Star*Explorer Thread

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  • jfriendjfriend Registered Users Posts: 8,097 Major grins
    edited August 30, 2009
    Nikolai wrote:
    John, I'm not really sure what you mean...headscratch.gif
    The only difference in bulk creation vs single creation is the lack of description (and even that is somehow is taken care of in Auto Creation)...
    So... what exactly is a "nicename"? ne_nau.gif
    You now get a URL for a gallery that looks like this:

    http://jfriend.smugmug.com/Kenya/Highlights/Landscapes

    When creating a category, sub-category and gallery, you now get two names for each item. One displays on the actual web page for that entity. The other one is used in the URL. The "nicename" functionality has separated the actual name of the item from what shows in the URL so you can have a rich name in the page (with characters that might not be legal in a URL) and you have have a nice short and easy to remember short version in the URL.

    Besides looking nicer and being easier to remember, it apparently also really helps search engine relevance having real words in the URL instead of just numbers. Categories sort of had this before (the category name appears in the URL, but only for the actual category link itself). Now, you get nice names for subcategores and galleries (instead of just numbers).

    So, when you create a category, subcategory and gallery now, you get to specify both the regular name that will show on the web page and the "nice name" that will show in the URL.

    The gist of this is bulk creation needs to think about allowing the bulk creator to not only specify the name, but also the nice name. If a nice name isn't specified, Smugmug will apparently auto-generate one as some derivative of the other name, but something you want more control than that.
    --John
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  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited August 30, 2009
    jfriend wrote:
    You now get a URL for a gallery that looks like this:

    http://jfriend.smugmug.com/Kenya/Highlights/Landscapes

    When creating a category, sub-category and gallery, you now get two names for each item. One displays on the actual web page for that entity. The other one is used in the URL. The "nicename" functionality has separated the actual name of the item from what shows in the URL so you can have a rich name in the page (with characters that might not be legal in a URL) and you have have a nice short and easy to remember short version in the URL.

    Besides looking nicer and being easier to remember, it apparently also really helps search engine relevance having real words in the URL instead of just numbers. Categories sort of had this before (the category name appears in the URL, but only for the actual category link itself). Now, you get nice names for subcategores and galleries (instead of just numbers).

    So, when you create a category, subcategory and gallery now, you get to specify both the regular name that will show on the web page and the "nice name" that will show in the URL.

    The gist of this is bulk creation needs to think about allowing the bulk creator to not only specify the name, but also the nice name. If a nice name isn't specified, Smugmug will apparently auto-generate one as some derivative of the other name, but something you want more control than that.
    Ah, gotcha... Yeah, I can see that in the new API.
    I should be able to do that some time soon.
    Thanks for pointing that out!thumb.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • agalliaagallia Registered Users Posts: 541 Major grins
    edited August 30, 2009
    What is Sync Upload?
    Very pleased with the Pro version. But please explain the purpose/function of the Sync Upload option and Update Sync Tree. I haven't found anything on this at the Star*Explorer stie or How To index. Thanks. ne_nau.gif
    Acadiana Al
    Smugmug: Bayou Oaks Studio
    Blog: Journey to the Light
    "Serendipity...the faculty of making happy, unexpected discoveries by accident." .... Horace Walpole, 1754 (perhaps that 'lucky shot' wasn't really luck at all!)
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited August 30, 2009
    agallia wrote:
    Very pleased with the Pro version. But please explain the purpose/function of the Sync Upload option and Update Sync Tree. I haven't found anything on this at the Star*Explorer stie or How To index. Thanks. ne_nau.gif
    Thanks!
    Those are somewhat alive remnants of my attempts to provide full sync functionality. One creates local folders structure that mimics your S*E hierarchy.
    Sync upload mostly has to do with checking if the image was previously uploaded and what to do if it was.
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • agalliaagallia Registered Users Posts: 541 Major grins
    edited August 30, 2009
    Nikolai wrote:
    Thanks!
    Those are somewhat alive remnants of my attempts to provide full sync functionality. One creates local folders structure that mimics your S*E hierarchy.
    Sync upload mostly has to do with checking if the image was previously uploaded and what to do if it was.
    Now that is a great wish list item... full auto sync with specified local folders/files. Maybe someday...? Thanks for a great tool.
    Acadiana Al
    Smugmug: Bayou Oaks Studio
    Blog: Journey to the Light
    "Serendipity...the faculty of making happy, unexpected discoveries by accident." .... Horace Walpole, 1754 (perhaps that 'lucky shot' wasn't really luck at all!)
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited August 31, 2009
    New BETA version 1.0.0.236 uploaded
    John, your wish is granted: you now have Nice Name support! wings.gif

