Overview

The ImageManager Module allows you to manage all your images, graphics and photos in one simple area online! With the ImageManager, you can easily upload, view and edit all your valuable photos in one place. Think of the ImageManager as a large central repository or "library" of images, which you may reference anytime, anywhere using a simple web browser. The ImageManager also manages your centralized Images database and contains information and paths to all your photos uploaded and stored inside ImageIsland. With the Image Manager, your photos are centralized and your complete library is always available via the web. Come here first whenever you need to manage your images.

In addition, because the ImageManager controls all images uploaded and managed in the web site, all other areas and modules in the site will use the ImageManager's database of images. This gives you the freedom to upload as many images as you like into the ImageManager without having to worry about the format they are in, the sizes, the dimensions, or which images are displayed publicly to others (unless you allow public access to the ImageModule itself, as described above). As you use other modules in your web application, those module will be able to access the ImageModules repository of images as stored in its database, and share them out in all kinds of creative ways, without affecting the ImageManager's central repository of images. So, any changes to any image in the ImageManager affects all images it shares with its database to all other modules. Keep this in mind as your library of images increases and you begin to add new modules and assign images to various modules, independent of your personal master library. So, the ImageModule is a very simple tool for managing lots of images that are available for to the other modules in your web application.

Viewing Images

When you first visit the ImageManager, you will see an "eye" icon in the upper left hand corner of the toolbar at the top. This is the main image viewer for the ImageManager Module. This tool bar icon allows you to access thumbnail and list views of all your images. As you manage your images you will use this area more than any other. So, just remember the "eye" gives you access to views of all your images quickly. The ImageManager Module also comes with several other dropdown "views", which allows you to control how your images are listed in the web application. You may use the views dropdown to choose one of the available views. Each one has its advantages. The default is thumbnail view, which shows tiled and paged sets of image thumbnails in the web page. This is the most visual and popular of the view types. The other views allow additional ways of viewing your images and may be helpful to you. When you come to this page and change views, the system will retain the preferred view for through the life of your session, so returning to this area will always show your images in your last chosen view.

In addition to views, you will see a sort dropdown list. The sort allows you to sort your images in different ways so that you may access certain images more quickly using various criteria. The default is to always show the newest images first. Other sorts may be helpful to you in getting to specific types of images, sizes of images, names, etc.

Next, you will see a numerical paging toolbar. This gray toolbar allows you to quickly access "pages" of images. Because only a certain number of images are displayed per page, managing hundreds of images is much easier using this paging system. Click a number to go to that page of images, once you have several hundred images added. The paging bar will increase its numbers, with each number representing anywhere from 20-200 images in your system, depending on the type of page and view you are seeing.

Finally, you may notice the "refresh" button. This button may be clicked if you have lots of images, but feel one or more may be missing from the display. The system stores image references in memory after pulling them from the database and allows the system to manage thousands of images quickly this way. Sometimes the indexer doesnt record the latest images added by others using the system, so pressing refresh makes a fresh call to the database, updating the memory manager that indexes your files in the display.

Viewing an Individual Image

In any view inside the ImageManager, when you click a thumbnail of an image, or a text link to an image, you get to view that image full size. When you go to view an individual image, a new toolbar will appear at the top with new icons. Because you upload all images as they are originally (not resized) what you see is what you get as far as size. Some images may appear very large here. Others may appear very small. Check you image pixel dimension before uploading, remembering that on the World Wide Web, digital media display sizes are based on pixels and monitor resolution combined. To help with views of very large images, the ImageManager comes with a "rescale" and "resize" tool. Each is unique. The Rescale icons (eyes) allow you to visually change the size of the image in the interface, without changing the original file physically. For large images this is especially helpful in scaling them down to a smaller size so you can view them in your browser window. Each of the "eyes" allows you to get smaller and smaller. The Resize tool (box with arrows) is different. It allows you to physically alter your original image and size your image down to a smaller, more manageable size. You may find that you have some very large images that you only need as small photos. Resizing them changes the pixel dimensions so they fit better in the browser to your viewers, as well as speeds up the download and view speed as the file size is smaller in kilobytes on the server. Remember, resizing is permanent. Its often a better plan to rescale your images first before uploading to increase the upload speed. But you have the option to do that here from the web site, as well. Be sure you understand the difference, however, between rescale and resize.

Besides the size and scale tools, there is an edit button. Click the edit tool to take you to the edit area. This allows you to see a box to the left that displays info about the image, such as its size and dimensions, etc. You may add a name and description to your image, which may or may not display with the image in various parts of the product (depending on what area of the product you are in and version of software you are using). In this module, those names and descriptions are helpful in the text listing views of images, so you can quickly identify images by name or description if needed. The name and description may also appear in some ImageWebPage templates, so adding those to your image is generally a very good practice, and helps you track and archive your images on the server as more are added.

