Gagala News (G-log #3)

An example of how to use the search function of the new Secret Lair v2.5 are the Xmas pictures that will soon be available in the galleries for supporters. The harmless versions are in the "Harmless/Seasons" folders, but the alternate versions will be in the "KP&Co./Seasons" folders. To get them all together, just type the beginning of the filename of the version you want, and you will get all the images in a row. Click on one of them and you can view or download it, or start a slideshow with only the result of the search (runs once with a delay of 5 seconds). When you leave the view, you will return to the search results.

The link to the complete new Secret Lair is now at https://gagala.org/Lair/ with all pages. The folder "Public" contains the normal Secret Lair for public access. Each level has it's own site in "Silver", "Gold" or "Platinum".

The passwords haven't changed.

This jAlbum application can create ZIP files containing all currently visible files, but not the subfolders. There will be no more all-in-one ZIP files.

The new public Secret Lair is complete and running, but still in test mode.

Of the three special folders, only the Silver site is already active, but in test mode, and a lot of files still need to be added. All JPG and PNG files created with a vector graphics program will be re-created as WebP files. What will happen to the older files will be decided individually. This will take a lot of time and I will alternate it with the current comic project.

If you remember the first version of my Secret Lair that ran with jAlbum and wonder why I don't just use that layout, it's because it's no longer available. The new layout was the best I could find, not perfect, but it works.

If something bothers you, let me know. I will try to find a solution.

Thanks for your support and patience.

The first part was pretty easy, a lot of copying, but I didn't put much effort into the look. If you like, you can have a look at the new Secret Lair v2.5 as a public version.

The Special Folders will look the same, but first I have to check ALL files to see if they are available in a larger or WebP version, and the missing files have to be produced. Not all files will be available in 4k or even 8k format, because they might have been created with a pixel oriented program and to increase such a file has limits in quality, 4k might be possible (depending on the file) but 8k is not. That's why files from the past will probably be missing.

Please note that the "NEW" tag is now on ALL files. This application sees uploaded files as new and doesn't care about the creation date.

This jAlbum application can now create a ZIP file of all files on a page, but not the subfolders. Nevertheless, I will create monthly all-in-one ZIP files from each main folder. jAlbum can display ZIP files just like PDF and video files.

I can't tell if I can make the folder thumbnails look better, or change the image thumbnails to a full view instead of a snippet. I'm still testing.

If you have any suggestions or criticism about this new lair, contact me and let me know.

Please and thank you.

Yep, it's time to roll your eyes again. Especially the long time supporters among you will be shaking their heads and wondering if this time it will finally work. Over the years I have tried a lot of software for my Secret Lair and they all disappointed me more or less. Sometimes it was just a little thing that didn't work the way I wanted it to, so I threw it away. Like the current version 2.4 with software from Zenphoto, which apparently has problems with large files and animated WebP images.

There are a lot of applications on the web, but I don't have the time to test them all. Maybe you remember my first version of the Secret Lair, made with the freeware jAlbum, but almost no software runs standalone these days, and when some necessary programs changed, the freeware didn't work anymore, so I had to switch and switch and switch, a mess. The current status is that I will go back to my roots, I bought a lifetime license, which isn't really one. After one year the updates will run out (August 6th) and I would have to buy again, but I will only do that if the old phenomenon of the software not working because of other software comes back. GAGALAND already works with jAlbum.

Why I didn't switch to jAlbum already is easy to answer: It doesn't work as one folder with access control for the special folders. The solution will be to create four folders, one for public access and three for each supporting tier. This will certainly be a lot of work, but a solution was overdue.

Currently I can't say when I will work on it and how long it will take, but I will try to do it as soon as possible. As usual.

Thanks for your understanding, patience and support! Bear hug!

P.S. In case you have any proposals for changes of the Secrete Lair, please contact me.

The main problem with such a test is that I can't point the finger at the problem, whether it's the latest version of Piwigo, or its extensions, or my web server, or again the PHP version. It was incredibly slow and I couldn't work with PDF, animated WebP and mp4 files. And before I waste my precious time trying to get it to work, I quit and wait for the next version. This damn PHP is really getting on my nerves. Better luck next time.

There have been a lot of gallery applications that I have tested to get the Secret Lair running smoothly, with a working user management and the ability to display all the necessary file formats.

Among these applications was Piwigo, but at that time it was not able to work with WebP formats. Now I have read that this application is able to work with WebP format, so I have to test it, especially if it is able to show animated WebP images. Although the name of this program is a bit unfortunate, it sounds like "pee we go" (sorry), but as long as it works, I don't mind.

So today I am going to test it and I will let you know if this is going to work. Keep your fingers crossed, please and thank you!

The old special folders (gagala.org/2k, /4k and /8k) are accessible again, the web provider had to do a reset.

Thank you for your understanding and patience!

It was just a small bug that will be fixed in the next version of HTMLy. I have a lot of usernames registered in my web browser and for better distinction I like to add a suffix to the username, like gagala_htmly. This caused an error. I renamed my username and removed the suffix, now everything runs smoothly. Thanks Dan for helping me so quickly, great job!

Short info about the OLD special folders of the Secret Lair: Still no help from the web provider.

Due to circumstances beyond my control, the OLD special folders (gagala.org/2k, /4k and /8k) are currently inaccessible. All I can do is set the passwords, and I've tried several times, but the system just won't accept my input. The service team of my web provider has been informed. I will inform you as soon as the problem is solved.

Thank you for your understanding.