    The way it workls is fairly simple: wherever you enter the new album name (single, multiple or renaming the autocreated ones) add '|' (pipe) and type that nice name you want, e.g.:

    Regular album title|Nice name for URL

    If you don't want nice name - don't do anything.

    There is a gotcha: according to SM rules nice names can only contain alphanumerical characters and dashes. So everything you type that does not belong will be replaced with dashes. So, the example above is actually identical to the following:

    Regular album title|Nice-name-for-URL

    For Auto Created albums this logic works, too, but you have to engage "renaming" action - F2 (or context menu, or double click).

    ---

    There is another thing also. For the longest time I have been pretty stubborn about having "three way" album options to accomodate for the "account default" value. Finaly I decided it's too much for an average user and from now on all the album checkboxes can be either set or clear. No more "gray matter" anymore ... at least for now (hint, hint:-)


    HTH
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • jfriendjfriend Registered Users Posts: 8,097 Major grins
    edited August 31, 2009
    Nikolai wrote:
    John, your wish is granted: you now have Nice Name support! wings.gif

    The way it workls is fairly simple: wherever you enter the new album name (single, multiple or renaming the autocreated ones) add '|' (pipe) and type that nice name you want, e.g.:

    Regular album title|Nice name for URL

    If you don't want nice name - don't do anything.

    There is a gotcha: according to SM rules nice names can only contain alphanumerical characters and dashes. So everything you type that does not belong will be replaced with dashes. So, the example above is actually identical to the following:

    Regular album title|Nice-name-for-URL

    For Auto Created albums this logic works, too, but you have to engage "renaming" action - F2 (or context menu, or double click).

    ---

    There is another thing also. For the longest time I have been pretty stubborn about having "three way" album options to accomodate for the "account default" value. Finaly I decided it's too much for an average user and from now on all the album checkboxes can be either set or clear. No more "gray matter" anymore ... at least for now (hint, hint:-)


    HTH
    Cool, I'll give it a try.
    --John
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  • darryldarryl Registered Users Posts: 997 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2009
    Nikolai wrote:
    Thanks!
    Those are somewhat alive remnants of my attempts to provide full sync functionality. One creates local folders structure that mimics your S*E hierarchy.
    Sync upload mostly has to do with checking if the image was previously uploaded and what to do if it was.

    Nikolai -- I wonder if this functionality would help with my problem here with uploading many very small galleries (all with different passwords): http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?p=1203136#post1203136

    I was thinking I could do everything up to the upload step, but instead of attempting to do the upload myself, instead write a script that would sort the photos by EXIF tags/index into the appropriate hierarchy: \Kindergarten\Room 5\John Doe

    If this matched what existed in SmugMug, would Star*Explorer be able to handle the upload correctly? Would I first have to sync down the hierarchy with S*E, and then run my "move" script?

    Or does this functionality even exist at this point?

    I know S*E would be a more reliable way to upload rather than relying on Perl plus say, the Java command-line uploader (because I'm not sure how well it handles failures, retries, etc.)

    Thanks for your input!
  • devbobodevbobo Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 4,339 SmugMug Employee
    edited September 3, 2009
    Nikolai wrote:
    Thanks!
    Those are somewhat alive remnants of my attempts to provide full sync functionality. One creates local folders structure that mimics your S*E hierarchy.
    Sync upload mostly has to do with checking if the image was previously uploaded and what to do if it was.

    Nik,

    Are you still on delphi or have you switched to .net ?

