This Help File shows you how to:
Zen Photo is open source software used on some of the sites which run on DigitalFundi. It provides routines from managing a photo gallery. It automatically resizes images to provide a standard copies. It obtains as much information as it can from the image for display purposes, but it also maintains a database which can hold additional or alternative information for display Zen photo provides a set of functions which can be used on web pages specifically designed for a photo gallery. "Out of the box" Zen photo comes with a set of "themes" which provide standard layouts for web pages. Two examples are Digital Pics, and Harwell Parish Archives. Alternatively you can write your own pages to take on the look and feel of the web site hosting the gallery. Examples are Robin Pope Safaris and Chongwe River camp.
images should be provided at the highest resolution that you want to make available to users of the gallery. In most cases this means the original from the photo shoot. If you don't want to provide a high resolution image then prepare an image the same size as the standard images on your website, or a little bit bigger. In most cases an image of 600 pixels (widest side) will suffice.
The image MUST be a JPEG. The "quality factor" for the JPEG should be appropriate to its usage. So if you are using an original, it will probably have a quality factor between 90 and 95, which is fine. Because Zen photo takes care of resizing the images, and choosing appropriate quality factors for those images, you don't really need to worry about file size, and just need to provide the best possible image. (So you can ignore the help on resizing images)
Meta data is information about something. In this case it means the collection of information used to define and add value to an image - eg when and where it was taken, and who by, plus maybe a suitable caption and copyright information. The goal is to include as much of this meta data inside the image itself so that as you move the image about, all the metadata goes with it, and you don't have to worry about re-inventing the information for a new system. This is where IPTC fields come in.
The International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC) defines a set of fields which can be embedded into a photographic image to provide information (the Meta data) about that image. It's specifically designed for use by photographers sending in their photographs to the editor. You can read more, but all you need to know is that there are a few fields where it makes sense to include information about an image, and which Zen Photo can pick up and display in the gallery. The IPTC fields also provide places the copyright information. Although they may not be displayed by Zen photo, it makes sense to embed them in the image so they remain with the image after it is downloaded as an aid to tracking the usage of an image. Anyone who knows what they are doing can change and delete the IPTC data, but chances are they don't and hence the copyright information will remain with the image, even if it is resized to use on a website.
Support of the IPTC fields in the consumer software is sometimes limited, and even Photoshop makes it hard to work out when it is using standard IPTC fields, or when it is using proprietary Adobe data fields. Fortunately software such as IRFAN does support IPTC, even if it's interface requires a lot of clicks.
The table lists the relevant fields grouped by IRFAN tab name, together with their suggested use.
| IRFAN Tab | IPTC Field | Use? | ZEN name | Notes | Tecky |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caption | Copyright | copyright holder - typically your company name eg "Digital Safaris" do not try to add a copyright sign - if appropriate this will be added automatically. | |||
| Caption | Desc | This will be the caption/description which typically will appear under a single image display. | 2#120 | ||
| Caption Writer | ignore | ||||
| Headline | maybe | Title |
Zen looks for an image Title, first in the database - see "editing" below. |
2#105 |
|
| Special Instructions | not used | eg "This image may be freely used by the Travel Industry for the promotion of xxx. Otherwise, please contact info@xxx for permission to use the image." | |||
| Keywords | Keywords | Tags | These keywords (and all the other IPTC fields) are used by Zen Photo when searching, so keywords like "lion" are a good idea. Separate them with a comma. | 2#025 | |
| Categories | all | ignore | |||
| Credits | Byline | ignore | |||
| Byline Title | ignore | ||||
| Credit | Used to note eg the original photographer | ||||
| Source | Used to note eg 200608 Photoshoot, or maybe 2004 WTM CD | ||||
| Origin | Object Name | ignore | Title | 2#005 | |
| Date Created | ignore | Date | 2#055 | ||
| City | City | Maybe not many Cities near Bush camps - but use if appropriate. | 2#090 | ||
| Sub-location | Location | Use this for the Camp name, or nearest appropriate location | 2#092 | ||
| Province-State | State | Use this for Park Name | 2#095 | ||
| Country | Country | Use - obviously | 2#101 | ||
| Original transmision | ignore | ||||
| Options | pay attention when in Batch Mode - see below | ||||
| not supported in IRFAN | Contact | not used | good place for an email address |
You can use IRFAN to update the IPTC images in multiple images.
