SmugMug Feature Requests

Andy · December 26, 2007

Got an idea? Give it to us here

All of us at SmugMug read this thread - and we crave your input - nothing too small or too big, so don't be shy.

Prior Threads:
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=71342
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=57396
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=47572
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=40139
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=29858
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=23482
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=1349

FRs implemented from the prior thread:

MacDaddy improvements
Featured Gallery box improvements
Add holiday cards

When I close the old thread, and start a new one, you can all be certain that the summary of feature requests has been shared with the entire team :deal

jfriend · December 26, 2007

Here's a few responses to your closing postings in the now closed feature request thread.

Andy wrote:

Quote:
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td class="alt2" style="border: 1px inset ;"> Originally Posted by jfriend

jfriend sort-by-Adobe Bridge-rating request

</td> </tr> </tbody></table>

I thought about this some more, we'd have to extract and store that rating field into our database. Not trivial, but be assured, I've made sure the team has seen this.

When users of Lightroom, Elements and Bridge have spent a fair amount of time applying ratings to their images, it would be great if that information could be used in the Smugmug viewing experience. This seems like an interesting opportunity to build some new and differentiated features in Smugmug. Sorting by that information is just one possibly usage (the one that seems the most important to my event shooting) of this information - I could imagine many others. In some respects this is the "photographer's" version of popular images.

Andy wrote:

Quote:
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td class="alt2" style="border: 1px inset ;"> Originally Posted by tleveque

-Real support of UTF-8: You said that support of UTF-8 is implemented, but it is still impossible to use it in Category names. I tried with some accentuated characters and it was rejected.
</td> </tr> </tbody></table>

Can't do this yet as the category names (and keywords, for that matter) become parts of URLs. And then the URLs would/could bust.

I don't think you have this quite right. The category name in the URL would just be URL encoded to protect the UTF-8 characters, the same way it gets encoded today if the category name has a space in it. This seems quite doable if you thought it had an appropriate priority.

Andy wrote:

Quote:
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td class="alt2" style="border: 1px inset ;"> Originally Posted by bkatz
Can we also get the invites to use our vanity names instead of the gallery number?
</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
They do <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/thumb.gif" border="0" alt="" >

I think you misunderstood what they were asking for here. Since they asked for a vanity name instead of a gallery number, I think they were talking about a vanity URL, not a cname.

Andy · December 26, 2007

jfriend wrote:

Here's a few responses to your closing postings in the now closed feature request thread.

When users of Lightroom, Elements and Bridge have spent a fair amount of time applying ratings to their images, it would be great if that information could be used in the Smugmug viewing experience. This seems like an interesting opportunity to build some new and differentiated features in Smugmug. Sorting by that information is just one possibly usage (the one that seems the most important to my event shooting) of this information - I could imagine many others. In some respects this is the "photographer's" version of popular images.

I have passed it all on to the team, John. My comments shouldn't be read into in terms of what we may or may not do with the feature request

I don't think you have this quite right.

John, I reported back what our engineers have told us. I'm sorry

BigAl · December 26, 2007

Not sure whether this was in the buried thread, but it would be nice to have a warning pop up if one tried to do a non-compatible file upload. On several occasions I've tried to upload my editor-specific files (.pspimage) by mistake and after 10 mins realise something was wrong when the upload wasn't finishing.

[Always have - and probably always will - use old faithful for uploading.]

Andy · December 26, 2007

BigAl wrote:

Not sure whether this was in the buried thread, but it would be nice to have a warning pop up if one tried to do a non-compatible file upload. On several occasions I've tried to upload my editor-specific files (.pspimage) by mistake and after 10 mins realise something was wrong when the upload wasn't finishing.

[Always have - and probably always will - use old faithful for uploading.]

I'm sorry this isn't possible, I've asked.

Why do you use Olde Faithful? The new simple uploader is very feature rich, and reliable. Curious

jcdill · December 26, 2007

Andy wrote:

I'm sorry this isn't possible, I've asked.

Can you have the uploader at least give a warning if the filename extension isn't on the "approved" list when the file is added or uploaded? That would catch 99.99% of mistaken uploads of the wrong file format. I'm sure some "wrong format" files will slip thru because the filename extension is of an approved format (e.g. a .psd format file with a filename extension of .jpg), but all files with "regular" filename extensions will be properly accepted or warned.

Andy · December 26, 2007

jcdill wrote:

Can you have the uploader at least give a warning if the filename extension isn't on the "approved" list when the file is added or uploaded? That would catch 99.99% of mistaken uploads of the wrong file format. I'm sure some "wrong format" files will slip thru because the filename extension is of an approved format (e.g. a .psd format file with a filename extension of .jpg), but all files with "regular" filename extensions will be properly accepted or warned.

Hi, some do (like the Mac Daddy) but others can't or are limited in that regard. Thanks for the great feedback!

