Visionary Features and suggestions

[QuentinJS]

Over the past week I hve looked at about 100 Gallery products, of which most of them really sucked.  This includes what Adobe, and Microsoft try to promote.  

Of the list I narrowed it down to 5 products, of which Coppermine so far seems the shining star in many aspects. Some them include Easy Install, Fairly Feature Rich, and Fairly easy to manage.  Not to mention the themes seem quite flexible.


Now for the Ideas...  

1. Users - Groups - Categories and Albums
    The Users should be assignable to more then one group.  Also more then one group should be assignable to a category. (with propogating rights)  This will require a screen for adding users to a group, and a screen to select groups for a user.  (2 sides of the same coin).

   Each Category should allow multiple goups to be assigned. What this means is that you take the best rights from each group, kinda like a mask.  Now you will need to add groups to a category, as well as select categories to add to a group.  Possibly with "default" groups to auto assign to all new categories... (top level)  all sub levels will propogate the rights, unless changed.  

2. Adding Albums
   From the Album list, you should be able to create new Albums (from te category or from within an album.  This will link the album to the same place location in the Category List.

  Also if implemented below (see #4)  addiing additional albums from the batch screen could be done, if you entered the batch add via the albums, then adding additional albums would be easy.

3. Moving Albums or Pictures
   From the Album List, when you go into an album the capability to move the album to a different Category should exist.  Also From the "Album manager, should be able to select an album and move it to a different category.

4.  Batch Adding Display
    When doing an FTP of images in, I have found a couple issues.  If the folder is new, then the application doesn't have rights to is, which is a problem.

   When you mass add 10+ folders of images.. or have over time many folders in the batch area, its hard to know which ones have images in them that have been assigned, and which ones don't.  The list should default to a filter of showing only folders with images that have yet to be assigned.  

   Also From this you should be able to un-assign an image as well.  (see below).

  So when you enter a folder, the only images you be default should see are those that are not assigned.  This would make the assigning ond determination process much easier.  

5. Batch Adding Locations
  From the Album List it should be possible to enter the Bach Screen, then have it go back out into the same area when done.  This would make it nice to add albums then add the pics for it, then add another album as well.  

6. Unassigning or moiving a single image
  From the Batch screen it should be possible to un-assign an image from an album.  Also From the Album List when viewing images (mass, or individually) whould have a mechanism to unassign them.

7. Standard Keywords
   Keywords could be used in a structure style  allowing a different way of displaying the images.  
   Also some keywords could be created in a lsit (by the user) which could then be selected (checkbox)  to make things more consistent..especially when managing a lot of pictures.  

8. Extracting items from EXIF
    When displaying the images, would be nice if a table could be made (template of some form) which could include some of the EXIF information, Camera, Exporusre, ISO, Flash, etc.  

9. Hot/New/Popular/Random Pics
    From a button it would be nice to show say 10-20+ pics.  These could also be used to show popular categories or albums, and allow grouping of the images.  

10.  Searches
   Should be able to do some searches via the keyword lsit as defined above.  Not all keywords need to be in the list.

  Seaching could also be done on picture EXIF information. Creation date, Photographer,  Camera, Flash.

11. Some additional fields per pic.
   Location
   InDoor / Outdoor
   Scenic, Landscape, Studio, etc.

12.  Allow ordering of Albums, and Categories.

13. Allow simple Category displays without pictures.  with a pseudo tree aproach.. as follows

     Travel
           Canada                     Europe                US
               Alberta                     London               Los Angeles
               Ontario                     Fance                 New York
                                                                        Texas

   or some other variation.  Could also list (sub:5, Pics: 203)  after the name

So this is a start at some ideas.  I don't know if they can be added in this release.. as I don't know where in the release you are.  But they would definetily help with managing the pictures.  And add some additional benefits to the users, as well as in some cases make it easier to manage the information.

 :shock:

[paularms]

coppermine already has quite a few of those features that you are looking for. EXIF information is displayed, 'hot new popular pics' are shown if you specify (there are also links at the top of the page).

remember that coppermine is free and so far it is great. making suggestions like you have done is probably the best thing for the project, as the developers need input from more people that use it than just themselves.

[QuentinJS]

Your right there is hot, new, pop features already, but what I'm thinking is not just having them part of the main display, but letting them each be their own display page, and then we could display the related categories and such as well, instead of just 10 images. The popular albums  or categories could be done as well.

 :shock: