jAlbum Tutorial: From Import to PublishjAlbum is a powerful tool for creating customizable photo galleries and publishing them to the web. This tutorial walks you through the full workflow — from importing images to publishing a finished gallery — and covers practical tips on organization, templates (skins), image optimization, metadata, and deployment options so your galleries look professional and load fast.
What you’ll need
- A computer running Windows, macOS, or Linux
- jAlbum installed (download from jalbum.net)
- A collection of photos (or a folder structure with subfolders for albums)
- Optional: an FTP account or web host for publishing (or use jalbum.net hosting)
1. Project setup and interface overview
When you open jAlbum you’ll see a workspace with three main areas:
- The left panel — folder/project browser and album settings.
- The central panel — the album preview and project contents.
- The right panel — image properties, metadata, and skin (template) settings.
Start a new project by creating an empty album folder on your disk and opening it in jAlbum (File → Open folder or drag the folder into jAlbum). Each album project corresponds to a folder; jAlbum reads the folder contents and treats subfolders as sub-albums.
2. Importing images and organizing folders
- Add images by copying them into the album folder on disk or by dragging files/folders into jAlbum.
- Maintain a logical folder structure: e.g., “2024-07-Trip / Beaches”, “2024-07-Trip / City”.
- Use subfolders to represent separate galleries — jAlbum will create an index structure automatically.
- Recommended file organization:
- Keep original RAW/large files in a separate “masters” folder if you want to store high-resolution originals.
- Work with web-ready copies in the album folder to avoid regenerating huge images repeatedly.
Practical tips:
- Rename files consistently (YYYYMMDD-description.jpg) for predictable ordering.
- Use numerical prefixes (01-, 02-) for manual ordering where needed.
- Remove or exclude any images you don’t want in the public gallery.
3. Image editing and optimization
jAlbum includes basic image processing; for advanced edits use a dedicated editor (Lightroom, Capture One, Photoshop) before import.
Inside jAlbum you can:
- Set crop/aspect ratio, rotate, and apply simple exposure or color adjustments.
- Auto-enhance images in batch.
- Set image titles and descriptions (right panel) which will appear in captions or image pages.
Optimize for the web:
- Target image sizes (long edge) between 1200–2000 px for good balance of quality and bandwidth.
- Use JPEG quality around 75–85 for galleries where visual quality matters and file size should remain reasonable.
- For thumbnails, let jAlbum generate them automatically — thumbnails are much smaller (e.g., 200–400 px).
To change output sizes and compression: open Preferences → Image settings (or Skin settings if skin exposes those options). Some skins provide advanced image delivery options such as responsive srcset.
4. Metadata and SEO
jAlbum can read EXIF and IPTC metadata from images. Populate titles, captions and keywords either in your image editor before import or use jAlbum’s metadata editor.
- Titles: short, descriptive — appear in image pages and help accessibility.
- Descriptions: longer text that can include context or stories.
- Keywords: help with on-site search (if your skin supports it) and provide structured info for visitors.
For SEO:
- Edit album title and description in the Project settings (left panel → Album information).
- Use descriptive file names and alt-text (jAlbum pulls from titles/captions).
- Enable unique page titles and meta descriptions in the skin settings where available.
5. Choosing and customizing a skin (template)
Skins in jAlbum determine layout, behavior, and aesthetic. Start with a skin that matches your needs:
- Simple grid gallery: great for photography portfolios.
- Slideshow-focused skins: good for presentations or client proofs.
- Magazine or masonry skins: better for mixed-size images and variety.
To change skin: select a skin from the skins tab or download more from the jAlbum skin gallery. After selecting:
- Adjust skin settings in the right panel: thumbnails per row, spacing, text overlays, lightbox style, navigation.
- Many skins let you customize fonts, colors, and mobile behavior.
- Preview updates instantly in the central panel — jAlbum regenerates the preview when you change settings.
If you need deeper customization:
- Skins can be edited with HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Duplicate a skin before editing.
- Use the skin’s configuration and templates to add or remove elements (e.g., social share buttons, watermarking).