Also at the top of the edit view area is a purple circular arrow. Clicking that will rotate your image 90 degrees to the left or clockwise. Keep clicking to align you image as needed. Many digital cameras create horizontal image views which you have to turn your head to see. This handy tool was created for those people who may be uploading right off their digital camera into the product and need a quick way to quickly rotate their images. Clicking this tool permanently rotates the image. Like rescaling, it does affect the original image. Rotating also saves the original in its new rotation, adds the new dimensions to the database, and recreates its thumbnail in the new rotation.

Uploading Images

The ImageManager Module also allows you to upload new images into your web site. You may upload images from your computer to your web site and server using the file upload system under the "Upload" button and blue arrow icon. In the upload area, you will see ten upload file fields, and a submit button. Simply choose images you wish to upload by clicking "browse" buttons in the ten upload buttons found in the Uploads page, then clicking "upload images" to upload these images from your computer to the server. Please be patient while your images upload to your site.

*Note: Dialup users may have to wait some minutes when uploading very large files. To prevent this, please reduce the size of your image before uploading. The same applies for images several megs in size over a broadband connection. Its possible that large numbers of very large images may "time out" on the upload process. To prevent this, again, please resize your images when possible to a smaller size.

After the images are uploaded, the system will refresh and you may see a message at the top that describes which images were successful and which could not be uploaded. The system will refresh the page and will then generate thumbnails for all your images automatically.

*Note: During this process DO NOT CLICK ANYWHERE IN THE INTERFACE, as the system needs to complete both the image upload process and the thumbnail creation process! Doing so will stop the thumbnail creation and/or database save processes on the server, and you will have to reload your images.

Upon completion, the upload page will return you to your page and indicate that upload is complete, displaying a green checkmark and message. After completion, your images can be seen by clicking the "eye" or view images button in the toolbar at the top. You may have to click the last paging numbers in the paging toolbar at the top to see the latest images you just added, if you changed your sort dropdown earlier. Simply click the sort dropdown and choose "newest to oldest" and submit. New images may be clicked in the display to view, or edited by clicking edit. The new images are now in the ImageManager Module and ready for viewing and sharing!

Because uploading files to a web server can be problematic, we have listed some additional support information below in order to assist you with any problems you may experience.

Troubleshooting Image Uploads

* You may read our section below if you are having any special issues with uploading your images or creating thumbnails:

