How do I change my account name?

You can change your username to another (available) username by signing in to jalbum.net, go to your Settings tab and then Change username.
How do I delete/close my jalbum.net account?

Go to your Settings tab and click Close account. Authenticate yourself by entering your password.
We would also appreciate if you could tell us why you want to close your account as this will help us improve our service. Click Delete me and confirm that you wish to close your account.
How do I change my e-mail notification settings?

Sign in to jalbum.net and go to the Settings tab. You'll find the E-mail notifications settings there. Check or un-check if you want e-mail notifications for different things happening on the site and on your albums. You can always sign in to jalbum.net and see your notifications on your Activity page.
How do I remove the ads from my user page?

To remove the ads from your profile page you need to upgrade to Premium or Power storage.

jAlbum Desktop Application

What is the jAlbum Desktop Application?

The jAlbum Desktop Application is an application that you download and install on your computer. It has more customization options than Online jAlbum (browser based) and gives you complete control of the way your albums look. With the Desktop App you can also upload albums to your own site.
How do I publish my first album?
1. Download and install the application
2. Start the application, and sign in to it using your jAlbum account
3. Drag and drop images into the application
4. Choose a skin and click "Make album"
5. After Preview, click "Upload"
See the tutorials "Create your first jAlbum with the desktop app", "Publish to your jalbum.net account" and "Publish to your own site "
How can I add more photos to or modify an album I already published?
1. Click on the album that you'd like to modify in your list of recent albums in the jAlbum application. If you can't find the album in the list, open the album project from the menu (File -> Open Album Project).
2. Add more photos by clicking the "Add" button.
3. Click "Make album".
4. Click "Upload" (only the changes will be uploaded).
How do I upload albums to my own website (instead of to the jAlbum storage)?

The first time you press the "Upload" button in the application you will be asked where you want to upload your album to, but you can always change the location you wish to upload to later on by pressing the "Change location" button in the confirmation window that pops up after pressing the "Upload" button. You can also manage your "Account profiles" by selecting Tools > Publish/Manage from the top menu of the application.
How do I delete a published album?
In the jAlbum application:
1. Right click the album in the album project list and choose "Delete".
2. Select "Delete published album...".
Why doesn't my published albums show up on my user profile?
There are a few reasons why this might happen.
- One is that the publication of the album did not complete successfully.
- Another is that you did not sign in before making the album.
- Last, you might have changed a "Privacy" setting.
To make sure your published albums show up, start the jAlbum application, making sure that you sign in when you do so. Now open the album project and click the "Upload button". Now when the confirmation window shows, click the "Privacy" button and select "Visible on profile page" and continue to upload the album. It should now show on your profile page.
How can I make an album with sub-albums (sub-categories)?
1. Start the jAlbum Desktop Application
2. Create a new album project by selecting File->New Album Project.
3. Create your sub folders by pressing the "New folder" button.
4. Open one subfolder at a time, press the "Add" button and open the folder with your images and select the images you wish to add. To select all images in a folder press (CTRL+A) on PC or (CMD+A) on Mac.
5. Click "Make album" and then "Publish".
How do I use a skin that isn't included in the jAlbum application?

Go to the skins section on this site and find a compelling skin. Click the "Install skin" button and choose to open with the jAlbum application. After the skin has been installed by the application it will be ready to use for your next album.
Will I lose any of my albums by uninstalling or updating the jAlbum application?

No, uninstalling jAlbum won't delete your albums, images, or project files. Enjoy the latest version!
I'm trying to install the jAlbum application on Windows, but the installer crashes during the installation. What do I do?

Update the Windows Installer to the latest version here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/

If that doesn't help, uninstall the previous jAlbum version first. Your projects won't be touched.
How do I remove the links back to jAlbum from the bottom of my albums?

You need to have an activated jAlbum license. You can either purchase a Standard or Pro license separately or get one included when you purchase a Premium or Power account for our storage solution. If you are using the jAlbum Desktop Application you also have to open up your album settings and check the "Exclude credit links" checkbox on the "Pages" tab.

jAlbum Standard and Pro licenses

I bought a license but when I start the jAlbum application it still says "jAlbum Free". How do I activate my jAlbum license?

To activate the license enter your User Identification Code in the jAlbum software using the menu Help → Activate License. Or sign in to the jAlbum application by pressing the "Sign in" button in the top left corner. You need to sign in with the same username used to buy the license.
I have signed in, but it still says "jAlbum Free" in the title bar

jAlbum needs to have access to the Internet in order to activate the license. Ensure that your software firewall isn't blocking jAlbum from outgoing access. Also, if you're behind a "http proxy", make sure you enter the address and port of the proxy under Advanced preferences
Do I need to buy a Standard or Pro license for each computer that I intend to use jAlbum on?