    We implemented something to integrate with MS Sync Framework last year, but at this point MS hasn't released a new version of SyncToy that has built-in support for SM.

    If you were using .net, I believe that it would be pretty trivial to add sync support.

    Cheers,

    David
    David Parry
    SmugMug API Developer
    My Photos
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2009
    devbobo wrote:
    Nik,

    Are you still on delphi or have you switched to .net ?

    We implemented something to integrate with MS Sync Framework last year, but at this point MS hasn't released a new version of SyncToy that has built-in support for SM.

    If you were using .net, I believe that it would be pretty trivial to add sync support.

    Cheers,

    David
    I'm still on Delphi :hide
    The UE thing kinda stole the wind from under my sails ne_nau.gif
    But I'm going there :-) mwink.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2009
    darryl wrote:
    Nikolai -- I wonder if this functionality would help with my problem here with uploading many very small galleries (all with different passwords): http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?p=1203136#post1203136

    I was thinking I could do everything up to the upload step, but instead of attempting to do the upload myself, instead write a script that would sort the photos by EXIF tags/index into the appropriate hierarchy: \Kindergarten\Room 5\John Doe

    If this matched what existed in SmugMug, would Star*Explorer be able to handle the upload correctly? Would I first have to sync down the hierarchy with S*E, and then run my "move" script?

    Or does this functionality even exist at this point?

    I know S*E would be a more reliable way to upload rather than relying on Perl plus say, the Java command-line uploader (because I'm not sure how well it handles failures, retries, etc.)

    Thanks for your input!

    Darryl,
    creating different passwords for different galleries in bulk - this is not currently possible in S*E. I never thought of such a need.
    However, auto creating albums technique should cover your needs with uploading into various albums quickly (provided passwords issue is somehow resolved). S*E should be able to decide which album is already there and which needs to be created. But you gotta play with it first to see if everything does match.
    HTH
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • darryldarryl Registered Users Posts: 997 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2009
    Nikolai wrote:
    Darryl,
    creating different passwords for different galleries in bulk - this is not currently possible in S*E. I never thought of such a need.
    However, auto creating albums technique should cover your needs with uploading into various albums quickly (provided passwords issue is somehow resolved). S*E should be able to decide which album is already there and which needs to be created. But you gotta play with it first to see if everything does match.
    HTH

    Well, I was wondering if the galleries are already there (bulk created by my script), will S*E do the right thing if the hierarchy matches? For instance:

    I create this Category > Subcategory > Album on Smugmug (with password): Kindergarten > Room 5 > John Doe

    On local disk: c:\uploads\Kindergarten\Room 5\John Doe

    Will S*E find this? What are the steps to actually try to get it to find the folder? Would I just drag-and-drop the Kindergarten folder into S*E and hope it matches properly? Do you just do a string comparison of Category\Subcategory\Album Name?

    Hrm, let me see if I've ever installed S*E on this machine and I'll give it a try.

    --Darryl
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2009
    darryl wrote:
    Well, I was wondering if the galleries are already there (bulk created by my script), will S*E do the right thing if the hierarchy matches? For instance:

    I create this Category > Subcategory > Album on Smugmug (with password): Kindergarten > Room 5 > John Doe

    On local disk: c:\uploads\Kindergarten\Room 5\John Doe

    Will S*E find this? What are the steps to actually try to get it to find the folder? Would I just drag-and-drop the Kindergarten folder into S*E and hope it matches properly? Do you just do a string comparison of Category\Subcategory\Album Name?

    Hrm, let me see if I've ever installed S*E on this machine and I'll give it a try.

    --Darryl
    Darryl,
    bottomline: it should. It takes some experience to do it right. But *SE is smart. Play with it. It's always safe to try until you finally commit by pressing the Upload button (and even at that point you will have the Very Last Warning Dialog:-)
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2009
    Hear ye, Hear ye!
    The First Ever Star*Explorer Webinar cometh to a browser near you on Sep 17th:
    http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=121987199657&h=z1olq&u=NgHVQ&ref=mf
    Look, Listen, Learn!
    All the questions you always wanted to ask but wasn't sure how..
    Stay tuned!
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • DrDavidDrDavid Registered Users Posts: 1,292 Major grins
    edited September 4, 2009
    Yup! SmugSchool is hosting Nik and hosting a webinar on Star*Explorer! Full details are on http://SmugSchool.com!