BradfordBenn · December 26, 2007

Web Templates via Dreamweaver or other HTML Authoring Tool
Howdy-

Not quite sure if this one has been viewed elsewhere. It would be cool if one could download the style and CSS sheets in such a form that they could be edited via an HTML Authoring Tool (i.e. Dreamweaver for me) so that one can do lots of previews and customizations in an offline status and then upload to the site so that it all starts working.

I have read the customization instructions and stuff, I would like to be able to do testing "offline" so to speak and then put it all up. Even if it was just dummy pictures for the place holders.

ivar · December 26, 2007

BradfordBenn wrote:

Howdy-

Not quite sure if this one has been viewed elsewhere. It would be cool if one could download the style and CSS sheets in such a form that they could be edited via an HTML Authoring Tool (i.e. Dreamweaver for me) so that one can do lots of previews and customizations in an offline status and then upload to the site so that it all starts working.

I have read the customization instructions and stuff, I would like to be able to do testing "offline" so to speak and then put it all up. Even if it was just dummy pictures for the place holders.

Hi Brad,

Unfortunately, this can not be possible, as (nearly) all the pages are dynamically created. Also, you, as SmugMug user, are only able to change portion of the pages, not everything.

The closest you can get is to use FireFox and the Web Developer Extension. You can use CSS, see the changes (and save it locally) before you commit the changes to your account.

Sorry I don't have a better answer for you.

BradfordBenn · December 26, 2007

ivar wrote:

Hi Brad,

Unfortunately, this can not be possible, as (nearly) all the pages are dynamically created. Also, you, as SmugMug user, are only able to change portion of the pages, not everything.

The closest you can get is to use FireFox and the Web Developer Extension. You can use CSS, see the changes (and save it locally) before you commit the changes to your account.

Sorry I don't have a better answer for you.

I kind of figured that and I have been using your directions on how to do this using the CSS sheet, but figure it never hurts to ask. I have still not made any changes yet on my pages mainly cause I haven't figured out what I want to change yet.

ivar · December 26, 2007

BradfordBenn wrote:

I have still not made any changes yet on my pages mainly cause I haven't figured out what I want to change yet.

yeah, knowing what to change is essential before you start changing things. Make sure you have a good plan first. Need inspiration? If you need help, let us know in the customization forum

jcdill · December 26, 2007

Andy wrote:

Hi, some do (like the Mac Daddy) but others can't or are limited in that regard. Thanks for the great feedback!

Andy, I don't understand this answer. I understand that some tools (like Mac Daddy) do this already, and that some others are "limited in that regard" because of how they are (currently) programmed. I don't understand why you "can't" change the ones that are not properly programmed.

Are you saying that SmugMug's ace coders and crack programmers mad coding skilz aren't good enough to every file transfer tool you provide to do this simple task? You have some of the most amazing programmers and coders around! Your servers use your own customized file system. If your crack programng/coding team can write their own server file system, I just don't understand why they can't code a simple filename check routine before initiating a file transfer. This little thing can't really be too hard for them, is it?

Andy · December 26, 2007

jcdill wrote:

This little thing can't really be too hard for them, is it?

Yeah for some of the apps, it is. I'm sorry I don't have a more complete & thorough answer for you - I'll try and get one of the Sorcerers to comment.

Luc De Jaeger · December 26, 2007

Holiday cards feature request
I ordered the holiday cards and found the quality of the photos very sharp and absolutely state of the art.

They are way superior to what I got from other services!!!

However, I wish the holiday cards could be set up in another language too (the fixed merry christmas words for instance should be available in other languages too like Dutch, French or German). ALL holiday cards should be available in other languages, or better still, people should be able to write their own texts in whatever language so that ALL the holiday cards can be written in the native language for whatever holiday or whatever event or festivity (not related to birthdays or Christmas alone)!

Luc

Allen · December 26, 2007

Luc De Jaeger wrote:

I ordered the holiday cards and found the quality of the photos very sharp and absolutely state of the art. They are way superior to what I got from other services!!!

However, I wish the holiday cards could be set up in another language too (the fixed merry christmas words for instance should be available in other languages too like Dutch, French or German). ALL holiday cards should be available in other languages, or better still, people should be able to write their own texts in whatever language so that ALL the holiday cards can be written in the native language for whatever holiday or whatever event or festivity (not related to birthdays or Christmas alone)!

Luc

No reason you can't download the card and edit whatever you want and
upload in other languages like Dutch, French or German.

guy · December 26, 2007

"Show in multiple Galleries"
In the Gallery tools drop down menu I'd like to see the option:
"Show in Multiple Galleries"

Once clicked this would then show a list of your galleries and you could click another (or several) galleries were you wanted to show a copy of the same photo!