No, the license is personal. You can use it on any number of computers. Just remember to sign in to the application to activate your license.
I create and manage websites for various clients. Do I need to buy a separate license for each customer?

No. The license is personal so you can use the same license for all of your clients.

But remember that if you charge your customers, the use is commercial, so you need a Pro license.
When a new version comes out, am I forced to upgrade to keep using the jAlbum software, or will my current version still work?

You will be able to use your current jAlbum version indefinitely. There's a possibility, however, that your favorite skin might be updated, and to get the benefits of the update, it would be necessary to upgrade jAlbum at the same time. But you should be able to stick with current versions of both for the foreseeable future (there are people out there who are using truly prehistoric versions of jAlbum!).

But keep in mind that if your "environment" changes, like you update your OS, your old jAlbum version might stop working. We only support the OS versions available at the time a jAlbum version is released. We can't guarantee support for future OS releases.
I work for a non-profit organization. Do I need to buy a Pro license to use the jAlbum application?

No, not unless you are interested in the other advantages that the Pro license brings.
I have bought a license but some of my old albums still show ads! How do I get rid of them?

The license is only valid for albums made with the current version of jAlbum. Just rebuild your albums with the latest version and the ads will be removed.
If I need to sign in to the application to activate my license does that mean that I can't use it if I go offline?

No. Just sign in to the application and check "Remember me" when you are online, if you don't sign out, jAlbum will remember your license. So the next time you start the application while offline the license will still be active.
I want to remove the credit links from my albums. How do I do that?

Make sure you have an activated license. Select the menu "Album" -> "Settings..." -> "Pages" and make sure "Exclude credit links" is checked. Then you have to rebuild and publish your album.

jAlbum storage

How many photos can I upload for free?

The free Trial jAlbum account holds 10 GB, which is approximately 50000 web-sized photos, but it can depend heavily on how large your photos are. If you want to upload more, you can upgrade to a Power account.
Note that the Trial account expires after 30 days, so make sure you upgrade before that in order to keep your albums.
I have run out of space in my storage. What do I do?

If you need more space than the Trial and Premium storage have (10 GB), you can purchase a Power subscription with 100 GB or even Super storage with 300 GB.

Need more than 300 GB? We can arrange that too! Send us an e-mail: accounts@jalbum.net
What happens if I choose not to buy a Premium or Power storage subscription after my trial period has ended?

We keep any albums published to your storage for 30 days after the expiration. After that we will remove them. However you can still engage in the community and post questions in the support forum even after your trial period is over.
What happens if I don't extend my Premium or Power subscription after it has expired?

We will not delete your albums immediately. You will however not be able to view your albums or publish new albums to your storage. As soon as you extend your subscription you'll have full access to your storage and albums again. You can still engage in the community and post questions in the support forum even after your subscription has expired.
Is jAlbum storage only for hosting albums?

Well, yes and no. It's tailored to the needs of jAlbum users, so that they have an easy way to share their albums, but you can host other types of files as well.
Do I have to use the jAlbum desktop application to upload albums to my jAlbum storage?

No. You can use any SFTP (secure FTP) capable software. Note however that when publishing to our storage, the jAlbum application is MUCH faster than ordinary SFTP software because it's optimized to work with our servers.

If you still want to use a third party FTP software we can recommend FileZilla (for Windows, Mac, and Linux), WinSCP (Windows only) or Cyberduck (Mac only). Just remember to configure your software to use SFTP over port 22.
Does the jAlbum storage support PHP?

No.
Where do I find more info about jAlbum storage?

See the Premium account info page. You can also ask questions in our forum.

Online jAlbum

What is Online jAlbum?

Online jAlbum is the easiest and fastest way to create and publish albums. Online jAlbum is instantly available in any web browser. Try Online jAlbum.
How do I create my first album with Online jAlbum?
First, you need to add storage for your jAlbum account. Then simply follow the instructions below:
1. Go to https://jalbum.net/create.
2. Add your photos on the Photos tab. Add captions, change ordering.
3. Name your album on the Info tab.
4. Choose the layout on the Design tab.
5. Save and exit to make your album available.
Learn more about jAlbum storage
How can I add more photos to or modify an album I already published?
1. Sign in to jalbum.net
2. Press your username tab.
3. Hover the mouse over your jAlbum and select Edit.
4. Make your changes and select Save and exit.
You can only edit albums created with Online jAlbum this way.
How do I delete a published album?
1. Sign in to jalbum.net
2. Press your username tab.
3. Hover the mouse over your jAlbum and select Delete album.

jAlbum widgets

What are widgets?

