Shared Library


Shared Library


On the Edit Collection page, Files tab, at the bottom of the page is this checkbox:

When ticked, all files directly loaded into that collection will be shown alongside files in lower-level collections which have Custom Lower Access enabled as "Hidden From Parent".

This feature is useful for school photographers who assign a unique secure Access Code to every student, which maps to a lower-level collection as shown:

Plato's Academy
top-level collection for entire school

2021-2022
sub-collection for year

Ms Smith
sub-collection for class
Checkbox ticked "Shared Library" and shared class photos uploaded here

Sally Sue
Lucas Loo
Maisey Moo
each student folder has Custom Lower Access = Hidden From Parent

With this setup, students who enter their Access Code are taken directly to their personal collection of photos, and the class photos from the Shared Library automatically appear there:

Notes on this feature:

  • Files are only repeated on lower-level collections which have Custom Lower Access (configured on the Access Rights tab). This configuration is popular with schools. If the visitor has open access to all lower-level and higher-level collections, then it tends to work better to just display group photos directly on the collection on which they are uploaded, and so we do not repeat files on lower-level collections unless they have this custom access restriction.

  • The Shared Library feature is only active when viewing a lower-level collection which uses an Access Code to allow visitors (i.e., cannot be Verified Email or Public) and the correct Access Code must be in the URL.

  • Shared Library files can be found on any and all higher-level collections; for example, a school crest and building photo could be shared at the top level; and an all-school photo shared at the year level; and then class photos as the class level. Students viewing their personal collections would then also see all photos from all shared collections.

  • All files are sorted according to your preferences (see My Images > Collection and File Defaults > Gallery Display Settings). You can adjust the Name and Display Order of shared files to make them appear at the beginning, middle or end of the overall photo set.

  • Shared Library files are sold and downloaded according to the per-collection settings of the lowest-level collection at which they are displayed, ignoring the parent collection settings where they are uploaded (if those differ).

  • If you make available the "Download ALL Files" sale product, it will apply to all Shared Files as well as the personal photos directly uploaded into the lowest-level collection. Thus a buyer choosing to purchase a download of all files will get all the photos he can see, including shared class photos, as the buyer would expect.

  • Shared Library files are ignored for purposes of selecting a default Gallery Image for each lower-level collection.

Related:
School access rights example