Modify EE for use in Art Gallery

[byTe]

First off let me say that EE is a very sleek and professionally designed program. I have not found any other program that comes even close.

I have installed it in a test environment and I must say the installation went without a hitch.. and it ran first time.

Having said this, I now must absolutely get this converted for use in an Art Gallery environment.. lol

You mentioned that it would not be difficult to convert EE to other image database use.. but I dont have a clue where to start.

For a start I would want to change the following labels:-
1. Photographer ==> Artist ==> Popup ==> Biodata
2. Camera ==> Title of Artwork
3. Lens ==> Dimensions of Artwork
4. Date ==> Year
5. Basic Settings ==> Medium used

As for image sizes, I am really just looking at 2 sizes with no zooming needed:-
1. Thumbnails (about 80 -100 pixels wide)
2. Large ( about 400 - 650 pixels wide)

All changes made should be reflected across all functions, templates/displays including:-
1. Seach
2. Popup headings, etc
3. Comments
4. Etc, etc

I suppose I will have to go right into the database to make these changes. Please point me in the right direction and tell me if this is going to be a tough job.

I am thinking of implementing this for a non-profit government art gallery and I would really like to use your script for their permenant art collection which numbers about 2,500 pieces.

[kelvind]

Well, if you DO manage to get EE appropriately modified to be an Art Gallery exhibitor, I'd LOVE to hear about it! I had plans to do something quite similar. My oldest brother and his wife are both painters/artists, and I maintain their websites.

Most php-based gallery programs work really hard to add cutesy bells and whistles. "Rate This Photo!" "Post Your Comments!" Other stuff that is of ZERO interest to me/us.

What do I need?

Easy to add more stuff (by the artist, not the geek admin).

Easy to add/edit the ARTIST'S commentary (not the public's).

Easy to thin down the interface so it's just about THE ART, and not about the technology. Sleek. Elegant. Understated. EE was the closest thing I could find. That is, it LOOKS GREAT, and most of the noise can be turned off.

BUT... you add a new owner, and his name is "New Owner." You can edit this new owner's email address, web URL, and some free text about him. You can even select a location for the dude.

Um... hello?! Why not let me change his freaking name?! This is not good programming. It's lazy and short-sighted. Yes, I've got phpMyAdmin to go arm-wrestle with the database on my own - thank goodness. But come on... think!

I stumbled across a couple other things (latest RC as of this writing) that behaved the same way.

So... off I go, looking for something that is EASY for the artist to upload into, has ImageMagick (or whatever) scripting put in place to generate the various sizes needed on the fly, so someone without a Computer Science degree can deal with it's day-to-day maintenance. Then I'll hack it apart to take out the noise, and wrap it in a visually appealing front-end.

If I find something that really works, I'll gladly pay. People who write good software deserve the money. EE was almost it... almost. Wish it had been.

--KDO

[Pekka]

kelvind wrote:
Easy to thin down the interface so it's just about THE ART, and not about the technology. Sleek. Elegant. Understated. EE was the closest thing I could find. That is, it LOOKS GREAT, and most of the noise can be turned off.

BUT... you add a new owner, and his name is "New Owner." You can edit this new owner's email address, web URL, and some free text about him. You can even select a location for the dude.

Um... hello?! Why not let me change his freaking name?! This is not good programming. It's lazy and short-sighted. Yes, I've got phpMyAdmin to go arm-wrestle with the database on my own - thank goodness. But come on... think!


"Think McFly, Think!" :)

That bug in 1.3RC is fixed for next release. There you get to edit all users. But in 1.3RC, too, you may set default username (add user, edit it and select it in default photodata editor for that exhibition).

I stumbled across a couple other things (latest RC as of this writing) that behaved the same way.

Now is an excellent time to report all things that really bother you, as a big update in on its way.

So... off I go, looking for something that is EASY for the artist to upload into, has ImageMagick (or whatever) scripting put in place to generate the various sizes needed on the fly, so someone without a Computer Science degree can deal with it's day-to-day maintenance. Then I'll hack it apart to take out the noise, and wrap it in a visually appealing front-end.

In my view installing ImageMagick IS geek stuff and not daily bread for casual surfers. Nevertheless the next release will have a full set of features which include

- inbuilt ftp upload to size/thumb paths with GD/ImageMagick resize
- exhibition export to disk with userdefined settings
- optional photo commenting (with new "textual" rating system)
- full multilingual support in UI and database (as side effect this will let you redifine "photographer" to "artist" etc.)
- exif import
- ftp system makes poweful commands like "remove unused photos from all servers" possible.

Resizing is tied to EE path system so that you define ftp server (from dropdown), path to that size folder and resize method (size, sharpening), all in path editor. After you have set those up you can forget them and just select which size paths you want to use in upload screen. Folders are created if they don't exist. Ftp server list is defined in separate ftp editor where you have a choice to "remember passwords" or not (if not you need to type them in upload screen.

I decided to take the opportunity to add all these features now (despite 1.3 was in RC stage) as 1.3RC works quite problem free and all the above features are what you would essentially need anyway.

You will need ftp support, exif support and GD or IM to use all the new features but as latest PHP has GD included it is reasonable to expect that those requirements are met in most systems.

[byTe]

heyyyyyyy i started this thread.. lol.

i would really like to use your software. im sure you can point me in the right direction Pekka.

