I'm currently working on a website where one of the requirements is a
photo gallery where people can upload images and make them publicly
visible under a variety of categories. Ideally, the system also needs
to be able to use the user database from another application (a forum)
rather than requiring everyone to register twice.

I've looked at Gallery2, which I've used in other contexts and like a
lot, but its integration with external user databases is rather flaky
at best and I couldn't get it to work at all on my server. So my next
move was Coppermine, which handles the integration perfectly but has a
huge restriction in that users can't create public galleries - they
can only post into galleries already created by an administrator. I
also don't particularly like Coppermine's gallery administration
system - compared to Gallery2, it's incredibly complex and I suspect
will put off less-skilled users (which I don't want - the whole thing
needs to be as user-friendly as possible).

So, does anyone have any suggestions for an alternative solution? I
may just end up writing my own, but I'd prefer a ready-made system if
one is available which meets my needs as I'm a bit strapped for time
on this project.

Mark
--
Blog: http://mark.goodge.co.uk Photos: http://www.goodge.co.uk
"We do what we like, and we like what we do"

"Mark Goodge" <EMAIL REMOVED> wrote in message
news:EMAIL REMOVED house.net...
>
> I've looked at Gallery2, which I've used in other contexts and like a
> lot, but its integration with external user databases is rather flaky
> at best and I couldn't get it to work at all on my server. So my next
> move was Coppermine, which handles the integration perfectly but has a
> huge restriction in that users can't create public galleries - they
> can only post into galleries already created by an administrator. I
> also don't particularly like Coppermine's gallery administration
> system - compared to Gallery2, it's incredibly complex and I suspect
> will put off less-skilled users (which I don't want - the whole thing
> needs to be as user-friendly as possible).
>
>


I use Coppermine at the moment, and it links nicely into the phpBB forums.
However, as you have pointed out, it's a bit of a b*tch when it comes to
administration.

So I'd like a system similar to what you are aiming for as well; post back
if you find anything suitable.

I've also considered writing one myself, but considering all the other
projects I'd like to undertake but can't, I think it would be 2525 before I
get around to it...

Chris

On Feb 9, 9:37 pm, "CJM" <cjmnew...@REMOVEMEyahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> "Mark Goodge" <use...@listmail.good-stuff.co.uk> wrote in message
>
> news:EMAIL REMOVED house.net...
>
>
>
> > I've looked at Gallery2, which I've used in other contexts and like a
> > lot, but its integration with external user databases is rather flaky
> > at best and I couldn't get it to work at all on my server. So my next
> > move was Coppermine, which handles the integration perfectly but has a
> > huge restriction in that users can't create public galleries - they
> > can only post into galleries already created by an administrator. I
> > also don't particularly like Coppermine's gallery administration
> > system - compared to Gallery2, it's incredibly complex and I suspect
> > will put off less-skilled users (which I don't want - the whole thing
> > needs to be as user-friendly as possible).
>
> I use Coppermine at the moment, and it links nicely into the phpBB forums.
> However, as you have pointed out, it's a bit of a b*tch when it comes to
> administration.
>
> So I'd like a system similar to what you are aiming for as well; post back
> if you find anything suitable.
>
> I've also considered writing one myself, but considering all the other
> projects I'd like to undertake but can't, I think it would be 2525 before I
> get around to it...
>
> Chris
Hmmm, check out Mambo and the Module version of PHPBB, you use the
same log-in info as you do for the website / CMS. Mambo also has a
image Gallery plug-in, the name of which I can't remember at the
moment, I am sure Joomla would have a similar feature.
--
Regards Chad. http://freewebdesign.cjb.cc

On Fri, 9 Feb 2007 10:37:17 -0000, CJM put finger to keyboard and
typed:

>
>"Mark Goodge" <EMAIL REMOVED> wrote in message
>news:EMAIL REMOVED shouse.net...
>>
>> I've looked at Gallery2, which I've used in other contexts and like a
>> lot, but its integration with external user databases is rather flaky
>> at best and I couldn't get it to work at all on my server. So my next
>> move was Coppermine, which handles the integration perfectly but has a
>> huge restriction in that users can't create public galleries - they
>> can only post into galleries already created by an administrator. I
>> also don't particularly like Coppermine's gallery administration
>> system - compared to Gallery2, it's incredibly complex and I suspect
>> will put off less-skilled users (which I don't want - the whole thing
>> needs to be as user-friendly as possible).
>>
>>
>
>
>I use Coppermine at the moment, and it links nicely into the phpBB forums.
>However, as you have pointed out, it's a bit of a b*tch when it comes to
>administration.
>
>So I'd like a system similar to what you are aiming for as well; post back
>if you find anything suitable.

I may in fact be half-way there. Since posting that article, I've
discovered the rather oddly-named Singapore (http://www.sgal.org).
It's a fairly lightweight app, and still only in a 0.x release so it
doesn't have many features, but that's fine by me - the fact that it
doesn't have loads of bells and whistles (which I don't need for this
particular project anyway) means that both the code and the database
structure are pretty simple and I was able to modify it myself to use
Phorum's user database with fairly minimal effort (the next stage is
to modify it futher to read Phorum's login cookie so that I can
dispense with the login page as well as user registration). It could
still be better as far as image management is concerned, but I'm
***uming that's one of the things that will improve with future
releases.

I may also try the other option, suggested by Chaddy, of using a CMS
which has forum and gallery modules available. But that seems a bit of
overkill given that the rest of the site already exists and consists
of custom database-driven pages so it isn't suitable for incorporating
into a CMS without a lot of effort.

Mark
--
Blog: http://mark.goodge.co.uk Photos: http://www.goodge.co.uk
"Yes, I know the truth, how 'bout you?"

"Mark Goodge" <EMAIL REMOVED> wrote in message
news:EMAIL REMOVED house.net...

>
> I may in fact be half-way there. Since posting that article, I've
> discovered the rather oddly-named Singapore (http://www.sgal.org).

Looks promising...

Not sure how easy it will be for your average punter to add their own pics.
I'm not a PHPer myself, but I'm sure I could integrate it into a phpBB
installation well enough...

CJM