Welcome to Gallery 2. This is the official release of Gallery 2.1, code named “Blackjack”. Please read through this document carefully before installing Gallery 2 and before asking for help. We have taken care to try to answer as many of your questions here as possible. If you don't read this and have problems, we may refer you back to this document as a first resource.

Quick Start

If you’re impatient like us, you just want to get going. The odds are that your system is all set to handle Gallery 2 so just skip right to the installer and start clicking. It should walk you through everything you need to get going. If you hit a snag, please come back here and read more before asking questions! Enjoy.

What is Gallery?

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Gallery is a web based software product that lets you manage your photos on your own website. You must have your own website with PHP and database support in order to install and use it. With Gallery you can easily create and maintain albums of photos via an intuitive interface. Photo management includes automatic thumbnail creation, image resizing, rotation, ordering, captioning, searching and more. Albums and photos can have view, edit, delete and other permissions per individual authenticated user for an additional level of privacy. It's great for communities - give accounts to your friends and family and let them upload and manage their own photos on your website!

System requirements

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• Web server that can run PHP (Apache 1, Apache 2, IIS, Zeus, etc)
• PHP version 4.x (4.1.0 or more recent) or 5.x (5.0.4 or more recent)
  Note: PHP's safe_mode must be disabled! Read this forum thread for a safe_mode discussion.
• One of the following databases: MySQL 3.x, 4.x or 5.x, PostgreSQL 7.x or 8.x, Oracle 9i or 10g, DB2 8.2
• One of the following graphics toolkits: NetPBM 9.x or newer, ImageMagick 5.x or newer, GD 2.x or newer, GraphicsMagick 1.x or newer (or else you get no thumbnails!)

Security

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The Gallery team retained Paul Mutton of Intershot Limited to do a complete security audit of Gallery 2.1 Release Candidate 1.

"The Gallery installer and Gallery application were subjected to a manual web application security test. It is important to note that such tests cannot be exhaustive and may not discover all vulnerabilities. All tests were carried out against a standalone installation of Gallery - no integrated installations were tested (e.g. with phpBB or phpnuke). The security of external tools used by the Gallery application, such as graphics toolkits, were not included in this test. No denial of service attacks were carried out against the application server."

The development team resolved the security issues raised by Intershot and other auditors during the release candidate phases.

What’s new in this release?

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Over three years of design and development have gone into making Gallery 2 the best online photo management product available. We have made it easy to add new features while keeping them in separate modules so that you can customize it to only have the ones that you want. For those of you who like standards, we have strict XHTML compliance but give plenty of power to our themes so that you can make it look the way that you want. It's a powerful application and you're in the driver's seat.

Highlight of changes in Gallery 2.1 (Blackjack) -

1. New Ratings module allows users to vote for their favorite photos.
2. New RSS module provides syndication of your Gallery's content to the world, so users can track content updates.
3. New Floatrix theme based on our Matrix theme, with a collapsible sidebar and tableless design.
4. New module to support hidden items and albums. Hidden items are restricted from guest users until accessed by the direct URL. Migrate module now imports hidden items from G1 as hidden in G2 if this module is active.
5. New module to support password protected items and albums. Passwords are complementary to the G2 permission management. Passwords are impersonal while the G2 permission system handles access and rights for specific users and user groups.
6. New Reupload module allows replacing an image file while keeping the title, description, comments, etc.
7. New Permalinks module works with the URL Rewrite module to create short URLs using just the album name, as in Gallery 1.x.
8. New Linkitem module creates links to other albums or external URLs.
9. New module to import albums from Picasa.
10. New module to support Google Sitemaps.
11. New module for retrieving id3 tag information.
12. New link in comments module to view all recent comments. Also an option to require captcha for posting anonymous comments.
13. New option to apply album and theme settings recursively to all subalbums.
14. URL Rewrite module now supports IIS (isapi rewrite) and pathinfo.
15. Captcha module has an improved "medium" security level and now unifies configuration in captcha site admin for all modules making use of validation.
16. Print modules
    • Permissions support to control which users can print and which photos may be printed.
    • Support for printing non-public photos.
    • New Fotokasten module for prints from fotokasten.de.
    • Renamed PhotoAccess to PhotoWorks.
17. Permission support in cart module to control which users and which items may be used with the cart.
18. PublishXP module now supports add-options such as watermarks and applying size limits or quotas.
19. Upgraded bundled EXIF library to Exifixer 1.5 which fixes reading of EXIF data from many cameras and image processing tools. Also updated the module to make GPS fields available and to read EXIF data from raw image files.
20. New option in ffmpeg module to watermark thumbnails for movie items with a film reel image on each side, to better distingish movies from photos. Support for recent versions of ffmpeg binary.
21. Support for recent versions of dcraw binary.
22. Added WMF and TGA image format support in ImageMagick module.
23. Improved cross-browser support in ImageFrame module.
24. Several updates and new options for Hybrid theme.
25. New settings and improved admin interface for Siriux theme.
26. Localization updates
    • Added support for hints in translatable strings to aid translators, or to distinguish identical English strings that may need different translations in another language.
    • Localizations now generally specify only a language rather than language+country for better sharing of translations. Country specific translations can still override the base translation.
    • New option to specify whether Gallery checks the browser language preference to select the language for new sessions.
27. User Interface updates in installer/upgrader based on a review by OpenUsability.org.
28. New performance section in site admin for configuring optional page caching.
29. New maintenance mode to redirect visitors while upgrading or configuring the site.
30. Multisite installs can now use the tools in lib/support.
31. Sessions are now stored in the database and no longer in files. And guest users don't get a session anymore unless they add items to the cart, choose a non-default language or do something else that requires a session.
32. New development tool: sample module creator in lib/tools/creator.
33. New option to run external programs at lower priority to reduce load on shared webhosting servers.
34. Support for DB2 database.
35. Minor updates to support PHP 5.1.
36. Embed API is now versioned (for compatibility checks) and initialization parameters have been simplified.
37. Many code updates, restructuring and API changes with the goals of improving performance and making smaller/simpler/cleaner code.
38. Lots of bugs fixed.

Highlight of changes in Gallery 2.0 (Unpossible!) +

1. Updated version of the Siriux theme.
2. Several bug fixes.

Highlight of changes in Gallery 2 RC 2 (kthxbye) +

1. Gallery 1 migration
   • Custom fields from G1 can now be imported if the Gallery 2 custom fields module is active.
   • Restricted permissions are now set for imported photos and albums from G1 that are hidden. Gallery 2 does not yet have a hidden feature so for now these items are restricted by permissions.
   • Migration process now generates a report of any captions that were trunctated to fit the field size of title or summary in Gallery 2.
2. Localization - Some translation fixes including several updates to better support right-to-left languages. Gallery 2 now has 29 available locales; over 90% translated in 6 languages, over 50% in 7 and partially translated in 16 more! We still bundle all language data with the modules.. eventually we will have separate downloadable translations.
3. Date formats - Customizable date/time formats defined in Site Admin.
4. Security - Fixed minor cross site scripting flaw where uploaded images could contain <script> tags in their EXIF and IPTC keywords.
5. Many, many bugs fixed.

Highlight of changes in Gallery 2 RC 1 (+5 Insightful) +

1. New Packages - You can now choose from four different packages: minimal, typical, full, and developer.
2. Siriux is Back - The Siriux theme was ported to the new theme system.
3. User Contributed Themes - There are now more and more user contributed themes to choose from.
4. New Installer Log - Gallery 2 now generates a log of the core module installation process which will make it much easier for you to provide the necessary information and for us to help you.
5. Many, many bugs fixed.

Highlight of changes in Gallery 2 Beta 4 (Flippin' Sweet!) +

1. New Theme System - You spoke -- we listened. The old layout and theme system was far too complicated so we've completely overhauled it leaving control firmly in the hands of the theme designer while keeping it simple and easy to work with.
2. Square Thumbnails - This module now offers a mode to fit thumbnails inside a square with a specified background color instead of cropping the image into a square.
3. CMYK Jpegs - ImageMagick module can now detect jpegs using CMYK colorspace and convert to RGB for display in the Gallery, still keeping the original file available for download.
4. Multisite Support - The multisite system has been completely redesigned and is now compatible with both URL Rewrite module and embedded Gallery 2. Multisite Gallery 2 refers to multiple independent sites using a single codebase.
5. Localization - The installer and upgrader can now be localized.
6. Improved Installer - The installer offers now a clean install option, catches version mismatches between database/g2data/code, detects the proper locking system to use, and has a more detailed admin user setup.
7. Improved Upgrader - There’s now a progress bar in the module upgrade step to combat server timeouts.
8. Guest Preview Mode - Click this to see almost exactly what a guest will see when browsing your albums. Useful if you want to test permissions and other settings.
9. Improved Cookie Management - New optional configuration parameters enable cookie support in embedded Gallery 2 while maintaining maximum security by default and the flexibility to support embedded Gallery 2 installs on separate subdomains.
10. Colorpacks - Now that layouts are gone and there are only themes, colorpacks let you change the color scheme of a theme.
11. Many, many bugs fixed.

Highlight of changes in Gallery 2 Beta 3 (Bingo!) +

1. New Modules
   • New Quotas module allows limiting disk usage for users and groups.
   • New Iconpack module adds icons for various links.
   • New dcraw module adds support for the raw image format of many cameras.
   • New Publish XP modules allows adding items directly from Windows XP.
   • New Slideshow applet module shows images in a fullscreen slideshow using Java.
2. Layouts
   • Simplified the PHP code required for a layout. This makes it easier to create a new layout that mostly involves building the tpl files, but still allows use of additional PHP code for more advanced layouts.
   • Standard $user template variable now available in all views, which makes it easier to customize content for guests, registered users or administrators.
3. Hotlinked image protection
   • URL Rewrite module now offers the ability to restrict item downloads from external referers not on an approved list. This prevents other websites from directly linking to images on your server.
   • Watermark module offers an alternate rule in Rewrite module which can apply a watermark on the fly to images for external referers.
4. Tree view - Album Select module now offers a dynamic tree view in addition to the simple select box for navigating to any album.
5. Thumbnails - Expanded ability to override the album default thumbnail size to any item or album, not just for photo thumbnails.
6. IPTC - Support for reading IPTC data added to EXIF/IPTC module.
7. Forgot Password - New system to reset the password for any Gallery 2 user with an email address.
8. Short URLs - More control in Site Admin over how short URLs are constructed.
9. Owner Permissions - Permissions are now transferred to the new owner when changing the owner of an album or item.
10. Updated Albums - Modification date of albums now updated for item add, move, delete in that album (so New Items module will show "Updated").
11. Add From Web - Improved support for URLs where extension doesn't match the actual mime type (like Gallery 2 URLs!).
12. Email Test - Added ability to send a test email from Site Admin to verify email settings are correct.
13. System Maintenance - New maintenance tasks:
    • Reset view counts for all albums and photos.
    • Build all thumbnails and resizes at once.
    • Display system information, useful for copy/paste to support forum.
    • Rewrite module task to check for conflicts between short URLs and actual Gallery files.
14. Integrations - Improved support for integration with external applications.
15. Installer - Verify that the database user has the correct permissions before installing.
16. Many, many bugs fixed including several localization fixes.