I know we can do this now with "Make second Copy" then "Move Photos" so it's no great shakes would just be a nice addition & save a few clicks

..

Cheers.

Zanotti · December 26, 2007

Best of Request
http://digitalgrin.com/showthread.php?t=79601

An interesting discussion and request.

BigAl · December 27, 2007

Andy wrote:

I'm sorry this isn't possible, I've asked.

that's sad

Andy wrote:

Why do you use Olde Faithful? The new simple uploader is very feature rich, and reliable. Curious

Goes with my BC background (see avatar

). When something works for me, I'm like the Titanic - need an iceberg to make a change

[I promise I will look - I even promised myself I would look at Devbobo's uploader when it first hit the streets

]

Erick L · December 27, 2007

guy wrote:

In the Gallery tools drop down menu I'd like to see the option:
"Show in Multiple Galleries"

I agree.

Maybe I'm doing something wrong but I can't "save settings below as" a name that already exists in the bulk settings in gallery customization. If I do a small change, I have to save under a new name and redo the bulksetting procedure, or delete the old name, save again with the same name and then redo the whole bulk setting procedure. Would be nice to be able to save to a name that exists and the changes would automatically applied to the galleries that use the settings under that name.

BTW, when I do a bulk setting, it seems some galleries slip out and the bulk setings are not applied to a few.

BigAl · December 27, 2007

Andy wrote:

I'm sorry this isn't possible, I've asked.

Why do you use Olde Faithful? The new simple uploader is very feature rich, and reliable. Curious

Just tried it

UGH: FLASH - no go in my books...

BradfordBenn · December 28, 2007

RSS by Gallery
Howdy-

It would be nice if one could do an RSS feed by gallery, including private ones. Here is the use case I am trying to figure out.

There are family galleries, pictures of my niece and nephew, that are not public. It would be nice to get an RSS feed for that gallery so that I can know when it has been updated.

jfriend · December 28, 2007

BradfordBenn wrote:

Howdy-

It would be nice if one could do an RSS feed by gallery, including private ones. Here is the use case I am trying to figure out.

There are family galleries, pictures of my niece and nephew, that are not public. It would be nice to get an RSS feed for that gallery so that I can know when it has been updated.

You can do RSS feeds for private galleries. Smugmug won't show you the URL for the feed like they do for public galleries, but if you take an RSS feed for one of your public galleries and just change the gallery number in it to match the gallery number of the private gallery, it will work. I am using an RSS feed to a private gallery in a wireless picture frame and it works fine.

The gallery number is the part of the URL to your gallery in bold below (after gallery, before the # symbol) http://jfriend.smugmug.com/gallery/3310411#184751174.

rolette · December 28, 2007

Inspired by using SmugMug with a wireless photo frame
In the process of setting up a wireless photo frame I got for my wife for Christmas, there are a couple of enhancements I'd like to toss out there:

1) I can't find any way to setup an RSS feed for all of my photos (ie., not tied to a particular gallery, keyword, recent update, etc.). Just let the feed work across my entire collection.

2) My first work-around to not being able to do a "all of my photos" RSS feed was to create a special gallery that I'll create copies of the specific pictures my wife is interested in. Right now that is a 2 step process... Use photo tools to make a 2nd copy of the photo in the original gallery, then use Move Photos to put it into the target gallery.

Any possibility of a new photo tool that makes a copy, but inserts it directly into a target gallery? Seems like a generally useful option.

Thanks!
Jay

Andy · December 28, 2007

From the last FR thread, just improved today:

Eriktank wrote:

I absolutely love Smugmug and all the customization features - it's a geek's playground...

I do have a pretty serious issue with it however. I am/was a flickr user as well - and like to have my own admin interface - meaning no restrictions. Currently the admin interface is identical to what the end-user/client/customers see... Is there a way to change a few things?

Original file downloads - I want to block them from everyone, but still have the option of seeing them if I want too without customizing the gallery and yadda yadda back and forth... It would be nice for the admin, as well as others trustworthy to be granted a guest admin password so they could have access to all the original sized photos too. This brings me to another problem....

Right clicking. I want it to block everyone else, but not ME. I am the copyright holder, I am the person who CAN right click - but it still blocks anyone - is there a way to allow right clicking while logged in as admin/guest?

Statistics - exclude my clicking from the statistics, or make it a definable statistic with a drop down asking to include my actions or disregard? I'd like to see what is popular in OTHER people's eyes, not just my own...

So my current three requests are:
Original File sizes availabled to logged in admins
Right Click blocking override for admins
Statistics to have option or permenantly ignore admin's surfing

What do you think Andy? Thanks for this awesome site and all the amazing support.

We now do NOT count your own views as hits.