• Supported File Formats: This version of the application is designed to support only those image formats that display in most current browsers, and without the support of third party plugins. These generally include JPEG, PNG, GIF, and BMP. Many other image formats are not supported by your browser for visual display, so have been excluded in this version. This includes file formats like TIFF, PSD (Photoshop), TARGA, PICT, Paint, RAW, many others. Keep in mind this is by design as the ImageManager is designed for web viewing, and these other image formats are not visually displayed by current web browsers. If you need to convert files before uploading, there are many great desktop software applications to assist you with that process.
• Original File Formats Retained: On uploading an image, the original image format, size, dimensions, and file name are retained exactly as you created them. The exception would be if you have "illegal characters" used in your image name (like quotes, etc.). Some characters may be stripped out so the file paths work in a users browser and display in the interface correctly. No conversion, compression, or manipulation of the original image is ever done, except to store the image on your web site and server exactly as you created it. For that reason, its important that you resize and rename your images as needed before uploading. After upload, certain tools in the interface will allow you to manipulate the image (i.e. rotate tool, etc.) But essentially what you upload is what you get!
• Image Thumbnails: In this version of the application, all thumbnails are created for you as new images based on the original image, when possible. Thumbnails are automatically created for you after the initial image upload is complete. The thumbnails are generally created as 80 x 80 pixel thumbnail images.
  *Note: Because a small ASP.NET web page performs this function, your web server must support ASP.NET as well as ASP, and have full read/write permissions assigned on the main ImageIsland folder for both the anonymous IUSR account and the ASP.NET worker process account. Without those permission applied to all files inside the ImageIsland folder, the web site and upload area may not function correctly. If, after uploading a file, you see a white box with missing thumbnail icon for your image in the ImageManager after upload, there may be a problem with the .NET permissions. Please contact your ISP or Web Host Provider and ask their support team to add these permission on yur web site's ImageIsland physical folder and all child folders, if you still see errors in the web site.
  These thumbnails, when created, are currently created and stored as JPEGS. Some image formats do not convert to the thumbnail format created in this web application. Conversion to the thumbnail format used in this application may cause issues with some types of 8-bit color JPEGS, certain GIF (including some animated formats), PNG files, some color indexed images, and other compressions. If you see thumbnails missing for some images you upload, this is expected for these formats. When the system can create a thumb from the image you upload, it will be shown in the image view area. If not, a placeholder image will be provided. You may still click that item to see the image full size. Note: The system uses a small JavaScript call to process the web page upon completing your inital image upload. If you have disabled JavaScript support or your agent does not support JavaScript, you will see a button you may still physically press to trigger the thumbnail creator script when upload is complete. In general, most browsers will skip this process and automaticfally create the thumbnails for you as well as upload you image, all in one easy process.
• Large Files May Not Upload: Large files take longer to upload and some very large images uploaded on dial-up may time out your connection to the server before the file is completely uploaded. Edit the size and dpi of your images before uploading to reduce their size whenever possible, especially if you are using a dial-up connection. Smaller photos are better in that scenario and on the web in general, when showing to others online. In all cases its always better to upload images 4 megabytes or less, or less than 1 megabyte when possible, so users who view your images online do not have to wait long periods of time waiting for their browsers to download images to them from your site. If you and your visitors have broadband connections, then larger file uploads and views will be possible. Even then, very large images will appear too big for the browser display. So, smaller images are better in all cases, when uploading to your web site. Keep that in mind when creating images on your desktop that will be uploaded into ImageIsland.
• Check your Host Provider for File Space Allowed: Because the practice of uploading and storing large amounts of images on a web server takes up space on your hosted web site, you may quickly exceed the allowed space on your host provider's server account you have with them, and your upload process may fail. Please check with your web site host provider first to see how much hard drive space in megabytes or gigabytes they allow for your web site as found under your hosting contract with them. Make sure you have plenty of hard drive space before uploading large volumes of images to your site. The same rule applies to gigabytes of downloaded files allowed. Most host providers also allow so much download bandwidth. Make sure you also have enough bandwidth to present your images. The web application cannot control those factors, especially if your host provider has systems in place that disallow you to upload additional items once you reach your maximum allowed.
• Check your Host Provider for Read/Write Permissions on your Web Site: If you have any problems uploading images to the server (errors listed at the bottom of this page), or they do not appear after uploading, check to make sure your web site has write permissions set on all folders inside this web application. Contact your ISP or the host provider for your web site and request that they give the ASP.NET (ASP_NET or NETWORK_SERVICES) and anonymous user accounts (IUSR) full write/read/delete/folder permissions on the server for all folders and files inside the ImageIsland web application. The same permission changes apply, in general, to all errors related to reading and writing to the module databases, as the web application uses MSXML to manage and write to the database, and will need those same anonymous and ASP worker process accounts given full permissions on the folder and file permission settings as well, to function correctly.
• When I upload my files or press submit, it says successful, but nothing has changed, or no images show up? The reason that nothing appears when you upload files is because your web site folder on the web server does not have the right "security permissions" setup. You Web Site Host Provider must go on the server and give the IUSR and ASP.NET accounts read and write permissions for the "ImageIsland" (or your product's folder name) physical folder, and all child folders under it. This will allow the web application and its processes on the web server the right to store image files, write xml data, create thumbnails, and rotate images. Without these permissions setup correctly on your web site server, your web site pages cannot perform these tasks. Because these permissions apply to a whole host of security processes controlled by the company that hosts your web site, we cannot affect these changes. They are a part of the security tied to your Host Provider and the Web in general. Please contact your ISP and request that these changes be made on your web site.
• When I upload my images, only images less than 200 kb are uploaded. This is a security restriction in Windows Server 2003. To fix this, make sure the IIS web server is not restricting the size of ASP uploads. IIS 6 (Windows Server 2003) has a limit of 200 KB for ASP requests in general and file uploads in particular. To remove this limitation in IIS 6, your ISP or Web Site Host Provider will need to edit the Metabase file on the web server itself, which can be found at c:\Windows\System32\Inetsrv\MetaBase.xml. Follow these steps: go to IIS and right click the server, select properties, and check the box "Allow changes to MetaBase configuration while IIS is running"; if after this step the metabase file is still locked, try turning off IIS or even restarting the machine in safe mode; open the file in an editor; the variable AspMaxRequestEntityAllowed limits the number of bytes in the page request (by default 200KB); change the value to 1073741824 (unlimited) or to a limit of your choice; check whether the same variable shows up in other places in the file. If your ISP will make this change, then files over 200kb will upload correctly.
• Final Note: If you have any additional problems or errors uploading images, it is mostly likely due to a setting on the web server. Make sure ASP and ASP.NET, version 1.1 or later, are enabled on your web site first. Then, make sure the problem is not related to a permission setting on the physical ImageIsland folder stored on the web server where your web site is hosted. Please ask you ISP to add write permissions (or priveleges) for the "IUSR" and ASP.NET user identity accounts on your ImageIsland folder and all sub folders and files. Please read the "INSTRUCTIONS.txt" file in the root web folder for ImageIsland, or visit our FAQ and Support areas at http://www.giantisland.com/, for more information.
• Copyrights and Your Responsibility: It is the users responsibility to make sure that no copyright infringements occur with the images they choose to upload to this system. The creator of this software (GiantIsland LLC) is not liable for or responsible, in any way, for infringements of any kind or damages that occur to other groups or peoples, from the storing or uploading of files using this software, which may or may not involve copyrighted material or patent infringments related to files uploaded to this system. All images and files stored and used in this software by the user are the sole responsibility of the user(s) of the software. By using this software, the user agrees to these requirements and stipulations as defined in the license that comes with this software.