Highlight of changes in Gallery 2 Beta 2 (Holy Hand Grenade) +

1. Performance Improvements
   • Automatic fast download code for publicly visible images. We bypass most of the framework and render thumbnails and resizes quickly on demand, while still preserving the complete image firewall. This radically reduces server load.
   • Replaced the permissions table with access control lists. This change isn't visible to the end user, but results in a significant performance increase for large galleries.
2. Themes/CSS
   • We updated the CSS across the entire app to clean it up and make building new themes a bit easier.
   • Added new mblue theme.
3. Layouts
   • The main content no longer wraps below the sidebar in Matrix layout when viewed with IE.
   • Hybrid, slider and tile layouts are now themeable and have improved cross browser compatibility.
   • Added Nico Kaiser's siriux layout.
4. New Modules
   • New captcha module allows you to require that users have to prove that they're human in order to log in or register a new account.
   • New mime management module allows you to control which mime types Gallery understands.
5. Localization
   • Localized into Chinese (Simplified)
   • 6 localizations support 75% or more of Gallery.
6. Embedding
   • Considerable progress in the API and documentation.
   • Xaraya, PHP-Nuke, Tikipro, Drupal and Mambo integrations available in CVS.
7. Many, many bugs fixed.

Highlight of changes in Gallery 2 Beta 1 (Dark Fibre) +

1. Rewrite - New module for creating compact, search engine friendly URLs.
2. Recursively Add Directories - You can now add an entire hierarchy of images in directories at once. Gallery will turn each sub-directory into an appropriate sub-album.
3. Locking - New database locking system that allows Gallery to run properly on NFS filesystems.
4. Shutterfly - New module for printing photos with Shutterfly.com.
5. Classic Layout - New layout similar to the Gallery 1 top level album. Shows thumbnails, item details and a tree of links to subalbums.
6. Origination Timestamp - New field to store the date normally shown with items. The field is automatically set from EXIF data if available but can also be changed manually.
7. Resizes - Added support for both width and height bounds for photo resizes and scaling the original image.
8. Archive Upload - New module extracts files from uploaded zip archives and adds each to the album. Implemented to allow support for other archive formats to be added later.
9. Size Limit - New module to define maximum dimensions or file size of uploaded images.
10. Custom Thumbnails - Thumbnail module now allows uploading a custom jpeg thumbnail for any album or item.
11. Rearrange - New module allows rearranging the order of all items in an album at once.
12. Album Select - New module adds a select box for jumping directly to any album.
13. EXIF - Added ability to set item summary/description from EXIF description when new photos are uploaded.
14. Symlink - Option to add items using symbolic links to existing files on a unix server.
15. Sort Order
    • Two levels of sorting now supported.
    • New sort to always show albums first.
16. Image Block Enhancements
    • Picture/Album of the Day/Week/Month.
    • Option to omit certain albums from image blocks.
    • External image blocks using full size images.
    • Scale external image blocks to a specified maximum size.
    • Support for image frames around image blocks.
17. User Album Options
    • Create user albums when first accessed instead of right when the user account is created.
    • Show link to user album.
    • Jump to user album after login.
18. Embedding
    • Further improvements in the API and documentation.
    • Added support for search and image block.
    • Xaraya, PHP-Nuke, Tikipro and Drupal integrations available in CVS.
19. Multisite Support - The installer can now configure multiple independent sites using a single codebase.
20. Internationalization
    • Added basic support for right-to-left languages.
    • New MultiLanguage module adds ability to write captions in multiple languages and display them based on the selected language of each user.
21. Error Handling - Improved handling and display of error messages.
22. Bugs - Many, many bugs fixed.

Highlight of changes in Gallery 2 Alpha 4 (Nice Commits) +

1. Upgradeable Core and Modules - At long last we support upgrading from one version of Gallery 2 to the next. Unfortunately, this may not work reliably for all version before Alpha 4, so we recommend that you reinstall Alpha 4 from scratch just to be sure.
2. Module Uninstall - You can now completely uninstall a module and then delete it from your Gallery 2 installation.
3. Installer Improvements
   • The interface for installing modules is now much easier to use. It shows you all the modules and lets you sel