Question: Working with Galleries, Folders and Pages

bwendellj

After no luck finding an answer on the Help site (which really lacks a lot to be desired), I will post my questions here:

I recently created a new folder and gallery - then uploaded images to the gallery (sport images). I assumed the folder would automatically update and be displayed when I click on my all-site menu link (sport images) I created, but it did not. I have been tinkering with customized settings for over day attempting to recreate a previous folder settings / links and cannot.

My questions are:

Folder Content Block: Describe the impact of each option in "select from" and also describe the impact of each option from the "folder" selection. Does it related back to organizer settings?

I have the same questions for the Gallery content block.

How does customized menu links, folders content blocks, and gallery content blocks work together on the main site customization?

Can folders be a "clickable link" to a gallery?

I believe there is a great deal of power in how all these work together but have not found a comprehensive explanation how they work and impact overall site customization.

Thanks in advance.

Best,

Wendell

Ann McRae

Hi Wendell

Sorry you are having trouble, especially with the help content.

bwendellj wrote: »

After no luck finding an answer on the Help site (which really lacks a lot to be desired), I will post my questions here:

My questions are:

Folder Content Block: Describe the impact of each option in "select from" and also describe the impact of each option from the "folder" selection. Does it related back to organizer settings?

I have the same questions for the Gallery content block.

How does customized menu links, folders content blocks, and gallery content blocks work together on the main site customization?

Think about your Organizer and Customize tools seperately.

First, Organizer. It's a very powerful place where you manage the organization of the content of your site. You can move images from one gallery to another, move galleries from one folder to another, move folders from one 'node' to another, within the organizer. In theory, you could arrange your content here into a hierarchy that makes sense for how you manage your files, without influencing how visitors see your site if you wish.

BUT you can also sort and arrange images, galleries and folders for your public facing site, if you are choosing to display most/all of your content to visitors.

The Customize tool lets you control not only the overall design of your site - the 'theme' of color and font, the layout of each page - but also the content you display.

So, independently of the hierarchy in your organizer, you can control the public facing part of your site as far as which folder gets displayed, which gallery or even which images you display -> on each and every page of your site.

This gives you the power to select what content is seen and how (through navigation menu links or through a folder image that opens up the galleries within it, or through sharing urls to specific links with people, or on blogs).

Can folders be a "clickable link" to a gallery?

Yes, absolutely. However for this to work you need to either add both the folder content block and the galleries content block to your pages, or add the folder/gallery/page content block to your pages.

Adding only folders displays only folders. Adding only galleries displays only galleries.

http://help.smugmug.com/customer/portal/articles/1228388-hierarchy-and-folders
http://help.smugmug.com/customer/portal/articles/1239255-when-to-use-the-folders-galleries-pages-content-block

Hope that helps.

bwendellj

Thanks for your time to response, but didn't really answer my questions and the links provided I have already read and were not helpful. I understand the concept of the organizer and how to setup, arrange, etc. its somewhat more intuitive than the folder / gallery settings when you are in site customizer mode. Again, I am looking for a comprehensive description on the impact certain folder selections and galleries selections has on the main site customization. Education and Help form SM is average at best and most are left to figure it out on their own.

Allen

Assuming you have a legacy site. On the NewSmug go to one of your old categories. i.e. /Family
Does a box show in the middle of the page? If not, click customize > customize site.
Highlight "all folders" on the right
Down below click "navigation" to expand it
Drag "folders" out to the page.
In its header click the wrench
Pick "Select From" and pick "currently location" in the drop.
This should now give you the folder box on all folder pages with it's content
just like a category page did on legacy.

Ann McRae

Hi Wendell

I'm sorry to have given a disappointing answer. I am honestly interested in understanding where the miscommunication lies, so I'd like to now if Allen's answer has answered your question:

Again, I am looking for a comprehensive description on the impact certain folder selections and galleries selections has on the main site customization.

If not, please let us know and expand your question. I'm sorry for being dense but I'm just not sure what you mean by 'certain folder selections'. Are you referring to the folders that you choose to display or are you referring to the settings for the folder?

ann

ablichter

Ann,
I believe Wendell is asking about the impact settings of "Select From" have for folders in relation to the main page, single pages or where ever he might "be" and want to use it.
Talking about settings like "Current location" or "Folders i choose".

Usually this is self-explanatory if some is thinking a moment about his folder and gallery structure in organizer and what some wants to achieve. You wouldn't choose "top level folder" if you only have a one level folder structure and never would create a second level.

But sometimes its just not clear.
Say I use they Nyx design and I am on the main page. In the customizer I click on "all folders", for "Select from" I use "current location". So what is the current location? The main page and in there the folders I defined? Guess so. I see all folders defined and all galleries not in a folder = category.

Now I create a new page named "test" -> clicking "all folders" and here also "current location" : it stays empty.
What is my current location here and how to get folders into this location in order to use "current location"?
Or is this just a naming glitch in the frontend respectively by design because the only way to empty the folder content block for this single page is by using "current location"??

I am aware I can collect folders on the "test" page by using "Folders I choose" - no problem
==================================================================
Wendell, correct me if i am wrong.

and also describe the impact of each option from the "folder" selection.

I not the slightest idea what you mean by this.

You should present a link to your site or screen dump of the problem in here to illustrate it.

I found your site and the gallery with the sport images. I can see an empty gallery "Portrait-Work" which either has no content or is private? But otherwise its looks okay.

Ann McRae

Ah, I think I understand. Thanks.

In the customizer I click on "all folders", for "Select from" I use "current location". So what is the current location? The main page and in there the folders I defined? Guess so.

Indeed this is the case. If you've opened the customizer from within a folder then 'current location' is that folder. Here's a screenshot from my demo site:



(Note that for this example I've selected 'all folders' rather than make this folder custom).

No folders will show on this specific page because I do not have nested folders for my Landscape Folder. Only galleries within that folder.

If, on the other hand, I were to start at my homepage and look at the folder customize menu, then I will see folders populate the folder content block, since my hierarchy does include Folders off of the home (root) level.



Perhaps the very best approach is to make sure you enter the customize panels from your homepage if you are making global customizations, and from specific folders if you want to customize only that folder page -> IMPORTANT to also BE SURE you select the right option from the customize panel: All Folders or Make this Folder Custom:



I hope this helps.