    This event is FREE! So, even if you think you're a S*E expert, you might still want to attend and have Nik walk you through the software.

    Please note: While this is a FREE webinar, you MUST PRE-REGISTER in order to attend! You can register at http://www.smugschool.com/2009/09/03/starexplorer-fastest-smugmug-uploader/
  • tomautotomauto Registered Users Posts: 58 Big grins
    edited September 4, 2009
    I want to move multiple galleries at once from one sub-category to another, is there any way to do this?
    My Smugmug Site! http://tomauto.smugmug.com/
    Canon Quality l Canon 30D l Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 "L" IS Lens l Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 IS Lens l Canon 580ex ii Flash l Canon 580ex Flash l Canon BG-E2N Battery Grip
    Strobist 101 kit l Bogen / Manfrotto Super Clamp l Westcott Umbrellas - Soft Silver Collapsible and Optical White 43" l Bogen / Manfrotto 3373 Light Stand l Photoflex Multiclamp

  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited September 4, 2009
    tomauto wrote:
    I want to move multiple galleries at once from one sub-category to another, is there any way to do this?
    Not yet... Hopefully at some point this year...
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited September 4, 2009
    New version 1.0.0.237 uploaded
    Out of beta finaly! :ivar
    • Seven upload threads = much faster uploads
    • Utilization of the latest SM API (= typically faster)
    • Switched to JSON from RPC-XML (much less overhead = faster)
    • Official "NiceName" support
    • Less screen scraping, more API usage (=more reliable, less error prone)
    • Numerous fixes
    And of course - don't forget the upcoming Webinar!. S*E is a very powerful, yet a complex application, learn how to use it to its full potential!
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • BradfordBennBradfordBenn Registered Users Posts: 2,506 Major grins
    edited September 4, 2009
    Nikolai wrote:
    I'm still on Delphi :hide
    The UE thing kinda stole the wind from under my sails ne_nau.gif
    But I'm going there :-) mwink.gif

    I am just getting my legs under me of the software I am responsible for at work going to .Net 3.5SP1. It is quite a change from Delphi.......and I am just in product management not in coding eek7.gif

    I think I will wait until I get Snow Leopard and the VMware stable before going to try this new S*E but I am liking the features you are talking about.
    -=Bradford

    Pictures | Website | Blog | Twitter | Contact
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited September 4, 2009
    I am just getting my legs under me of the software I am responsible for at work going to .Net 3.5SP1. It is quite a change from Delphi.......and I am just in product management not in coding eek7.gif
    .
    Hey, do you guys need a good programmer? We switched about 2mln lines of code from Delphi to C# over the last few years... Very fresh experience:-)
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • tomautotomauto Registered Users Posts: 58 Big grins
    edited September 5, 2009
    Nikolai wrote:
    Not yet... Hopefully at some point this year...

    Cool! I really need to clean up the galleries in my site. Can you move single galleries in sub-categories or am I going to have to settle on how smugmug handles its gallery movements...


    I signed up for the webinar!
    My Smugmug Site! http://tomauto.smugmug.com/
    Canon Quality l Canon 30D l Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 "L" IS Lens l Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 IS Lens l Canon 580ex ii Flash l Canon 580ex Flash l Canon BG-E2N Battery Grip
    Strobist 101 kit l Bogen / Manfrotto Super Clamp l Westcott Umbrellas - Soft Silver Collapsible and Optical White 43" l Bogen / Manfrotto 3373 Light Stand l Photoflex Multiclamp

  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited September 5, 2009
    tomauto wrote:
    Cool! I really need to clean up the galleries in my site. Can you move single galleries in sub-categories or am I going to have to settle on how smugmug handles its gallery movements...
    No moving through S*E at the moment! ne_nau.gif
    I signed up for the webinar!
    Yay! clap.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • BradfordBennBradfordBenn Registered Users Posts: 2,506 Major grins
    edited September 6, 2009
    Nikolai wrote:
    Hey, do you guys need a good programmer? We switched about 2mln lines of code from Delphi to C# over the last few years... Very fresh experience:-)

    Careful what you wish for.