This count for arranging, using photo tools, etc too.

largelylivin · December 30, 2007

Feature Request: Non-Profit/Friends License and Pricing
I do events, some for non-profit/not profitable organizations like clubs. I'd like to see a third licensing option and pricing option for clients for which neither "personal" and "commercial" licenses are quite applicable. For instance, I recently shot a class reunion and while I want to sell to individuals I wouldn't mind giving the organization small images for their webpage/newsletter, but I want the license to say that they cannot sell or give away copies of the images.

Andy · December 30, 2007

largelylivin wrote:

I do events, some for non-profit/not profitable organizations like clubs. I'd like to see a third licensing option and pricing option for clients for which neither "personal" and "commercial" licenses are quite applicable. For instance, I recently shot a class reunion and while I want to sell to individuals I wouldn't mind giving the organization small images for their webpage/newsletter, but I want the license to say that they cannot sell or give away copies of the images.

Thanks for the request

jaseone · December 30, 2007

I suggested this via email but will post it here as well so others can see it:

One feature that would be great is if the Email gallery
could also be set to post to your Twitter.com account, which is
functionality I currently use twitterfeed.com for but that only checks
the rss feed for that gallery every half hour where it would be great
to have it post to twitter in near real time.

Basically what twitterfeed does is poll the feed of my email gallery
rss feed every half hour and when it finds a new photo it posts to my
twitter with: a link to the photo?
". Would there be any chance of getting similar functionality in
SmugMug itself?

Greywolf123 · December 30, 2007

I was wondering?
I was wondering and I know there’s been a lot of other people asking to and I just want to kind of put an end to the wait and see. Will you be adding another tier to the directory structure? Because the whole work around just seems to complicated and time consuming. And you know I'm lazy and rather be out shooting then figuring out CSS and Java stuff.

~Owen

lildude · December 31, 2007

FR to make it easy to find and view FRs
Maybe I'm missing something, but is there a single location that lists all the FRs people have made, that is actively updated and used?

Whilst the forums are a great place to discuss feature requests, they're not the best place to actually search for FRs that have already been made (and thus prevent duplicate FRs).

I know at one point FRs could be made via SmugBugs, but they seem to have disappeared with the move to the new Wiki. (The BugReporter page on the old wiki is now blank too).

Andy · December 31, 2007

lildude wrote:

Maybe I'm missing something, but is there a single location that lists all the FRs people have made, that is actively updated and used?

Whilst the forums are a great place to discuss feature requests, they're not the best place to actually search for FRs that have already been made (and thus prevent duplicate FRs).

I know at one point FRs could be made via SmugBugs, but they seem to have disappeared with the move to the new Wiki. (The BugReporter page on the old wiki is now blank too).

We do it here. And I summarize as much as possible when FRs are turned into features

Thanks for the feature request!

brianb · December 31, 2007

Bulk [...]
I'm pretty sure some of these have been mentioned before, but anyway...

1) The addition of "Hide Photo" is a good step, but could be improved by:
a) give some obvious indication to the album owner which photos are hidden when they're browsing the album (a small overlay on the thumbnail corner, for instance)
b) Bulk Hide Images. This would make it easy to see all images in a album, indicate which ones are hidden or not, and make to easy to just go through and click click click... save to change a whole bunch of images to hidden/not hidden.

2) Copy Album/Gallery. I like to upload a private album for each shoot for backup/order photos for me & family, but then for some albums I'd like to make images from it available for sale/public, but not with all the same images. It would be great to just say "Copy Album", and it creates an exact duplicate with a different album name ("Copy of ..."). Then it would be easy to go into the new album, remove images that I don't want public, and change the album settings. Currently I'd have to reupload the images (never make me reupload the same image!) or do "Make 2nd Copy" for each image and then move them (what if there's hundred's of images? Yuck!)

3) Image Make 2nd Copy (Bulk). Same reasoning as #2, but sometimes it'd be easier to just do mulitple images at once instead of the whole album.

4) Image Copy To... (single image and bulk versions.) Instead of the 2 step process of Making a 2nd Copy and then Moving the Image to a new location, combine this into one step.

All these should be easy enough, as I've started using the API to create my own interface to do these exact things!

5) Allow album owners to rate images 0-5 stars themselves (display of these ratings to the public can be a setting to toggle). It'd also be nice if this rating could be picked up from images exported from Adobe Bridge/Lightroom (although that's stored in XMP metadata not EXIF I believe). I currently go through images from a shoot, rate/flag them, export them, then upload them to smugmug (into a personal private gallery). Now see #2/#3 above (Copy Album). It'd be a whole lot easier for me to copy the best images into a public gallery if they already had the ratings from Lightroom (or if I could go through once and rate them). I'd also be a good option to sort images in a gallery by their rating. Currently I'm trying to compare filenames or pick & choose and its not very efficient (And reexporting/reuploading is impractical. I already uploaded the exact image I want to use, don't make me upload it again!)

Thanks for reading!
Brian

SmugMug Feature Requests

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