I've wanted to allow my friends and family to share their photos through Raminal.com for a while now but haven't had time to make it happen. For those of you that used the two previous versions of Raminal.com you'll know that this version is far superior. I re-wrote it from the ground up with the idea in mind that it would be more than a place for me to share my own photos.
Background
Over the summer I wrote a separate photo sharing site. I call it the Dynamic Photo Gallery because it doesn't
require a backend database like Raminal.com but instead acts like a spider and displays anything it finds throughout the folder structure. I built it to provide myself and a friend
the ability to easily share photos from our rides out through rural Iowa on our sportbikes.
The reason I bring this up is because I wrote a PC-based application specifically for that site to make it very simple to put up photos. The software automatically resizes our photos then automatically uploads them to the folders we specify. From there the web site itself automatically creates two separately sized thumbnails the first time you view a folder. It works very well and the folder structure is great. The only thing it lacks is searching.
I've modified this software to work with both Raminal.com.
Getting Started
I've provided a download link at the bottom of this page but first I'd like for you to read through this mini-tutorial to learn about how to operate the software
and also how to catalog your photos on Raminal.com after the software has finished processing them.
Quick Start Guide
Here are the quick and dirty instructions on using the software for those of you who don't want to read this whole page! After installing the software follow these steps.
In Depth
I've provided a download link at the bottom of this page but first I'd like for you to read through this mini-tutorial to learn about how to operate the software
and also how to catalog your photos on Raminal.com after the software has finished processing them.
After installing the software you will have an icon on your desktop and another in your Programs menu. To start using the software you can
either double-click it, like you'd expect, or you can also drop a folder on to it that has photos you would like to process. After the software has opened you can click on the folder box
or folder icon at the top to select a different folder.
Settings Screen Details
Below you will see a sized-down screen shot of the software when you first open it. I want you to notice a few things:
1. I opened the software by dropping a folder on to the desktop icon. You can see that folder's name in the Photo Source Folder text box.
2. By default the software will process all photos in the source folder.
3. If you would like to only resize and upload specific photos then click the Click here to select specific photos to process button.
4. In the Resizing Options you'll want to use the For Upload to Raminal.com option. This is the default option and hides more advanced options available in the software.
5. You may use the other Resizing Options if you would like. They will not upload to Raminal.com but it is possible to use them to simply resize a folder of photos and to also upload those photos to an FTP site of your choosing.
6. You must enter the e-mail you use with your Raminal.com account in order to be able to catalog your photos on Raminal.com. Uploading is not permitted by e-mail accounts that are not registered.
7. I have built a Live Update component in to this software. If you see the Updates are available. Click here. message then click it to be automatically updated with the latest version of the software. This will be used for feature enhancements and bug fixes.
8. I have built an Error Notification component in to this software. If an error screen pops up with a button to send me an error message then please send it so I can diagnose and correct the problem. The error message will also allow you to type in any notes about what you were doing when the error occurred and also for you to enter your email address so that I can ask further questions if necessary.
Advanced Photo Selection
When you open the Advanced Photo Selection screen it will load the first 25 images found within the source folder and sub folders. It may take a little time
to load initially and the first time you view each page of photos. The reason is that the photos must be cached as a thumbnail. Loading 25 high resolution images at once eats a lot of memory!
1. The < and > buttons on the top of the screen will navigate you from page to page.
2. The buttons Select All, Select None, Show Selected Only at the top will allow you to make selection easier.
3. By default all photos are selected and are all fully visible. To toggle a photo's selection just left click it. When a photo is unselected it will appear faded.
4. If you would like to see a photo larger then click the View link or right-click the image. To dismiss the large photo overlay click anywhere on the photo.
5. Once you are finished click the X button at the top of the form and the main window will come back up.
Photo Resizing & Uploading
After making your photo selections and closing the Advanced Photo Selection screen you are ready to process your photos. Click the Go! button!
1. Enter a name for your gallery.
2. Your e-mail is validated.
2. All of the selected photos are resized and stored in a temporary folder. Your original images are left unchanged.
3. The newly resized images are uploaded to Raminal.com and your gallery is created.
Maintaining your photos
When viewing your photos you will now see additional options in the Floating EXIF Preview window. For any photo you have uploaded you are now able to edit the description and keywords, rotate them 90 degrees clockwise or counter-clockwise and you are also able to delete them from the database.
Note: When rotating your photos you may need to clear your browser's cache in order to see the newly rotated image.
Software Download
To download this software you must be logged in.