    I am about to download the S*E and put it on my Virtual Machine (no more Boot Camp). I will let you know what I find out/experience.
    -=Bradford

    Pictures | Website | Blog | Twitter | Contact
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited September 6, 2009
    Careful what you wish for.
    I am about to download the S*E and put it on my Virtual Machine (no more Boot Camp). I will let you know what I find out/experience.
    Laughing.gif!
    Don't forget about the S*E webinar coming in less than two weeks (courtesy of SmugSchool)
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • denisegoldbergdenisegoldberg Administrators Posts: 14,370 moderator
    edited September 6, 2009
    Upgrade...
    I just upgraded to the latest (now out of beta) release, and I've been uploading photos from my latest travels.

    Very nice! (And I liked Star*Explorer before, liking it even more now...)

    Thanks!

    --- Denise
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited September 6, 2009
    I just upgraded to the latest (now out of beta) release, and I've been uploading photos from my latest travels.

    Very nice! (And I liked Star*Explorer before, liking it even more now...)

    Thanks!

    --- Denise
    Thank you very much, Denise! iloveyou.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • BradfordBennBradfordBenn Registered Users Posts: 2,506 Major grins
    edited September 6, 2009
    Very Cool, but I have a request and a slight bug issue
    Howdy Nik-

    So a situation that will make you chuckle. I am running S*E on my VMWare Fusion of Win XP Pro SP3 (2G assigned to it... blah blah) I have it saving the files directly to the Mac hard drive through the shared folders of VMWare. No translation like i used to have to do. But I have a request, and please forgive me if I get the names wrong...

    Under the file menu when one selects "Download Images" there is a directory option. There is also an option for Directory Sync under the preferences. I think that the Sync is not wholly integrated yet, which is fine, however what had me a little confused is the fact that these are two different directories. Can they be made to be populated with the same directory by default? I realize that one might want to change the location, but I just realized that I am going to have to move all the files once they are downloaded.

    On a slight bug issue, if the Windows Screen Saver comes on, it takes a few minute for the S*E window to populate again. I am not sure if this is virtualization or a true problem. The challenge was that I thought it was "hung" for a little while but I have learned to have patience....
    -=Bradford

    Pictures | Website | Blog | Twitter | Contact
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited September 6, 2009
    Howdy Nik-

    So a situation that will make you chuckle. I am running S*E on my VMWare Fusion of Win XP Pro SP3 (2G assigned to it... blah blah) I have it saving the files directly to the Mac hard drive through the shared folders of VMWare. No translation like i used to have to do. But I have a request, and please forgive me if I get the names wrong...

    Under the file menu when one selects "Download Images" there is a directory option. There is also an option for Directory Sync under the preferences. I think that the Sync is not wholly integrated yet, which is fine, however what had me a little confused is the fact that these are two different directories. Can they be made to be populated with the same directory by default? I realize that one might want to change the location, but I just realized that I am going to have to move all the files once they are downloaded.

    On a slight bug issue, if the Windows Screen Saver comes on, it takes a few minute for the S*E window to populate again. I am not sure if this is virtualization or a true problem. The challenge was that I thought it was "hung" for a little while but I have learned to have patience....
    Brad,
    I'm not sure I understand (and this is possibly flavored Ukranian vodka talking:-) ne_nau.gif
    ...
    Can you call me? I'll send you my cell # via PM...
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited September 18, 2009
    New version 1.0.0.238 uploaded
    During the last night's webinar I stumbled on a couple of bugs (duh). :hide
    So I fixed them. :D
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited September 21, 2009
    New version 1.0.0.239 uploaded
    New: you can choose to download video now :-) clap.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
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