Version 8.2 Image Thumbnailer - What Exactly Does It Do?

[Jeff]

Wonderful that version 8.2 has the ability to create three sizes of thumbnails and resize the original if desired.

Does 8.2 merely resize the graphic or does it sharpen and brighten the shrunk graphics and resample the smaller files? Instructions don't say.

Haven't tested it yet. I'm a bit scared to mess with my old graphics.

.

[beley]

I haven't exactly gotten it to work yet. I've got an 8.2 test store up and running and I've uploaded several graphics and tried both resizing during upload and resizing from the media screen and it looks like it is successful, but I don't see any additional images.

Wondering if there may be a certain permissions set for the media directory? I am able to upload to the media directory from ShopSite so I assume ShopSite has adequate permissions to create files in that directory.

I'm interested to know if anyone else has had this problem or if anyone has successfully used the resizer.

[Jeff]

Thumbnailer works well, but so far the instructions are pretty deficient:

The regular cart layout tag won't put the thumbnails in the cart:
[-- SC_Cart delete quantity name sku price total --]

That tag needs to have "image" in it. You can change around the order to suit your needs. Example:
[-- SC_Cart delete image quantity name sku price total --]

BTW, In our case, we don't include "sku" to save space and because it is usually fairly redundant.

-----------------------------------------------
What does the utility do to graphics?

The thumbnailer shrinks the graphics to the dimensions selected, resamples the graphics file (our XS thumbs were only about 1.5k) and probably brightens and sharpens the tiny images automatically for good clarity. The few photos I tested looked quite good. Line drawings however will probably suffer.

Where are those thumbnails stored? You won't find them in the Image section of SS. They are in three hidden folders.

ss_size1
ss_size2
ss_size3


I have to thank Jason at Lexiconn for getting me some of this info.

[beley]

Wow, good info to have... thanks!

[Jim]

There are 4 places where the use of resized images is implemented.
1. Product Graphic
2. Product Moreinfo Graphic
3. Search Results pages
4. Shopping cart pages

Settings to select the image size is available on the Product >Edit Product Info screen for the 2 product images, On the Preferences > Search Settings >Search Layout Screen for Search results screen and on the Commerce Setup > Order System > Layout Info screen for the shopping cart screen(s).

As was mentioned the images are in hidden directories under where the main image is located. When you delete an image or move an image the resized images will have the same action applied to them.

When a page (store page with products assigned, moreinfo page, search page, cart page) is generated if an resize image size is specified for that type of page then the appropriate image will be pulled from the hidden subdirectory.

There should be no need to change templates to make this work. The default [-- SC_CART --] tag by itself will display the image if you have the option to display an image checked. If you have modified the [-- SC_CART ... --] tag in your custom cart template to specify only certain options you would then need to add the "image" to it as mentioned in the previous post.

[rexkat]

I'm having major problems with the thumbnail program. The idea is great and if it worked I'd be ecstatic. However, the program seems to be adding in a background to all my transparent gifs and now I've got broken images in my search routine.

Still, I love that you guys are constantly adding those sort of features. If it worked the way I would like it, I'd also like the feature to handle page images as well.

Thanks,

Katrina
http://www.rexart.com

[Jim]

I'm not sure that the resize routine is smart enough to know that a gif has a transparent background when it does the resizing.

I have verified that the problem exists and have logged it for an engineer to look at and see if something can be done in a future version to maintain transparency.

[rexkat]

Sounds great. I'm still having trouble with the search function. Odd - I get broken links in the search results if I use any size other than original, but the images seem to be adding to the shopping cart fine. I have it set to extra small in the cart, but what shows up in the cart is not a consistent size.

[Jim]

What option do you have set for resizing to small? It can be a specific dimension or a % of the original size. If a % is set the size will vary depending on the size of your original images.

What can I search for in your store to see one of the broken images on a search results screen?

[rexkat]

I have it set to 100 x 100 pixels. Right now I have the search setting set to original to avoid broken images. Let me know when you will be able to go check out the search and I will change the settings, so that you can see the broken images and I'll switch it back. Also, if you want my login info, let me know.

Thanks,

Katrina

[Jim]

Is there a particular image that is having the problem, lots of them or just an occasional one? What format is/are the original image, gif, jpg, bmp etc? Not all image formats are supported for resizing. How was the image uploaded to the server, through ShopSite or by FTP? If the image is in a subdirectory can other images in that subdirectory be resized? It may be a permissions issue on the image or directory the original image is in.

[rexkat]

Hi Jim,

I've noticed it with groups of images. I ftp all of my images to our media directory. I have noticed that on occasion an old image will get locked and can't be replaced, etc. Perhaps it's a permissions issue. I have thousands of images. Is there a way to reset permissions on the entire directory?

[Jim]

There is a way to reset the permissions on all files in a directory. Check with the ISP where your store is hosted. They should be able to set them for you.

[rexkat]

Great, thanks. I'm with Lexiconn, so I know it will be done quickly!

[rexkat]

Like I said - Rob at Lexiconn saw my post and fixed it before I even had a chance to dial their number. By the time we were connected, the issue was resolved. It was indeed a permissions issue.

Thanks so much,

Katrina