Community @ The Turning Gate

Similar to the closed thread below, I am new to CE3 (Had autoindex and gallery plug-ins some years ago, but I haven't kept them up to date so I'm starting again...).

I have just started putting the site together, and reading through the various installation sets for each of the packages.

It's a bit difficult for a beginner trying to figure out what order to install, and which ones to install, and what order to install them in.  Also, there are some decisions that need to be made as you go along that beginners might need some help on up front, which could be included in an "Installation Overview"  that could be included in the publisher package.....

OK, so something like this.....

Hello, welcome to the publisher combo.  As you have bought the combo package including the publisher add-in, we are going to assume that you will be installing that module, and using publisher to manage the ongoing maintenance of the photos on your website.  Great!  We will show you how to set that up.  There are some other decisions you will need to make as you set up your website, including:

1.  How you want to set up an auto-indexed photo gallery.  Option 1 is to use CE3 Pages, and Option 2 is to use autoindex.

     Pro's/Con's etc go here.

2. Setting up the modules so they share setup parameters between modules, so once you have the main site looking the way you want, how to get the other modules to follow the same format.  This is optional, so you'll need to decide which way you want to go.... etc etc

3.  Do you need a shopping cart on your website?  If so, you'll need to install ce2 cart.

4.  Are you comfortable manually uploading files from your computer to your website, or do you wish to use lightroom's upload feature (pro's con's etc etc.)?

5.  And finally, do you wish to upload PHP files (Optional).  Pro's /Con's etc.

end of questions    --------------------------------------------------------------   

OK, now that you have answered these questions, we are going to lead you through the basic steps in installing and setting up your website.  So, next steps...

1.  For this installation, we are going to assume you will be using the enclosed plug-ins to do all of your website publishing, i.e. no third party plug-ins.  Therefore, you don't need to install the autoindex enabler plug-in.  Also, you don't need to install .....  (all that apply).

2.  So here, you can list the components that need to be installed based on the above answers.

3.  Next give instructions (or refer to the docs already done) on how to install the desired components, and in which order (if it makes a difference).

4.  Here I would suggest talking about the website directory structure needed to run the components desired.  If the user is going to upload each of the module files manually, describe the directory structure needed to place the files in their correct locations.  If the user is going to use lightroom's ftp feature, advise what directory structure needs to be input at the bottom of the right panel next to the ftp site so the files end up in the correct location.

5.  OK, here I would present the basic steps in setting up each component in the appropriate order (i.e. set up pages first, upload, review layout, modify, etc, etc until you like what you see, save the template, then go to autoindex, set it up , etc etc....  If you are sharing resources between modules (Q2), I assume that you won't need to set any of  (or some of) the paramaters after installing Pages, if so, explain this etc.

6.  Get the website and the gallery section working the way you want to see the format.  Then move on to setting up the publisher etc etc.... and using that feature to upload and manage albums and album sets.

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I am not experienced enough to be able to write the above instructions, but I'd humbly like to suggest that this would assist newbies such as myself that want to install these components as an integrated package.

Rod Barbee has got it mostly here in his instructions on the other post, see below, but it could use a bit of explanation on the overall directory structure on the website.....

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Rod's Notes:

Unless you're also going to use the TTG CE2 Cart, you can ignore all those plug-ins that have CE2 in their name.
TTG CE3 Pages creates the framework for your site. Style it the way you like. Export from Lightroom, this creates a folder with all the needed files and folders. Using an FTP program upload the contents of that exported folder to the root of your site.
Publisher needs to be installed differently than the other plug-ins. Sorry, but the best explanation for how to do that is the documentation.
Basically you need to install the plug-in itself using Lightroom's Plug-in Manager.
The folder named "publisher" needs to be uploaded to the root of your site.
CE3 Gallery will be used to create templates which Publisher can then use to create Albums. Style CE3 Gallery the way you like. Export from Lightroom and upload the entire exported folder to the /publisher/templates/ folder on your site.
CE3 Autoindex will be used to create templates which Publisher can then use to create Album Set. Album Sets are used to further organize your albums.
Style, Export, and then upload to the /publisher/templates_autoindex/ folder.
From the Lightroom Library module, go to the Publisher Services control pane to set up Publisher. I can't explain that any better than the documentation, so I'll refer you there again.
After you've set up Publisher, use it to create an Album. Add pictures to the album and click the Publish button.
Album Sets are created the same way as Albums only you can't add pictures to them. Instead you can create Albums within them. You can also drag existing albums into Album Sets from Publisher. Whatever you do will also be done on the server.
Autoindex Enabler is used if you're creating non-TTG galleries that you want an Autoindex to "see". You cand use those galleries with Publisher. If you're not going to create any galleries other than TTG galleries you can ignore Enabler.
Viewport Sizer simply lets you set up a Lightroom working space so you can see how your site will look on different devices.

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Anyone else out there that could use this type of overview??  And thanks Rod for what you've done already it's helpful for sure!!

John