Gallery pages browsing

mrqcho

I'm pretty new around here, and I'm contagiated with the smugmug fever, just as most of you are.

I have a sugestion though (which I posted earlier on another post, in response to people having the same issues) but I'm making a full post for it because I feel it might have been overlooked.

My problem kinda comes from browsing galleries, specially ones that have lots of pictures.
First it would be nice if the numbers were a little more obvious (I don't have any sugestions to make it better, but I think they sometimes go overlooked as if there were no more pictures on the gallery)

Also, one problem that I've run into several times looking around others galleries is that numbers in the pages of each gallery seems misleading, I think.

If I am for example, looking at a gallery that has 15 pages(which I wouldn't know when I'm first looking at it), I would see.

< 1 2 3 4 5 6 > >>

and after I'm through the 5th or 6th page, the 7th and 8th page start showing up in the menu, and so forth.

I'd rather see something like this

< 1 2 3 4 5 6 ... 15 > >>

where it would actually display how many pages the gallery has... the problem would be when you're right in the middle, which I don't know if something like this would work.

<< < 1 ... 6 7 8 9 10 11 ... 15 > >>

I don't know if that looks too overclutered.
Please post sugestions regarding this if you have any.

jfriend

My browsing suggestions to add to this

mrqcho wrote:

My problem kinda comes from browsing galleries, specially ones that have lots of pictures.

FWIW, I would also like to see improvements in this area. My thoughts in this area are:

1) The clickable area of the numbers is sometimes too small to easily click - need a bigger area for the mouse to hit.

2) The viewer often doesn't realize how many pages of images there are (same as mrqcho's comment and I like his graphical suggestions from above).

3) The next page arrow moves a bit as you go from page to page so it's not easy to just position the mouse in one place and hit next, next, next to cycle through the pages.

4) When I click on the large link to switch to a single large image, there's too much space taken up by the header and I can't see the whole image on my screen. The image fits on my laptop screen, but only if I scroll up for every image.

5) From the smugmug style, I don't want a pop-up window when I click on the medium size image. I want it to just switch to a full-screen view of the next size up. As it is, I have to find the link for the large size and click that. This, btw, would help with all the people that say they like the default pbase viewing style better than smugmug's style.

6) We should be able to specify a default gallery style that would be the default for all first time viewers of that gallery without having to lock it to that style.

7) From the smugmug style, once I click the "large" link to open up a single large image, I don't know how to get back to the standards smugmug style with thumbs and a medium image. The only way I can find to do that is to select a different style, then select the smugmug style again. I'd like to be able to just click on the large image and go back to the default style (like pbase does). This suggestion, combined with item 5) would make it really easy to one click see the large for an image, browsing a few larges, then one click return back to the previous gallery style with thumbs.

--John

KeithH

I too sometimes worry that people don't realize that there are more pages than they see initially listed.

mrqcho

jfriend wrote:

1) The clickable area of the numbers is sometimes too small to easily click - need a bigger area for the mouse to hit.

Now that you mention that, I was thinking about sugesting having change it to small images instead of numbers, to increase clickable space.

Or if images are an issue, put the numbers in a table, customizable with css, with each number in a cell, and make the cell itself clickable instead of the number alone.

NikonGirl

KeithH wrote:

I too sometimes worry that people don't realize that there are more pages than they see initially listed.

I know this is true! I send my family pictures to various family members, and invariably there's always someone that doesn't realize there is a Page 2 (or 3 or 4, etc.). There has to be a way to make this more obvious.

mrqcho

NikonGirl wrote:

I know this is true! I send my family pictures to various family members, and invariably there's always someone that doesn't realize there is a Page 2 (or 3 or 4, etc.). There has to be a way to make this more obvious.

Has any of the "big guys" (support) read this, any comments on it?

I've seen a couple of threads mentioning this problem already, no answer to it yet.

mbrady

How about just duplicating the "gallery pages: 1 2 3 >" line below the thumbnails too? That way as your eye scans the thumbnails and gets to the bottom, you get an instant reminder of more pages instead of relying on the viewer looking back up at the top, which they don't always do.

mrqcho

mbrady wrote:

How about just duplicating the "gallery pages: 1 2 3 >" line below the thumbnails too? That way as your eye scans the thumbnails and gets to the bottom, you get an instant reminder of more pages instead of relying on the viewer looking back up at the top, which they don't always do.

That is a great sugestion also!

Obviously there is a problem with the gallery browsing that I feel is not really being taken care of. I, just yesterday, had to point out mom(she's not very computer savvy) that there were more pictures and pointed her to the numbers when she was browsing it, she had overlooked it and was about to move to another gallery.

I't's not really a big deal, because is not like it's invisible either, I mean, it's probable only a few percentage of people that might overlook it, but think about those people selling their photos here. There is the chance they might be loosing some sales because of this.

Mike Lane

mrqcho wrote:

That is a great sugestion also!

Obviously there is a problem with the gallery browsing that I feel is not really being taken care of. I, just yesterday, had to point out mom(she's not very computer savvy) that there were more pictures and pointed her to the numbers when she was browsing it, she had overlooked it and was about to move to another gallery.

I't's not really a big deal, because is not like it's invisible either, I mean, it's probable only a few percentage of people that might overlook it, but think about those people selling their photos here. There is the chance they might be loosing some sales because of this.

You could simply make them stand out more using css. Larger perhaps. Maybe a background or a border or both. Bold? Something along those lines.

mrqcho

Mike Lane wrote:

You could simply make them stand out more using css. Larger perhaps. Maybe a background or a border or both. Bold? Something along those lines.

I don't know why I hadn't thought about that, I guess now I overlooked it

I'll try to play with it when I get home tonight, and I'll post back for sugestions.

Thanks!

Netgarden

You can choose "All Thumbnails" too in the drop down menu. [might be best for families-I hear ya] But the problem then is too many thumbnails to open if you have like 7 pages that are all on one then.

I'd like to see more thumbnails on each page, like 30, instead of 15, so more can be seen per click.[versus all thumbnails on one page] 8 is too many pages and "all" is too much for one page.

Is there a way to have like 30 pics on each page?
And is there a way to have the main page have 4 rows across with Galleries instead of a long scroll with only two across?
thanks!

mrqcho wrote:

I don't know why I hadn't thought about that, I guess now I overlooked it

I'll try to play with it when I get home tonight, and I'll post back for sugestions.

Thanks!