I'm trialling a new easier photo upload system which uses FTP (File Transfer Protocol) software to upload the files rather than a web browser, and I'd like a couple of volunteers to help me test it.
The advantage of using FTP software is that it is much more reliable for uploading files - and you can queue multiple files to be uploaded and just let it run. This is ideal if you have a slower connection and can't upload multiple photos at once using the web browser, but if you do have a fast connection - it's even faster this way!
The problem with browsers is that there is a time limit on how long they can spend talking to the server - and if your files haven't uploaded within that time, they are abandoned and you have to start again.
Using FTP software, it is designed to stay connected for as long as it takes to upload the files - and even if your connection goes down or you have to go offline, you can just restart where you left off - no need to start the uploads from the beginning.
The basic process is this:
1. install the FTP software (any FTP software will do - there's literally hundreds of them out there) - I recommend FileZilla - The free FTP solution ... it's free and runs on Windows, Mac and Linux
2. set up a connection to my server (I need to create an FTP account for you and send you the details for how to connect)
3. transfer the photos to the server using the FTP software (I'll write instructions on how to do this - it's easy). I recommend doing them in batches based on the zoo they are from - this makes it a bit easier to put in the correct galleries
4. once the files are uploaded, go to the photo gallery and click on the "Upload Photos" link as you normally would, however, you don't choose a file to be uploaded as you normally would - you just click "Upload/Submit", and the gallery software checks your upload directory for photos and processes them in batches. You get to put a title and description for each photo as they are processed (up to 10 at a time), and if necessary, to change the zoo gallery each photo will be uploaded to. Processing time is quick, since there is no file transfer involved in this last step - the photos are already on the server!
... and that's it!
If you want to give it a go, send me a PM and I'll create an account for you and send you instructions on how to connect and upload.
The advantage of using FTP software is that it is much more reliable for uploading files - and you can queue multiple files to be uploaded and just let it run. This is ideal if you have a slower connection and can't upload multiple photos at once using the web browser, but if you do have a fast connection - it's even faster this way!
The problem with browsers is that there is a time limit on how long they can spend talking to the server - and if your files haven't uploaded within that time, they are abandoned and you have to start again.
Using FTP software, it is designed to stay connected for as long as it takes to upload the files - and even if your connection goes down or you have to go offline, you can just restart where you left off - no need to start the uploads from the beginning.
The basic process is this:
1. install the FTP software (any FTP software will do - there's literally hundreds of them out there) - I recommend FileZilla - The free FTP solution ... it's free and runs on Windows, Mac and Linux
2. set up a connection to my server (I need to create an FTP account for you and send you the details for how to connect)
3. transfer the photos to the server using the FTP software (I'll write instructions on how to do this - it's easy). I recommend doing them in batches based on the zoo they are from - this makes it a bit easier to put in the correct galleries
4. once the files are uploaded, go to the photo gallery and click on the "Upload Photos" link as you normally would, however, you don't choose a file to be uploaded as you normally would - you just click "Upload/Submit", and the gallery software checks your upload directory for photos and processes them in batches. You get to put a title and description for each photo as they are processed (up to 10 at a time), and if necessary, to change the zoo gallery each photo will be uploaded to. Processing time is quick, since there is no file transfer involved in this last step - the photos are already on the server!
... and that's it!
If you want to give it a go, send me a PM and I'll create an account for you and send you instructions on how to connect and upload.