6. Adding interactivity: lightboxes, slideshows, and search
Most skins include a lightbox for viewing larger images and slideshows with transition settings. Enable or configure these in the skin options.
- Lightbox options: caption display, full-screen toggle, keyboard navigation.
- Slideshow: autoplay, transition speed, and loop options.
- Search: some skins include search across titles/descriptions; enable if you want visitors to find images quickly.
Consider adding:
- Social share links or download options (check skin features and legal/privacy considerations).
- Password protection or limited-access features via hosting provider or server-side settings (jAlbum itself does not provide server-side authentication).
7. Creating thumbnails, albums index and navigation
jAlbum automatically builds thumbnail pages and index pages for folders. You can:
- Control thumbnail size, number per row, and spacing in the skin.
- Edit custom index pages by adding text files (index.txt or index.html depending on skin) or using jAlbum’s page editing features.
- Use “Album cover” to pick a representative image for each folder.
Navigation tips:
- Keep breadcrumb navigation enabled for multi-level albums.
- Provide a clear “back to top” or home link on image pages.
- Use consistent captions and small descriptions to help orientation.
8. Previewing locally and testing responsiveness
Use jAlbum’s internal preview to check how the gallery looks on desktop and mobile. Also:
- Open the generated output folder (Preview → Show folder) and test the index.html in several browsers.
- Resize the browser window to test responsive behavior; check images, menus, and lightbox on small screens.
Test performance:
- Run simple checks on image load speed; if slow, reduce image sizes or increase compression.
- Verify that thumbnails load quickly and that lazy-loading (if enabled) works correctly.
9. Publishing options
jAlbum supports multiple publishing methods:
- jAlbum’s hosting (jalbum.net)
- Simple: create an account and publish directly from jAlbum.
- Good for personal galleries and quick sharing.
- Offers basic management and password protection options depending on plan.
- FTP/SFTP to your own web host
- Configure publishing settings (Project → Publish → Add site → FTP).
- Enter host, path, username, and password; test connection and publish.
- Useful for full control and custom domains.
- Local output for manual upload
- Generate the gallery to a local output folder and upload via your preferred method (SFTP, control panel).
- Choose this if you maintain deployment scripts or use a CMS hosting platform.
- Git / Static site hosting (Netlify, GitHub Pages)
- Generate static files and push them to a repository or platform.
- Configure continuous deployment for automated updates.
Publishing checklist:
- Confirm the site URL and path are correct.
- Make sure the correct index.html is in the site root (or subfolder where you want the gallery).
- Test links and media after publishing; clear caches if changes don’t appear.
10. Advanced tips and automation
- Batch operations: use jAlbum’s batch metadata and batch image operations to speed up workflows.
- Watermarking: enable skin or pre-process images to add watermarks if you want to protect images.
- Responsive srcset: if your skin supports srcset, enable it so browsers pick the optimal image size.
- Backups: keep a copy of your original images outside the album folder.
- Version control: store project settings and output in a git repo for rollback and collaboration.
Example automation: a photo shoot workflow
- Import RAW to archive folder.
- Edit selects in Lightroom and export web-sized images to the jAlbum project folder.
- Update titles/keywords in Lightroom or jAlbum.
- Select skin and publish via an FTP profile.
11. Troubleshooting common issues
- Images missing after publish: check that output folder included the images and the publish path matches your server directory.
- Slow loading: reduce image sizes, enable lazy-loading, or choose a faster host/CDN.
- Broken links or missing CSS/JS: ensure all generated files were uploaded and relative paths match the server layout.
- Incorrect thumbnail ordering: ensure filenames and folder sorting are as intended; consider numeric prefixes for custom order.
12. Final checklist before sharing
- Confirm titles, captions, and metadata are accurate.
- Test the gallery on desktop, tablet, and phone.
- Verify publish destination and that the site is reachable.
- Check privacy settings if you’re publishing private or client work.
- Keep a backup of originals.
jAlbum can simplify building attractive, responsive photo galleries while giving you detailed control over output. With careful organization, sensible image optimization, and a skin that matches your goals, you can move from import to publish quickly and with professional results.
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