Variables

The web pages jAlbum generates are based on "template pages" which can contain HTML and CSS code mixed with special tags, scripts and variables that are expanded to their values. When referring to a variable in HTML context, use the format ${variable}. In scripting context or when used in existence testing (see ja:if exists on the Tags page) simply use variable name as is. You can separate several variables using the pipe character. jAlbum will then pick the first non-empty one, for instance:

${comment|fileName}

You can also add a plain string default value, for instance:

Aperture: ${aperture|"Not available"}

Videos have a set of variables used by ffmpeg when transcoding, the variables can be used in the ‘custom settings’ section of the video settings pane, and as such they can be found in that settings help page.

Template file variables

The following variables are defined. Note that case is significant:

General

General
Name	Explanation
albumDescription	Description for the entire album. Picked from the root folder's description
albumHeight	Album height in pixels. (Set when embedding album).
albumWidth	Album width in pixels. (Set when embedding album).
albumURL	Album address. Only available when processing "embed.htt".
albumTitle	Title for the entire album. Taken from the root folder's name or Settings/General Album title
cols	Number of image columns on index pages
currentRows	Number of image rows on current index page
description	Description for album directory
executedNormally	Set to true after successful (not aborted or error) album generation. Can be referred to in finally.bsh
generator	Name and version of jAlbum. It shows the major and minor version, for example jAlbum 16.1
generatorUrl	Link to the jAlbum homepage, in the language used to build the album.
homepageAddress	Address (URL) to the album owner's home page
homepageLinkText	Anchor text for home page link
imageNum	Number of the current object, of any category, within an iterator
indexImageCount	Number of objects, of any category, on current index page
indexNum	The number of the current index page1
internalVersion	Internal version number. It shows the full version number, for example jAlbum 16.0
language	The two-character ISO code corresponding to the user's language preference 9
level	Level of album directory (0 meaning root level)
maxFolderThumbWidth	Max folder image width as set by user10
maxFolderThumbHeight	Max folder image height as set by user10
maxImageWidth	Max image width as set by user
maxImageHeight	Max image height as set by user
maxThumbWidth	Max thumbnail width as set by user
maxThumbHeight	Max thumbnail height as set by user
pageType	Values are 'index', 'slide', or 'page'
rows	Max number of image rows on index pages
skin	Name of current skin
skinName	Name of current skin
skinVersion	Version of current skin
style	Name of current style sheet
totalIndexes	Total number of index pages1
totalAlbumImages	Total number of objects within the project, excluding folders, in an album (subdirectory images included)
totalImages	Total number of objects, excluding folders, in a directory
textEncoding	Character set and encoding of generated pages and comments

Navigation

Navigation
Name	Explanation
folder	Only defined if current file is a folder/directory. Use in ja:if exists tests
firstIndexPage	Filename of the first index page
lastIndexPage	Filename of the last index page
previousIndexPage	Filename of the previous index page 2, 6
nextIndexPage	Filename of the next index page 2
parentIndexPage	Filename of parent index page 2
closeupPath	Path to get from index page to closeup image (or slide) or web location.
targetURL	Path to the target Url of a web location object 2
iconPath	Path to icon for directories not having a thumbnail image and other non-image files
thumbPath	Path to thumbnail image
thumbSrcset	Path to the base and variant(s) thumbnail image 8
rootPath	Path to get back to the top of a multi directory level album
imagePath	Path to the image that is shown in slides
imageSrcset	Path to the base and variant(s) image that is shown in slides 8
originalPath	Path to the original file. Only defined if one of the following is true: Originals are included in the image settings; A specific image has "Include original" selected; A specific image has "Use original" selected; The album object is a supported file type such as a video or PDF. If only originals are included, and not scaled images, imagePath links to the original image
contentPath	Same as imagePath for displayable images. Same as originalPath for other file types.
videoPath	Path to get from the slide page to the converted MP4 video file, if video support is enabled.
audioClipPath	Path to get to an attached audio clip file, void if no clip attached
mediarssPath	Path to the Media RSS version of this album (if any)
stylePath	Path to the selected style file
styleFile	Filename of the selected style file. Deprecated. Please use stylePath instead
resPath	Path to the "res" directory containing album resources (support files like gif buttons etc)
firstPage	Filename of the first slide page
lastPage	Filename of the last slide page
previousPage	Path to the previous slide page 2
currentPage	Filename of the current slide page
nextPage	Path to the next slide page 2
indexPage	Filename of index page for current slide
themePath	Path to the current folder’s theme image 5
themeWidth	Width of the current folder’s theme image 5
themeHeight	Height of the current folder’s theme image 5

