Large Image Downloads

[Doc]

Hi All
I am building an Art Gallery...composing of 500+ images ...firstly..how do I download such a large quantity of images..
2. Obiviously , I need to have a lot of sections...so multiple sections rather then one huge..section
3. I would like the viewer to search by price range, painting type, painter etc...i guess I would need some drop downs which would then go off to the right sections...how do I do that?
4. My images are normally sent to me as tiff and then I crop them down with Photoshop to about 35k jpeg...is that ok for actinic or do they need to be smaller still...I read somewhere that actinic prefers a certain max pixel area..?
cheers
steve
PS I just downloaded the GNU equivalent of Photoshop, has anyone tried it..

http://www.gimp.org/

[jont]

4. maximum size.

The file size can be as large as you want but you have to consider page size and download speeds - especially if you have more than 1 image per page. The maximum pixel area depends on the Act_ProductLine layout you are using... by default about 150px wide seems acceptable. For a couple of products that are best suited to horizontal layout I created a modified product template so the image area spans the whole width of the table cell - I can insert and width of image so long as it is smaller than the size specified in ACTSWIDTH less some padding.

I presume you have a method of watermarking to prevent people borrowing your images? This is more important if you are using hi-res images which can be re-used elsewhere.

Not tried GIMP but the latest version has some great reviews


1. downloading 500+ images

where are the images at the moment? If they are on the server you can either grab via FTP or there are various utilities for ripping entire websites to your hard drive


2. multiple sections

deciding how to layout the sections and subsections is critical and needs careful consideration before you start. Make use of duplicates to cover all methods of navigation. Spend time talking to others on how they would search the site and also look at other gallery sites to see if they have a common layout - if you find a common style then that may be the way to go - no point re-inventing the wheel but you can add you own style.


3. drop down menus.

check out the advanced user guide for drop down navigation menus. again getting the layout of the sections right in the first place is paramount.

HTH

[Doc]

Hi Jont
Thanks for your reply...all the images are on CDs , so I have to download them from the HD...It seems I am gona have a lot of sections.....

[jont]

If on CD you only need to save the resampled files to say an images subfolder in Site1 - work on the original as save as a thumb and a larger version if you are going to be using "click for larger image" on the website.