Gallery Option Help

gilbert

I have read the SM help sections on these, but I was wondering if someone could answer/explain this:

In the customize gallery option when you "disable external links" - what does that actually end up doing? Not what it says on the question mark, I can read that! I mean, what else does that offer if you have right-click disabled too?

Does it interfere at all with linking nav bar buttons to a page??

Also the "easy sharing" says it puts a link under the photo...Is it just the URL? I'm guessing that's why it's called "easy" sharing. It is still possible for someone to use your URL, but the link is not provided for them if you check "no" for easy sharing. Did I get it?

Even if they have the URL from someone, they will not be able to see a gallery that is password protected (without the password!), right?

Please let me know if my guesses are correct, and explain these protection options any other way that you can. Just want to make sure I understand what I'm doing when I customize each gallery.

Thanks!:D

Andy

gilbert wrote:

I have read the SM help sections on these, but I was wondering if someone could answer/explain this:

In the customize gallery option when you "disable external links" - what does that actually end up doing? Not what it says on the question mark, I can read that! I mean, what else does that offer if you have right-click disabled too?

It prevents photos from being displayed outside of your SmugMug site - like here on the forum, for example.

Does it interfere at all with linking nav bar buttons to a page??

No.

Also the "easy sharing" says it puts a link under the photo...Is it just the URL? I'm guessing that's why it's called "easy" sharing. It is still possible for someone to use your URL, but the link is not provided for them if you check "no" for easy sharing. Did I get it?

If you have easy sharing enabled, and external links off, they will not be able to see the images.

Even if they have the URL from someone, they will not be able to see a gallery that is password protected (without the password!), right?

Correct

jfriend

External linking blocks bandwidth stealing

gilbert wrote:

I have read the SM help sections on these, but I was wondering if someone could answer/explain this:

In the customize gallery option when you "disable external links" - what does that actually end up doing? Not what it says on the question mark, I can read that! I mean, what else does that offer if you have right-click disabled too?

Does it interfere at all with linking nav bar buttons to a page??

Also the "easy sharing" says it puts a link under the photo...Is it just the URL? I'm guessing that's why it's called "easy" sharing. It is still possible for someone to use your URL, but the link is not provided for them if you check "no" for easy sharing. Did I get it?

Even if they have the URL from someone, they will not be able to see a gallery that is password protected (without the password!), right?

Please let me know if my guesses are correct, and explain these protection options any other way that you can. Just want to make sure I understand what I'm doing when I customize each gallery.

Thanks!:D

Disable external links is designed to keep people from taking the link directly to your images and then embedding those links directly into their own web pages, blogs, myspace pages, etc.... Used without your authorization, this is a form of piracy and bandwidth stealing. What this control specifically tries to do is to make it so that the Smugmug web server will only serve up your images to a requesting browser if it's part of your smugmug page, not part of some other web page.

Used by itself, it doens't really prevent piracy because someone can just copy the image to their own site and then use it there, but it does aim to prevent bandwidth stealing where someone else is using the image linked directly off your Smugmug site.

Right click protection is for something completely different. That is designed to make it more difficult for people to copy your images to their own computer or their own web site.

Neither one of these protections is perfect. They make it more difficult to steal your images, but there are ways around them for the more technically savvy. If you are worried about this, the foolproof mechanisms are to block large sizes and use a watermark.

gilbert

Thank you
Thanks Andy. You're all over the place...working hard.

Alrighty...so no negatives for me in that option...seems like I want to disable the external links then "for added image protection".

Thought I read some where that turning off the external links can cause a problem...I'll find out

Andy

gilbert wrote:

Thought I read some where that turning off the external links can cause a problem...I'll find out

The problem lies in if you want to link (embed) a photo in a forum posting, or ebay auction, or blog entry.... so be mindful of that and use the feature accordingly.

gilbert

Okay...but...

Andy wrote:

The problem lies in if you want to link (embed) a photo in a forum posting, or ebay auction, or blog entry.... so be mindful of that and use the feature accordingly.

Now, if I want to link it to a blog or something, will it then be available for someone else to "take" that image (steal, copy, whatever) from the blog?

There is no protection on it once it is linked outside, right?

If I did want to have the external link option, would the best idea be to create a separate gallery with the few images I want to link to the blog (for example)?

btw, Andy, thanks for taking those links off of that other post...I know you're busy!

Andy

gilbert wrote:

Now, if I want to link it to a blog or something, will it then be available for someone else to "take" that image (steal, copy, whatever) from the blog?

There is no protection on it once it is linked outside, right?

Right. If it's there, they can get it.

If I did want to have the external link option, would the best idea be to create a separate gallery with the few images I want to link to the blog (for example)?

a fine idea!

gilbert

Thanks again...pretty darn fast...I barely have time to read about some other ideas before I get a response

I was right in the middle of fixing up the latest trial of my navbar when the site went down :cry

Time for a forced break!