File metadata

File metadata
File metadata	Meaning
label	Folder name or the base name (without extension) of file
fileName	Full name of image/movie or folder
title	Alternative name for this file, folder or album title, or if not set, same as label
folderTitle	Alternative name for this folder as entered in the GUI title field
fileTitle	Alternative name for this file as entered in the GUI title field (also for folders on index pages)
fileCategory	Category. Possible values are audio, folder, image, other, video, webLocation and webPage of type Category
rating	Rating. If rated, a number between 0 and 5
includeOriginal	Exists if user has checked current image to include original
thumbWidth	Width of thumbnail image in pixels
thumbHeight	Height of thumbnail image in pixels
imageWidth	Width of image in pixels
imageHeight	Height of image in pixels
originalWidth	Width of original image in pixels
originalHeight	Height of original image in pixels
originalWidthDpi	Horizontal resolution of the original image
originalHeightDpi	Vertical resolution of the original image
formatName	Type of image 6
compressionLevel	Level of compression as set by the camera
fileSize	Size of original file
fileDate	Date of original file
mimeType	MIME type of original file (if defined in system/filetypes.xml)
originalDate	Date written by camera 3,7
currentDate	Date of album generation
digitizedDate	Date an image was scanned.
resolution	Original image resolution as written by camera 3
flash	If flash was used 3
focalLength	Focal length 3
focalLength35mm	35mm focal length equivalent 3. This variable is calculated with the focalLength as base, then multiplied with the focal length multiplier for that specific camera. Focal length multipliers can be edited in the system/cameras.properties file. If a multiplier isn't found for a particular camera, jAlbum tries to grab the 35mm focal length equivalent from the image itself (Nikon D90 writes this for instance). If this fails too, then this variable is undefined.
exposureTime	Exposure time 3
isoEquivalent	ISO equivalent 3
aperture	Aperture 3
focusDistance	Focus distance 3
meteringMode	Metering mode 3
cameraMake	Camera make 3
cameraModel	Camera model 3
sensorType	Camera sensor type 3
comment	Comment. Will either be extracted from (as soon as found): An external "comments.properties" file. The JPEG comment section of an image file. The IPTC caption section of an image file. 3 The EXIF user comment secion. 3
keywords	IPTC keywords 3
category	IPTC category 3
objectName	IPTC Object name 3
headline	IPTC Headline 3
photographer	IPTC Photographer 3
writer	IPTC writer 3
author	Deprecated. use writer instead 3
copyright	IPTC copyright 3
gpsLocation	Google Maps formatted GPS location 3
gpsLongitude	GPS longitude in deg°min'sec.dec" format 3
gpsLatitude	GPS latitude in deg°min'sec.dec" format 3
gpsAltitude	GPS altitude (height) in meters 3
orientation	Image orientation. Can be either "normal", "left" or "right"
audioClipType	Path to get to an attached audio clip file. void if no clip attached
audioClipDuration	Length of an audio clip in hours:minutes:seconds.decimal seconds, only exists if an object has an attached clip.
videoFPS	Frame rate of video 4
videoDuration	Length of video in hh:mm:ss.ff format 4
videoClipLength	Length of the edited clip. It's only present if the video has been edited. It's passed as a TimeCode object
clipLength	Always present for videos and will contain either the clip length for edited or full length for unedited videos, in hh:mm:ss (no milliseconds) format
videoHeight	Height of video in pixels 4
videoWidth	Width of video in pixels 4
albumTags	List of keywords for the album that can be entered in Settings/General.
projectionType	For photo sphere (360/180 degree) images returns equirectangular, for other objects returns null.

Notes:

¹ Not defined if only one index page exist

² Only defined if such page exist

³ Only exists for images containing EXIF/IPTC data and if EXIF extraction is turned on. For mp4 videos with gps in xmp, not Quicktime directories.

For v14.1.13+ location data is as set in the 'location' window, if no location has been set and GPS data is embedded by the camera it is the 'as taken' location. If both tagged and embedded location information exists the 'as taken' values can be obtained via meta.get("Gps.GPS Latitude") and meta.get("Gps.GPS Longitude")

⁴ Only defined for video files

⁵ Only if folderImageSize is defined and Theme Images method 1 is used

⁶ Returns JPEG, GIF, or png. For video files, returns JPEG. For other non-image files (PDF's, for example), returns png.