TIA ;-)

[Bundy]

Has anyone in this thread revamped EE for an Art Gallery yet? If so, is there a demo site in place to check out.

I am about to attempt the same revamp and I thought maybe we could compare notes...

Al Bundy

[Evanrich]

kelvind wrote:
Well, if you DO manage to get EE appropriately modified to be an Art Gallery exhibitor, I'd LOVE to hear about it! I had plans to do something quite similar. My oldest brother and his wife are both painters/artists, and I maintain their websites.

Most php-based gallery programs work really hard to add cutesy bells and whistles. "Rate This Photo!" "Post Your Comments!" Other stuff that is of ZERO interest to me/us.

What do I need?

Easy to add more stuff (by the artist, not the geek admin).

Easy to add/edit the ARTIST'S commentary (not the public's).

Easy to thin down the interface so it's just about THE ART, and not about the technology. Sleek. Elegant. Understated. EE was the closest thing I could find. That is, it LOOKS GREAT, and most of the noise can be turned off.

BUT... you add a new owner, and his name is "New Owner." You can edit this new owner's email address, web URL, and some free text about him. You can even select a location for the dude.

Um... hello?! Why not let me change his freaking name?! This is not good programming. It's lazy and short-sighted. Yes, I've got phpMyAdmin to go arm-wrestle with the database on my own - thank goodness. But come on... think!

I stumbled across a couple other things (latest RC as of this writing) that behaved the same way.

So... off I go, looking for something that is EASY for the artist to upload into, has ImageMagick (or whatever) scripting put in place to generate the various sizes needed on the fly, so someone without a Computer Science degree can deal with it's day-to-day maintenance. Then I'll hack it apart to take out the noise, and wrap it in a visually appealing front-end.

If I find something that really works, I'll gladly pay. People who write good software deserve the money. EE was almost it... almost. Wish it had been.

--KDO

Dude... you my friend.....are one of the biggest *******s I've ever seen/met. Pekka works extremely hard to design this program, and code it from the ground up. He didn't have to release it for others to use, but he chose to, to benfiit others out there that needed a gallery script. He puts all his own time, money and effort into designing this, and adding all the features that we keep asking for, when he doesn't have to even do that. He could easily set this up as a pay-to-play program,where the only way you could see a demo would be on his site, and to use it you'd have to pay and download it.. but he releases it for public usage, and asks for donations.

BUT....here you are, you come in like the troll you are and put him and his script down. Pekka works long hours on this script, and if you don't like it, don't use it, but at the same time, don't come in and trash him and his program. You think you can do better, I'll be the first to volunteer to test YOUR script....but I'm not holding my breath.


Pekka.... Excellent job, excellent script... If you ever need alpha or beta testers, coun't me in.. As soon as I either find a job, or get a few extra dollars to spare, I will be mailing/pay paling my purchase fee to you, plus some, since you work so hard on this program.


Evan

[Pekka]

Ok, this is a bit off topic but to clarify some things:

Writing applications is fast and easy
Anyone can program, right?

To build something like EE needs deep skills in MySQL and database design, PHP, HTML, JS, CSS, UI design... and time and planning, lots of it. As the project grows more complex, all changes must be tested and planned so that existing functionality and speed is not affected and all methods of working and viewing are familiar. This means essentially that if you make a mistake in initial design you'll be in trouble in two years. If you do things right it all serves the project well for years. That is exactly the reason back then it took 2-3 months to design/test the EE database structure, that is why EE 1.5 took almost a year to code and took my whole 6 week summer vacation to test and debug. And please remember I am a professional full-time musician and part time photographer, too. Most days I stop coding and doing EE support at 2 am.

Why this feature is done like it is?
"How stupid that this and that is not done the way I like it!"

EE is initially targeted to photographers who need a top class image presentation system for www. I try to add features which will make it as flexible and generally usable as possible so custom coding service would not be needed.

With templates, styles and languages you can morph EE 1.5 to an stripped down art gallery very easily. But as much I would like to I do not have time do a custom "fine art gallery EE" or "textile ordering system EE" just because you happen to want one. You have to take the first step, try it out, and I will guide you to it as much as I can.

Another matter is if you have a daily workflow problem, something is too slow or has issues, or you need a feature. Make a request and if it makes sense to the whole scheme I will most likely do it, as I have done with 1.5 betas. If you find a bug I will try to fix it as well as I can (I can always fix all bugs I can reproduce here).

[Evanrich]

Pekka don't worry about people like him... they have nothing better to do in their day except critisize people and their hardwork. Let us wait for him to invent his own art gallery script, just so he can see how much hard work it takes.


Good job once again

[seanspeng]

What ARTIST? What Art Gallery?!! I am really pissed off to hear such demanding and meaningless statements.

First of all, make sure that you know EE before you speak.

EE is for top class photographers or artist, but not for people as lazy as you just waiting for others to do all of the work for you! Spend some of your time read the posts and learn it!

EE is in beta testing stage, and if you want so many customization, then wait till its official release ask and pay our author to do this job, will you? Or add your suggestions to the Wish List post, not demanding here.

And let me conclude that YOU are really Short Sighted by starting a thread like this!

By the way, what makes a community valuable is its members and the culture. We welcome you to make your contribution to EE's development, but be gentle, ok?