A Pilgrim’s Digression

I’m testing out a couple new WordPress image plugins. One is called PhotoPress, the other is called Image Browser. So here are some pictures of our cat, Café au Lait. My sister-in-law gave her to us as a kitten in 1996, so she is getting older now. Here, she has been sleeping on Brendan’s bed, her favorite sleeping spot…because he never sleeps a whole night there!

Click on the thumbs for larger versions, if you want. Of the two plugins, I’m going to use Image Browser. I really thought PhotoPress was going to work like a charm, and it did (to a point). When I would click on a thumb, it tries to load the full size image in a new browser window formatted according to my blog theme. My blog theme is customized, and so the page rendered in a screwy, garbled way. The website says that PhotoPress works well with the default theme, but the plugin file “album.php” may need modification to work with my theme’s styles.

Sorry, but it’s not worth it to me. I want a plugin that just works (hey, I’m a Macintosh user, that’s just how we are). I mean, why not have the full-size images load in a blank browser window? Doesn’t that make the best sense?

That’s what Image Browser does. After downloading and installing the plug-in, first you have to make sure Uploading is enabled in your WordPress Admin page. Go to “Options,” then to “Miscellaneous.” “Upload” is the only thing under “Miscellaneous.” Choose your preferences. Make sure you enter the correct URI and the correct upload directory for your folders; follow the examples beneath the text box.

Then, when you open a new “Write” pane to make a post, you will now have an “Insert Image” link at the top right corner of the page. A pop-up window steps you through the process of choosing your pictures (they must already be uploaded via the “Upload” panel of your Admin page) and deciding how to display them. I chose to display mine as “Thumbnail with link to full-size image,” and most people will probably do the same.

The great thing is that when you upload your pictures in the “Upload” panel, WordPress gives you the option of creating your thumbnails right there, and it gives you three different sizes of thumbs to choose from.

Although it would be great if uploading images were a little more “built in” to WordPress, not to mention intuitive to use, once you figure out how to do it, uploading and displaying images isn’t too difficult. The ease with which thumbnails are created even makes up for any deficiencies in ease of use elsewhere.