Widgets are little tools that add functionality like visitor commenting to your album. Each album can have its own set of widgets. The widgets are visible in a discreet little toolbar in the bottom of your album. You can modify your widgets on the user tab if you sign in to this site. Hover the mouse over the album that you want to modify and select Edit Album. Learn more about jAlbum widgets.
How do I manage widgets in my albums?
1. Sign in to jalbum.net
2. Press your username tab.
3. Hover the mouse over your album and select Edit album.
4. Select the widgets that you want to use.
Do all jAlbum skins work with widgets?

Almost all skins work with widgets.
What do I do if Widgets are not working in my album?
1. Confirm that the skin being used supports widgets
2. Confirm that Widget support is enabled in the jAlbum Desktop Application. Open up the album settings (press F4 or select “Album” then “Settings” from the menu), click on the “Advanced” button then select the Metadata” tab. Make sure that the Include jAlbum widget support checkbox is selected.
3. Make sure that you are signed in to the jAlbum Desktop Application (not just the website) before you make your album.
Widgets don't show in the local preview on your computer. Publish your album to check if it works!

If you have followed all of the steps above and still can't get it to work, ask for help in our forum or contact our support.

Photobooks

Where did my photo book tab go?

We are sorry to inform you that we have decided to discontinue the Breezebook product line. Instead we will now focus on the things that we do best, helping our users to create stunning photo album presentations for the web. You can read more about that in our blog.

Advanced

How can I link to my published album?

First sign in. Then click on the tab with your username. Hover over the album you wish to link to and select share.
How can I password protect my albums?
If you have published your album to your jAlbum account just follow the simple steps below (if you are publishing to your own site you need to ask your hosting provider how to enabled password protection on folders):
1. Sign in to jalbum.net
2. Press your username tab.
3. Hover the mouse over your album and select Edit album.
4. If you published using Online jAlbum you can assign a password to your album on the Settings tab, and if you published using the jAlbum Desktop Application you will find the password setting after expanding the "Privacy options" box.
5. Save your changes.
How do I make jAlbum add a link back to my site?

Some skins (like Chameleon) have their own settings for this, but here is the general solution: Put your album in a subdirectory on your web site. If the skin you are using supports it, jAlbum will automatically add a "parent/up" link.
How to I add an album to my website or blog?

You can easily add a gallery to your website using our Embed skin. See more info here.

See also our site integration tutorial.
How can I prevent downloading of my photos?

The short answer is you can't. If a person can see your photo he or she will always be able to copy it. You can however make it harder for people to download your images. Read more in our blog post How to Protect Your jAlbum Galleries from Theft and AI Scrapers.
How can I add watermarks to my photos?

Watermarks can easily be added to the generated images. At Album Settings -> Effects in the client you can add both texts and images/logos to the images and you can make them either opaque for for example a logo in a corner, or semi transparent for the watermark effect. They can also be tiled and angled.

If you want even more features you can manipulate jAlbum filters directly. More information about image filters can be found here.
How can I modify a skin?

A lot of things can be set in the jAlbum user interface and on the skin-specific tab (see album settings), but if you don't find a user interface control for what you'd like to adjust, add or change in the final album (font sizes, alignment etc), edit the skin template files instead. Take a look at this tutorial. Always make your changes to the template files and NOT to the generated HTML pages, or you will find yourself having to re-modify them every time you generate an album.
How do I prevent the jAlbum desktop application from creating copies of the images that add to it?

You can change this behavior on the "Albums" tab of the Preferences window. Look for the setting "When adding files".

If you add your images by dragging and dropping them onto the application you can also use the qualifier keys (shift, ctrl, alt) to alter this behavior.
I have updated jAlbum from an older version. When starting jAlbum I get an error like this: Could not find the class x/y/Z.class. What do I do?

That error is sometimes triggered if you install jAlbum on top of an earlier jAlbum installation. If this happens, make sure you uninstall the old version first completely before installing the new jAlbum version and you will be fine.
Which image formats are supported by the jAlbum desktop application?

The jAlbum application supports all of the most common image formats (JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, WebP, AVIF, HEIC, PDF, etc) and some less common ones (WBMP, PNM, PGM, PBM, PPM). It even supports RAW formats produced by the large camera manufacturers. It also has partial (one layer) support for PSD.
I keep getting a an error message saying java.lang.OutOfMemoryError : Java heap space. What should I do?

You may need to allocate more memory for jAlbum. See this help page for further instructions: https://jalbum.net/help/en/Heap_space_problems
Can jAlbum be used as server software?

Yes, jAlbum can run from the command line. See the jAlbum as server software page for more info.
I can't upload albums to my jAlbum storage with the desktop application. When I try to connect I get a "Java.net.SocketExeption: Auth Fail" error message. What should I do?

This problem usually occurs when you recently have changed the password for your jAlbum account. You need to update your "Account profile" within the jAlbum application. From the top menu inside the application, select Tools > Publish/Manage. Select your account, and enter your new password in the password box.