Open an image from a selected folder in the viewer. Click the File > Thumbnails. A box will open and fill with thumbnails of the images in the folder
Highlight all the images you want to process.
Then File > JPG Lossless Operations > Set IPTC data to selected files
Then set the IPTC fields as noted in the table above, but pay attention to the OPTIONS tab. You need to make decisions about the two text options for updating in batch. Read the choices carefully and choose accordingly so as to make sure that any existing IPTC data which you want to preserve is preserved.
Note, leave ticked the option to retain the original date and time.
Use of WS_FTP is recommended. Get it here, if you don't have a copy.
You will need:
This will take you to the top level of the folders containing your images.
Upload images into the appropriate folder.
[Note: Zen Photo also has an option for uploading images, but I've not tested it. Use it at your own risk]
Please do not delete images using WS_FTP - you will only remove the master, and all the copies and other information in Zen Photo will remain, and clogg the system up with orphaned images and database entries.
Plan ahead. Think about your image names and the folders in which you want them displayed. Choose good file names, which will be the default caption/description - it will save you having to edit later. Load the data into the IPTC fields. Get it right, and then upload. If you rush, in excitement to see what it looks like, you may regret it.
After you have uploaded the images, all you should need to do is go to the gallery (normal access, no login required). Browse to the folder with new images, and the first time they are accessed, Zen Photo will take care of generating the thnumbnail and the standard image. If everything displays as required, you are done. But for fine tuning you may need to use the Zen Photo admin options.
Find your gallery, and replace index.php with admin/ eg change
http://www.digitalpics.me.uk/zenphoto/index.php to
http://www.digitalpics.me.uk/zenphoto/admin/
Login using the username and password given. Note that there is only one admin user in the world, so you are sharing the access with others.
Once in, please take care, you have great powers, so only do what you are comfortable with, and don't change the username and password!
The Main Tabs are
| Overview: | what you see when you login. Only use Gallery Maintence if requested to do so |
| Comments: | only relevant if your site allows users to post comments on individual images |
| Upload: | as above, suggest you use WS_FTP instead |
| Edit: | here we go, more below |
| Options: | take a look, but should be no need to change anything. |
| Themes: | Please don't change anything here. |
| Note also at top right: | |
| View Gallery: | very useful, more below |
| Log out: | you will remain logged in for ever, until you log out. Can be confusing if you are viewing the gallery |
Here you can play with Gallery and Image information, and change the sort order.
Default is alphabetical by Folder/File name, and with a good choice of names, all may be well.
To change the sort order of subalbums, Edit the parent Album, and find the drop down, Sort subalbums by. Select Manual, then Save. Now you can change the order by dragging a subalbum. Note when the cursor changes to a grab, and do it, but note also that it changes back to a normal cursor when you are over the icon or the name, (so that you can click to enter the object for editing a sub-level).
Click on the Save Order button as soon as you can. Nothing will be remembered until you do.
In most cases this will be set-up already. Ask before changing.
If you provided information in the IPTC fields, you will see that Zen Photo has picked up it all up.
Now you have a chance to correct it, or add information which you missed.
When at the level of individual images, you will see a red-cross in a circle, allowing you to delete the image.
There are save buttons in each section. It looks as if it only saves the information for that section. (Naff). So save early, often, and in the right box.
An alternative to the Edit option above. For editing the Image Caption, and for deleting an image.
Navigate to a standard image, hover over the caption, and you will find you can edit it in situ.
Note the "Admin Toolbox" option at the bottom. Use this to Delete the Image.
When in a gallery/abum view, use this option as well to take you back to the Edit Options for that section.
By default the images will be sorted by file name. However, Zen Photo gives a variety of sort options, including Manual Sort.
Go to Edit Album, selecting the Album you want to sort. In the Album Box find the drop down “Sort Images by” and select Manual. Save.
Then select View Gallery (do not log out)
Navigate to the album you wish to sort. At the bottom of the page of thumbnails, you should have an Album Toolbox. Click to expand, and select Sort Album. Drag and drop until you are happy, and Save (often).
Last Update 15 May, 2008