Not every gallery is for everyone: proofs for a client, photos of a family event, a portfolio sent with a job application. Access to galleries was reworked so that a private gallery stays private, wherever it could be shown.
Four ways to limit access
- Direct link only. The gallery opens for anyone with its address, but is not listed anywhere.
- A token in the link. The gallery opens only with a secret part in the address. Copy the share link and send it; without the token the gallery does not open.
- WordPress password. The usual password protection of WordPress.
- Private status. Only logged-in users who may see private content.
One check for every way a gallery is shown
A gallery can reach a page in many ways: its own page, a shortcode, a block, the REST API, an album that contains it. Before, each of them could behave differently. Now one access check covers them all, so a protected gallery does not show up inside a public album.
Which mode to use
- Client proofs: a token link, sent to the client.
- A family event: a WordPress password everyone can be told.
- A draft gallery for the team: private status.
- A portfolio for one application: direct link only.
Protect the files too: watermarks
Access modes decide who sees a gallery; a watermark stays on the picture wherever it ends up. Our companion plugin Robo Watermark adds a text or image watermark, rotated or tiled across the picture, to new uploads automatically and to existing images in bulk. It can watermark only the images used in Robo Gallery galleries, or only the thumbnails so the full-size originals stay clean.
Before the first watermark it keeps a clean copy of every file, so you can change the watermark later without doubling it, or restore all originals with one click.