ImageManager As Image Portal

Besides being a central repository for photos, the ImageManager may also be used as a quick image viewing tool, or even a portal area for sharing large volumes of photos with others. Even though the ImageManager is designed as a management tool only, and not a "viewer", you may decide the ImageManager is all you need for viewing and sharing images uploaded by yourself and your users. Any web visitor can access the ImageManager by default, if given "public" access (using the Security Module). All users who use the ImageManager as a public module and without a login can upload any image they want and see all images uploaded by all public users. However, if you choose to secure the ImageManager Module by making it "private", you can then assign specific users to the ImageManager so that they can add, edit, and delete their own images managed inside your module. For this reason, the ImageManager is considered a "portal" for managing not just your own personal library, but that of others as well! To enable other users to use your site in this way, it is better to secure the ImageManager so that only you and your select users have access to the ImageManager. This way, you can manage all your images securely without the risk of others changing your images, or those of your users. However, if you are in an intranet environment, or feel secure with allowing others the ability to add their images publicly to your library without a login (public portal), then you may allow others to access the ImageManager and upload their own images to the application in that way. In that situation, the ImageManager becomes a true open portal for the upload and exchange of images. Keep in mind again, when the module is publicly accessible without a login, all users can upload and all users can delete and view all other user's images, including your own!

For more information about Securing ImageIsland, visit the Security Module and read about securing modules and assigning users to those modules.

New Modules!

The ImageManager works best when combined with other modules, which allow you to access images from the ImageManagerModule (i.e. ImageWebPages Module, etc.), secure them behind a login (i.e. Security Module), or extend their use into future modules you add to the product. Always keep in mind that each module in ImageIsland is designed to serve a small set of functions, but which combined with other modules, enhance the final web application and extend its feature set into new and more exciting areas. Together, modules make the site do what you need it to do! So, look for newer modules at our web site, as they may have newer features you have been looking for.

You may download new modules and skins, as well as get more information about this product and others we offer by visiting us online: http://www.giantisland.com/

Overview

You may use the ImageWebPages Module to share your photos with others online. It's main purpose is to help you display and share your images online with others! To do that, this module allows you to access images you manage in the ImageManager, but then attach those images to select "Web Image Pages" you create in the Module. Think of an Image Web Page as a "gallery" or "photo album". The difference is with web pages, they are both photos galleries and web site pages! Once created, those special web pages hold just the images you assign them, and are ready for public viewing. After assigning images to these web pages, you may then email or link to these unique web pages from anywhere on the Web, and easily share your photos with friends and family. You can also use these managed pages from within your actual web site on the server. There are tons of creative ways you use ImageWebPages! Its easy to share images online with the ImageWebPages Module.

Image Web Pages

The ImageWebPages Module has two main icons at the top. The first, called "Image Web Pages", is the default page area you will see when you first come to the ImageWebPages Module. The Image Pages page contains a list of all Image Web Pages you have created. You may create hundreds of Image Web Pages here. You may also name them, view them, share them via email, and delete them as needed. This single area allows you a simple but powerful means of managing lots of web pages of photos quickly. The second button, or "Add A Page" icon, allows you to add a new Image Web Page to the listing.

When you first come to this area, there will be no pages listed, so press the "Add A Page" icon at the top to create a new Image Web Page.

After your first page is created, it will appear in the list at the top. You will see two special form fields in that page listing. The first allows you to type in a "title" for your image page, and the second a "description" for your page. The title appears at the top of your image page and allows you to tell your users the general subject of your image collection in the page. The description also appears at the top under the title and allows you to talk in detail about the images found in the page. Both, in general should be short, as its usually the images people want to view. A picture is worth a thousand words, as they say! After typing in your text into these two fields, you may press the "Update" button to the right of the two fields to save your text to the database.

Besides changing a title and desciption for you page, the ImageWebPage Module comes with design "templates". You will see a dropdown list with "default" selected by default in your page listing. This is the "Template Listing" dropdown selector, and contains pre-built design web page templates for displaying your photos. You may choose from 10 different templates, besides the default template. Each page template is different and is carefully designed to allow very different views of your photos. You can choose a different template then press "Update" to save this template with your Image Web Page. As you add images to your web page, the template will take care of displaying them for you. After you add images to your Image Web Page, you will be able to preview what they look like in your template of choice by pressing the "view" icon in your page listing.