⁷ Videos, originalDate only exists for MP4 and QuickTime formats

⁸ From jAlbum 24, empty string if not supported by the skin in use (skin properties > supportsVariants=true)

⁹ Defined in jAlbum 25.1 and above and if supported by the skin - void in earlier versions

¹⁰ Defined in jAlbum 26.3 and above and if supported by the skin - void in earlier versions

You can list these variables and their current values by writing the following into a slide.htt template file:

<pre><% out.print(current.flatten().toString()); %>< /pre>

Or call current.getMap().toString(), to get the keys and values of the innermost scope only

Implicit objects

Apart from having access to ordinary variables when scripting, jAlbum also provide some special objects (Java type within parenthesis):

Objects
Object name	Explanation
out	Page writer. Printing to out will generate output on the resulting page (PrintWriter)
application	Container for variables bound to the current instance of jAlbum (Map)
album	Container for variables bound to the current album generation (Map)
current	Container for all variables bound to the current image (Map)
previous	Container for all variables bound to the previous image (Map) 6
next	Container for all variables bound to the next image (Map) 6
local	Container for all variables bound to the local scope. Use to avoid inheritance (Map)
meta	Container for all metadata variables (EXIF etc) found inside an image (Map)
programDirectory	File object representing the current jAlbum directory (File)
skinDirectory	File object representing the current skin directory (File)
skinResDirectory	File object representing the res directory of the current skin (File)
imageDirectory	File object representing the current image directory (File)
rootImageDirectory	File object representing the root image directory (File)
outputDirectory	File object representing the current output directory (File)
rootOutputDirectory	File object representing the root output directory (File)
resDirectory	File object representing the output resource directory (File)
files	Array of File objects for the images and mediafiles in the current image directory (File[])
currentFile	File object representing the currently processed file. A more convenient shorthand for files[imageNum-1] (File)
representingFile	File object representing the original file that represents the current folder (or non-image file)
engine	The album generating JavaBean inside jAlbum. See API (AlbumBean)
window	The window of jAlbum, useful when creating modal popup windows like color pickers etc (Frame)
context	Reference to the current JAlbumContext, which is a central repository for commonly used jAlbum classes.
currentObject	Reference to the AlbumObject for the currently processed file.
currentFolder	Reference to the AlbumObject for the currently processed directory.
rootFolder	Reference to the AlbumObject for the root of the album.

⁶ Only defined for sibling folders e.g. not available for chained directories outside current directory.

The "meta" object usually contains more EXIF metadata than accessible from ordinary variables, but possibly in a more raw format. You may list all metadata, without a ‘.’ In its name, found inside an image by putting the following code inside a slide.htt file:

<pre>${meta}</ pre>

The following example picks the "Owner Name" variable out of the meta object (assuming it exists, which it does for some Canon cameras):

${meta.Owner Name}

Understanding variables

Template file variables can be used anywhere where you can put text and html tags (HTML mode) and within <% scriptlets %> (BeanShell mode). In HTML mode, you have to use ${thisVariableFormat} to indicate is a variable, in BeanShell mode, just refer to the variable by its name.

Constant variable notation

Before any BeanShell scripts are processed for a certain page, jAlbum replaces any occurrence of $variablesInThisFormat with their current values. This notation therefore works for referring to variables that aren't introduced or modified by a script. The replacement is a simple search & replace operation, so you can even use this syntax in a script. The only thing the script will see is the replaced value. Use with caution as errors are usually harder to debug when using this format.

User defined variables

jAlbum users can define new variables using the "User defined variables" table in the advanced section. These variables behave like other skin template variables and can also override existing variables. You can use user defined variables to add even more flexibility to the look of the skins you create. Usually, user defined variables become variables of String type no matter what value they have (for backward compatibility). This isn't very convenient if you wish to work a lot with boolean or integer variables (requires type conversion). Automatic type conversion to boolean, integer and double is however performed if jAlbum senses that the particular skin has a custom user interface.

The type conversion is performed like this:

• Numeric string with decimals -> double
• Numeric string -> integer
• The string true or false -> boolean
• Any other string -> no conversion

Other variables

There are variables that hold the status of the various settings of both jAlbum and the skin being used. If you want to use these variables as controls for your html/css template pages (.htt) then one way of discovering them is to open the '.jap' settings file jAlbum makes when you save your project. Open the file in a text editor and look at the text before the '=' sign.

For example, if you want to know if high dpi thumbnails or slide images has been selected search for 'dpi' and you will find:

hiDPIThumbs=false
hiDPIImages=true

So, the variables associated with those settings are hiDPIThumbs and hiDPISlides. You can get the value in scripts using engine.isHiDPIImages()

You can also open a terminal window and type

java -jar JAlbum.jar -?

to list all switches, they have the same name as the controls of the window

Skin variables are all identified by the fact they are prefixed with 'skin.', such as:

skin.fullscreen=false

Most variable names will either be as expected or include a string you would expect, such as the image setting for embedding a copyright URL is 'rightsURL'. If you can't find the variable you are looking for try the API or simply toggle the setting you are interested and see what variable has changed value in the settings file.