One of the projects I’m working on involves a sort of image gallery. It will allow people to submit their own images, rate images, and track the most popular, either by download or rating. I could spend a month writing a system, or use one of the various image gallery systems already available. After searching around at HotScripts, SitePoint forums and a few other places, I finally decided to start by testing 4images Gallery.
4images Gallery is free for non-commercial use and uses PHP script and mySQL for the database. The program looks very solid, and my only hesitation in using it was that the system is developed by a German company and finding English-language support takes a bit of work. Not much; just a bit. In the end I had to download the core scripts plus an English language pack. I copied all the files to the free web site I setup up at www.1and1.com (an excellent deal available only through the end of this year).
Once the files are copied, you simply run the install.php and answer the prompts. You’ll need to know your mySQL database host name, database name and password, and setup an initial admin account for 4images. In literally a minute or two it was up-and-running. Very easy.
I was immediately able to create categories and upload images. But oddly, the thumbnail images weren’t getting created. I little investigation into the admin console and I found you first have to select which component the script should use to hand the image manipulation tasks. Once that was set, I was able to quickly and easily generate thumbnails.
You can supposedly integrate this to a small extent with Invision Power Board, but it really only amounts to sharing the membership directory. 4images can be skinned, but it does not leverage IPB skins.
Curious? Check out my test site and help me out by posting something, then leave some comments so I know what you love or hate about it.
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