After changing text in your image page, and choosing a template and updating your web page changes, you may click any of the links to the right in the list to do other tasks related to your web page setup. These include the "view" link, which when clicked, pops up your new image page in preview mode. If you like, you can view your page in this web popup, then copy the URL in the address bar of your browser and use that when linking to your new image page. Other icons in your page listing include "email", which when clicked, pulls up your default email client on your computer using a simple "mailto" and adds your Image Web Page link on the Web, to the body of your email. This convenient tool allows you to send out your page via an absolute Web url, to others via email. Users will get your email with the text link. When they click the link in their email, it will open the default browser on their computer and the Image Web Page will appear there. They can view your images in the page instantly! Finally we have the "assign images" link and "delete" link. The delete link deletes your page from the system, and allows you to retire old image pages as needed. When you do so, remember, you are not deleting the images attached to that page, as they are still stored and managed centrally in the ImageManager Module. You are just "flagging" the current image page as deleted in the XML database. There is also a "disable" checkbox link for your web page. When clicked, it grays out the row, and instantly disables your web page without deleting it, allowing you to perform updates, change images, change templates, or just disable the page permanently so others cannot access those photos.
The "assign images" is a special area and described below in more detail.

*Security Note: Keep in mind that even though the ImageWebPage Module can be secured behind a login, all Image Web Pages inside the module are always public and accessible to everyone that knows the url to the image page. Because each page has a special unique "id" assigned to the end of the query string for that url for that page, its not possible for others to easily change that string and access image pages not sent to them. So, there is a level of security in who is allowed to view your image pages. When you send a select group of people one page, and another a link to a second page you built, you can be sure that neither will be able to surf to the other's page. Without the unqiue id of each other's page, those pages are not viewable by others. Also, keep in mind, if you use the Security Module to "lock down" and make private the ImageWebPages Module, anyone trying to access that module will be forced to login. If they cannot login, they cannot access the module and add and change your image pages. However, actual image pages you created, are always publicly accessible and are NOT tied to security in ImageIsland. In other words, you can lock people out of the module, but the modules image pages you create and share are still always publicly accessible. This allows you to control who creates and manages your pages but keep open all pages created as publicly accessible. As mentioned above, becuase of the unique id system, its unlikely others will be able to get to pages, unless you share that URL on the web or link to it from another web site. If you get to a point where you need to limit access to an Imager Web Page, simply disable the page, create a new one with similar images, or delete the page altogether. You have a lot of flexibility. Finally, keep in mind, as you add users into your system, you can assign users to the ImageWebPages Module. In doing so, those users will be able to create and manage their own Image Web pages separate from others in the system, and share them with their own audience online, independent of what you or your other users are doing in the module. As Global Administrator, as always, you can login and see all your user's Image Web Pages, and can delete or disable them as you like.

Add an Image Web Page

As mentioned above, click the "Add A Page" icon at the top when you want to create a new blank image page. When you do so, you will be taken to the image listing again, and a new empty page will appear at the top of the list, ready to be edited.

Assigning Images

The "assign images" link found in the image page listing next to each page is the most important feature of the ImageWebPages Module. After you create your image page, you will need to assign images to that page. To do so, simply click this "assign images" link. When you click this link, you will be taken to a special image assignment web page in the ImageWebPages Module. Here, you may assign images to your new page from your image library (as managed by the ImageManager). To the left you will see a thumbnail view of images already assigned to your image page. This represents a thumbnail image page of the images you have assigned to your image page. Initially, for new pages, this should be empty. If you have been adding lots of images to your page, you will see thumbnails of those images here. The "paging" toolbar at the top works just like the pager in the Image Manager. It allows you to surf through groups of images assigned to your image page quickly. If you have, say, 100 images assigned to your image page, and only 20 are shown per page, then in the assignment area you will see numbers one through five representing five groupings of images assigned to your image page. In this area, to the right, you will see thumbnails of images found in your image library, and which are ready to be assigned to your Image Web Page. You may click the "quick add" button for the image to assign it to your image page. Doing so, you should see that image now appearing to the left, indicating you have assigned this image to your image page. Keep in mind each image page may access all images in the system. Assigning any image does not in any way affect other image page assignments. In addition to the quick add button, you may click the checkbox for multiple images, and then in the middle, click the gray button entitled "Add". This allows you to assign batches of images quickly from your libary to your page. When you assign an image from your library to your page, it is removed from the display panel to the right, so that you dont get confused and assign it multiple times. Also, you may remove images the same way you assigned them, from your page, using quick remove and the checkbox batch removal button. Finally, remember, if you disable or delete an image from your library in ImageManager Module thats been assigned here, it will be removed from all image pages. Use the disabled or deleted features in the edit view of the ImageManager to temporarily remove that image from all other modules in the system, including the ImageWebPages Module. This system allows you to manage a lot of images and who sees them from the ImageManager Module.

