With that said....we refined things a bit more with this post...

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In reply to: BUD -- ** QUOTE **
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We're thinking along the same lines in regards to how it should work.

I can see this being used in the classified sections as well. We will probably need to enforce a maximum number of photos for the ads.

1. Upload a number of photos to a temporary directory creating thumbnails and full size images.
2. Write the text.
3. Inside the text, click a button to insert an image just as you would to add an icon .
4. Select an image from the uploaded group by viewing the images and clicking.
5. Upon saving, transfer the selected images to permanent storage as used by UBBT and delete the temporary image directory.


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OK....you're taking this in a slightly different direction...and it appears to be simpler. So let me see if I'm with you here...

1) The TON member does NOT create a Gallery Photo Album at all, but instead the photos are "held in a temp folder" that the TON member loads photos into.

2) Then the user assigns them to a position within a post...as you said, just like adding a smilie icon.

3) Then once they hit the POST button, the photos are captured into the default "UBBT Attachments" folder that all photos/files go to....and treated/regarded the same as any other attachment or in-line attachment?


If I've got that right, it's a heck of alot simpler to code, but may not be easy to manage.

As you're doing it, you really only need the thumbs for the user page where the TON poster "chooses" the photos, right? But wouldn't the thumbs also need to be stored, so the user can edit, add, remove, etc later?

Of course, we have to ask ourselves...how popular will this method of posting be?...and how often will a person who creates a thread want to go back and edit things?...and is it worth the effort to get complicated, or do we offer this feature as a "you can create a thread easy, but editing will require you to re-upload your photos again"??

For what the average person wants....I just don't know. Most of the time, simple is better...

And as we already know....the average user doesn't really need alot of fancy stuff...just tools that work.



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With that said, let me take it back to the UBBT/Gallery integration question --

My reasoning for creating an actual Gallery Photo Album first is to be able to pre-define all the variables and images.

It's been awhile since I worked in Gallery Admin settings, but as I recall, you can pre-define the sizes for thumbs, medium size, and large size...right?

If so, having those sizes pre-set for all albums would allow any User to use any album for a Ride Report....no need to create a specific set of "Gallery Albums for Ride Reports" category with a pre-determined uneditable profile.

The permissions may be the greater hurdle....and I'm not sure it's possible to integrate Gallery.

My first guess is to see if you can remove the permissions coding that Gallery uses now...and replace it with the permissions coding that UBBT 7.2 uses...or see if you can allow UBBT to set the cookie and pick it up from UBBT for Gallery?


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I've giving my original post some thought. Some of this may be repeating myself, but some is new --


1) Some how, UBBT would already have the User Permissions to integrate Gallery under the same Username.

Everything after this point hinges on the fact that ALL TON USERS would now be able to create and manage Gallery Photo Albums from their UBBT User permissions. That means a totally revamped Gallery interface...basically using the Gallery wrapper you used on TSCEC...or a new version of the old master UBBT empty template, right?

2) Some method (popup window) or a UBBT wrapper (look alike master template page) could be used to pull in the appropriate top level on a TON Member Photo Albums Index page that displays albums - and the thumbs inside of those albums - owned by that user.

3) They already have the Ride Report Album under their Username -- and use it as the "folder" to which they would "browse" and "upload" the photos they wish to include in the Ride Report thread...using your simple icon method to "add image file here"...(with some code to add two <break> tags above and two tags below the image file, for blank white space and to avoid wierd word wrapping issues?)

4) You can have UBBT pull the medium size image files from the Gallery database into the thread display on-the-fly, so editing later is unaffected....or....you tell UBBT to "copy and paste" the medium size image files in the default UBBT Attachments folder once the POST button is hit -- (whichever results in less server loads for each page load) -- and then if the post is edited later, have UBBT overwrite old file names or add any new files as needed.

This way, the user can GO BACK and change the content of the post or edit photos out or change them or rearrange them.


*****

Sorry to all of you here on the UBBT Forums if my post has been too longwinded, but I'm hoping it will give you insight into what we're trying to work out.

Thanks for any comments and suggestions...

Best Regards,

Bob Beamer
Spring,TX
TON Project Mgr.

http://www.texasoffroad.net/forum_php/ubbthreads.php?Cat=