Category name:
Give your category an appropriate name. Keep it short, as people will select it through a drop-down box.

Select groups for image manager use
Select the user groups that you want to be able to access the images in this category. These groups will be able to see and select images (for use in submissions etc.) but cannot upload new images. The Webmaster group has access by default.

Select groups allowed to upload images: 
Select the user groups you want to permit to upload new images into this category. The default is upload by the Webmaster group only. Typically upload rights are given to trusted (administrative) groups only. Bear in mind that if you allow the general public to upload images they may send in some offensive ones.

Max size allowed (kb):
It is useful to impose a limit on the file size for uploaded images. This prevents people from posting ridiculously large images that are difficult to download. The default is 50,000 bytes (it is not KB as stated, that is an error).

Max width allowed (pixels): 
Set a maximum width on images to preserve the integrity of your layout. Consider what would happen if someone uses a 1024 pixel wide image on your 800 pixel wide site! If you have a ‘standard’ size you like to use for your site this is a good place to set it.

Max height allowed (pixels): 
As above.

Display order in image manager: 
You can set the order in which categories appear in the image manager drop down box here. If you want to have some flexibility in ordering the categories, assign them order numbers in (say) multiples of 10. That way you can always come back and insert a new category between them.

Display this category? 
The default is “yes”. If you choose “no”, the category will be hidden when people access the image manager from the user side. This can be useful for hiding administrative categories from your users.

Images are uploaded to: 
There are two options here (and you cannot change your mind afterwards). You can:

store images as files in the uploads directory (default), or

store images as binary “blob” data in the database. 

The difference is that option two actually stores the image in the database, while option one does not (it stores a reference to the image location instead).

The advantage of option two is that when you back up your database you will back up your images as well. However, images take up a lot of space, so your database file will be much bigger. If your website is hosted remotely and you have to download the backup file it will take a lot longer.

Once you have created some categories they will appear at the top of the image manager page in the system module. Each category has links to three options alongside it:

“List:” 
This will display a list of the images in the category, along with their details. You can edit the name and display order of images here. You also have the option to reassign images to a different category, to show or hide them, and to delete them.


“Edit:” 
This opens the configuration options for the category so that you can change them.

“Delete:” 
Select delete to remove a category. If you are storing images as binary blobs in the database this will delete them permanently. If you are storing images as files in the uploads directory, your images will still be in the that directory (though they won’t be available through image manager). 

Adding image files through the control panel

You must create at least one category before you can upload images.

Field Description

Name: 
Give your category an appropriate name. Keep it short, as people will select it through a drop-down box.

Category: 
Choose the category that you want the image to be assigned to here.

Image file: 
Press the browse button and navigate to the image that you want to upload.

Display order in image manager: 
You can set the order in which images appear in the category here. If you want to have some flexibility in ordering the images, assign them order numbers in (say) multiples of 10. That way you can always come back and insert a new image between them.

Display this image? 
The default is “yes”. If you choose “no” the image will be hidden when people access this category from the user side.

Adding image files

The image manager can be accessed by the user in some modules such as news, downloads, links, forums and many others. This allows people to illustrate news stories and other resources that they submit. It is accessed by pressing the image manager button available in the submission forms of relevant modules:

The Image manager opens in a new window. Users can select image categories via a drop down box. The categories that users can see depend on the group to which they belong (and on the access rights that have been granted to that group).

When a category is selected a list of images is displayed along with three ‘alignment’ buttons (left, centre, right). Users choose an image to insert by selecting the appropriate alignment button next to it. This inserts the tags and URL needed to display the image into the submission form the user is working on. The window closes automatically.

If a user belongs to a group that has upload rights, an ‘Add Image File’ link is also available in the Image Manager window. This displays an upload form that allows users to name and browse to an image that they wish to submit. It also displays the constraints on image dimensions and file size that have been set for that category.
Xoops online documentation on Image manager.