Sharing Your Image Web Page

As mentioned above, sharing images with others is easy using the Image Web Page system. Once you have created your web page, chosen a template, and assigned your photos, you are ready to share your web page with the world! To do so, you have several choices. First, you want to preview your new page of photos. To do so, go back to the Web Page main listing, and click the small white page to the right of the disable checkbox. This is the "view" icon and when clicked, opens a copy of your new Image Web Page template and all its assigned photos. This shows you how the page will look to your viewers. To share this page, you can email it to a friend by clicking the email icon to the right in the listing. You can also put a link to this image web page from a web page in your existing web site. You can also create a special HTML page on your server with links to all your web pages you have created. You could even drop in an "iframe" into the html inside this page, so as each link is clicked, they open inside a frame inside this new web page of links. This is especially important if you want to integrate ImageIslands images with your existing web site or another web site on the web. Doing so, you can make it appear that ImageIsland's ImageWebPages and photo displays are inside your existing web site design and interface! You could continue to manage your images secretly behind the scenes while having them display as part of your larger web site online! There are many other possibilities. Finally, you can simply copy the url from the view page that popped up and paste that into whatever email you use or instant messanger you use online, and others who receive your message can simple click the link and view your photos online instantly!

Get New Templates!

The ImageWebPages Module comes with its own set of templates. But you may buy more for your web site, if needed. To do so, as well as get more information about this product and others we offer, visit us online at: http://www.giantisland.com/

Overview

With the Security Module, you control access to your Modules and web product pages. The Security Module comes with two main features. The first, is the ability to manage users, and assign them to secured modules. The second area allows you to secure Modules (i.e. set certain modules as private), and thus prevent outside visitors from accessing parts of your web product. By assigning users to Modules set as "private", you can allow certain users the ability to login and access modules assigned to them in a secure, managed environment on your web server, while excluding the rest of the Web world from accessing them. Users assigned to such modules, can then upload and manage their own media separate from the rest of the users using your system.

Security Alert! The default Security Module that comes with ImageIsland has a very important default account called the Global Administrator. This is your personal account, and one you should always use. Before you begin setting up security in your system, be sure to change your username and password for this account and write it down so you have access to this account. By default this account is always assigned to the Security Module so if you make a mistake, you can always log into this module and make corrections in your security settings for the web product.

Users

The Security Module comes with the ability to manage users using the "Users" section inside the Module (i.e. click the user icon in the toolbar). Clicking this area takes you to a page that shows a list of users in the system. By default, when you first come here, you will see one user - the Global Administrator account. This account is the default account for the system and one which has been given full access to all user data and files. You should immediately go to this account by clicking "Edit This User" and change the name and username/password for the account, writing down this information for future reference. If you make a module private, you will need this information to access the module via a login. If you forget to assign yourself to a module you make private, you cannot access it even with a login, but can always access the Security Module, as long as you have your login information. So be sure to write this info down and keep in a secure place. We recommend you record your login info, then go in and assign all modules to this account, to make sure you always have access to them via a login, should you later make them private. The Global Administrator you will find is a powerful user that will allow you control your whole system quickly and manage many users and their activities. Remember, users can only see their own data inside the modules, but the Global Administrator can see everyones data at a glance!

You may create additional users as well, though all new users added will only have limited priveleges to modules you assign them to. This generally involves limited viewing of files only they have uploaded or pages they have created. In this way, as Global Administrator, you can create and manage other users and give others secure access to your web application. (Note: Only 10 users are allowed in the default Security Module - you may buy more "User Packs" from our web site). Users have the ability to login and access modules you have already assigned as private. Modules set as private, but not assigned to a user, will not be accessible. Modules assigned to users but still public, everyone can view, even without a login. For this reason, in general, its a good idea to define what modules you require as private, set them as such, then create and assign users to those as needed. Once you have setup your modules and created and assigned users to them, simply email your users with links to your web application as well as their login info and they can then safely access and use your system safely.

Edit This User

In this area you may change settings for your users. The Global Administrator account may be modified and used by you so that you may secure the site and exclude outsiders from changing your data in the web site. You will use this account to login to modules you secure (make private) in the system. In this edit area, you may change information on the administrator account, like your email, name, and username/password. The same applies to users you create, though they have limited access in terms of what they can see by default inside a module. Use the Edit User area to manage account names and logins, and make sure who you have a record of those having access to your system. Most of the data stored there is not used in the system and is simply there so you have a detailed record of who may be in your system. You may temporarily "disable" an account in this area, as well as permanently terminate a user account at any time by deleting it. At that point, their logins will not work. Remember, only 10 users may be active and/or created at any time in the default Security Module.

Assign User To Modules

In this area you may assign your user to modules, so that the user may login and access them. Otherwise, if they are private, they may not be accessed by that user. When set to private, a module requires a login to access it. You assign these modules to your user account in this area. To do so, simply select the modules to the right that you want to assign to this user, then click "Assign" to assign them to the user. Do the opposite to remove assigned modules from a user. In general, its a good idea to assign the Global Administrator to all modules in the system, no matter whether they are public or private, and then users to only one or two "private" modules you have secured. Also, you should not assign any users to the Security or Settings Modules - only your Global account should be assigned to those modules.

Security Alert! Because the Global Administrator is the default account for the system, the Security Module is ALWAYS ASSIGNED TO THE GLOBAL ADMINISTRATOR by default, and may not be unassigned from this user. This prevents the administrator from accidentally "locking themselves out" of the system by making the Security Module private, then forgetting to assign the Security Module to the Global Administrator user account. Note: If you make the Security Module Private and forget your login, then you may not be able to login. In that case, contact us at http://www.giantisland.com/ using the same email address you used when purchasing your product, for assistance.

Secure Modules

The Secure Modules icon in the toolbar may be selected next. It allows you to assign modules a "private" or "public" status. Use this area to secure modules which you do not want anyone else to access (private). Leave all other modules, which you want to share with your public visitors, public. All modules by default are public until assigned as private. Private modules are secured and may not be accessed by anyone, except those users that are specifically assigned to them in the "Assign User to Modules" section of the "Users" area AND which have been given a login. Users accessing these private modules will be shown a "login panel" at the top of the web page and may use that login area to enter their credentials and log into the web product. Once logged in, their secure session will route them to the module they were trying to access. Once logged in, the user may also access other secure modules assigned to them without logging in again. This allows them to access any private modules assigned to them, until they logout or their session expires. Keep in mind that all modules are public by default, and securing your modules makes the module inaccessible to anyone until assigned to a user. Be sure to assign the Global account to all Modules and users to private modules you assign here.

Help Me Set Up My Security!

Security Alert! To assist you in securing your system correctly for the Web, we recommend you follow these steps in securing your system the first time you come to the Security Module:

1. First go to Users and change your username/password and other personal information on your Global Administrator account. You will need this login information to access secure modules, so please make a note of it. Save these changes.
2. Second, go to the Secure Modules area and set the Security Module and any other Modules your prefer, to "private" or secure status. When you save this, you may be logged out of the system and routed to the homepage. You should see a login at the top of the page in the panels at the top of the interface when you try and access these newly secured modules. Simply type in your credentials and press login. (Note: If you forgot to change your login information, the default username and password is both admin). We recommend when securing your modules in this section you secure only the Security, ImageManager, Settings and ImageWebPage Modules, since they could be accessed by outsiders.
3. Once you login, go back to the Security Module and go to the Users area one more time, and click the "Assign User To Modules" text link for the Global Administrator account in the list. You should see two multiple select boxes on the next page. In the left one you should see the Security Module. Its pre-assigned by default to the Global Administrator account, and cannot be removed. To the right you should see a list of all modules in your web product. (Note: Any new modules you add to your system will automatically be generated and added to this list for you.) Hold the shift key and select all of these and press the "Assign" button in the middle. You should see all the modules in the right hand list assigned now to the left hand list. This means all modules you selected have now been assigned to your Global Administrator account and only you may access those secured modules using a login (only if the modules are private). No one else may access private modules unless assigned to that user in this way. Anyone, including yourself, who attempts to access a private module, will be prompted to login. No one may then view that module or any of its pages till they login with valid credentials.
4. Now, to complete your security setup, go back to the Users area and add a user by clicking the "Add A User" icon at the top in the toolbar. This will create a new user in your user list below. Click "Edit this User" and give this user a new name and username/password. Now save these changes and go back to Users and click "Assign User to Modules" link. Now select a Module in the text box to the right and click "Assign". That module has now been assigned to that user. Finally, click the "Secure Modules" at the top, and make sure the module you assigned is set as "private" in the Modules list. If it is, then you are ready to test this login. Simply click the "logout" button at the top to logout first. If its not shown, click the second left-hand panel grid at the top of the web page to expand the login bar and logout pressing the logout button. Now try and choose the Module you assigned to this user using the dropdown module list at the very top of the web page. You should be asked to login. Login with this user's credentials you created above, and you should be taken to this secure module. Thats it! You have now secured your system by assigning modules as private, changed the Global account, assigned the Global account to all modules, assigned a user to a secure module and tested the user login. Your setup and testing of the Security Module is complete! Securing your module in this way will go a long way to protecting your system, while allowing you to manage other users who use your system for managing their own files!

If you have questions or run into issues in securing your web application, please visit our web site (http://www.giantisland.com/) for more information.

Overview

With the Settings Module, you can control the interface and visual appearance of your web product. This includes showing/hiding the interface elements in the display, setting a default skin, and designing a custom homepage display for your product. With the Settings Module you can, for example, turn various parts of the user interface for your site on and off (show or hide) or assign a skin with the look and feel you need.

Manage Display

In the "Manage Display" area, you may choose settings for parts of the interface that you wish to show or hide from view. In general, you can choose to show or hide certain sections from view by clicking the radio button for "show" or "hide", then pressing submit. That area of the site (as shown in the graphic to the right of the radio button set) will be completely hidden from view in the interface if "hide" is chosen. You can also turn off elements that you do not use, like the top and bottom menus, or possibly the footers or header logo. In general, you should keep the module panel, top message bar, and login panel showing as you will need all three when accessing the web application and navigating to various areas. It is possible to set a default skin and then hide the skin dropdown panel, thereby forcing all your visitors to use the same skin and interface when accessing your web site! Otherwise, users will have the ability to change the skins for their session as needed using the skins dropdown.

*Note: Keep in mind that the interface elements are designed for various types of people, and cannot account for every type of web design element you might need. You can control areas of the display using this management area, but then if needed, go into the "System" folder and change the code if you like. For example, if want to add your own logo to the header, you first must make sure the top header logo panel is showing. Once its set to show, its possible to customize the "System/header.asp" file with your own image logo, if you know a little ASP VBScript.

Alert! If you turn off the Module dropdown list menus and Skin menus, you may not be able to access those areas! (They will still be available by linking to their module folders directly in your browser). Turning off the Login Panel will prevent you from logging in and accessing modules you have secured! (Example, "securing" the Settings Module then turning off the login panel will make this module inaccessible, unless you access the login page via the browser manually in the Security module, then link to the Settings Module directly!)It is highly recommended that you always leave the Login Panel visible, as well as the Module dropdown panel, if possible, when customizing your display!

Manage Skins

The Manage Skins area allows you to quickly pick a skin from the available skins (or skins you have installed into the product) and set it as the default. When users visit your web site for the first time, the system will showcase your site using this skin. Keep in mind that the product comes with "default skins". But, you may download more from our site as they become available, or build your own! Also, if you want to set a default skin and also do not want users to see the skins dropdown box (so they can change skins), then go back to the Manage Display area and hide the skins dropdown panel in the interface. This is a powerful way to set a global skin for everyone!

*Adding Custom Skins! The skins system is a very powerful feature in your web product! It allows you to not only pick and choose skins that come with ImageIsland and quickly change the look and feel of your site, but also download or even create your own skins and install them quickly into the interface and begin using them! If you know a little CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) you can simply copy one of the style folders found inside the "Skin" folder itself and rename its folder to a new name you choose. You can then, with a simple text editor, go into the style sheet pages inside that folder and change text, colors, and layouts for that skin and create your own skin. The system will automatically add your new skin to the dropdown skins list at the top of the interface when you do this, and you can begin using your custom style sheet skin immediately! The CSS and code is designed around cross-browser compliance so you can be sure any changes you make have the best chance of being seen across many types of browsers, old and new.

Manage Homepage

The Manage Homepage area is a new area of our product. This section allows you to completely change the look and feel of the homepage content area inside the product. Many people want to customize this portal page area as it is a user or customer-facing page. Combining custom settings from the "Manage Display" area with this area allows you to completely change the default design of the homepage for the product. Using this new Homepage admin area, you can quickly type in your custom "HTML" and totally redesign the look, text, colors and even images for the homepage. To do so, simply go to the "Manage Homepage" area using the toolbar icon of the same name at the top, and go in and type in some text into the large text box shown on that page. After saving your changes, try visiting the homepage for your product again by going to the top dropdown menu and clicking "Choose a Module" and pressing "go". This takes you to the homepage in the root folder of the product. When you go there, you will see the old homepage content removed and your new content added! The editor does not design your homepage but simply is a free-style editor which allows you to enter your own html and customize your web page as needed. You can insert HTML elements like tables and bullet lists, inline style colors, links to outside web pages, news, iframes, or even links to images you've uploaded to your server and display them there. We have also provided a sample of html to help you, so you can see how such content should look when you type it in to create an affect on the web. If you are unsure of HTML, you can find many samples of good HTML design on the Web to help you.

*Special Note for Web Gurus: For advanced users, you should know the site is designed around XHTML and CSS. So, if you are concerned about Web Standards and compliance, or know some markup or style sheet tricks, then you can take full advantage of ImageIsland's superior codebase and design. If you are concerned about creating a clean XHTML compliant web site, this product is designed to support those standards. Simply type compliant XHTML and inline CSS into the editor and it will work very well in the homepage display, as well as support the Web Standard and accessibility compliance already built into ImageIsland.