Proper RWC file management

Classic General
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Good day~. I have a project (zscapes.com) that is getting rather large with lots of images. I am attempting to clean it up and have 2 questions.

1- Does the project file (RW Document) need to be in the same folder as the support files on my Mac. Having a continuous isse with images delinking and having to rollback to a prior save.

2- I have seen several references to splitting the site into separate projects and linking them together. Is there any reference materials in re: to that scheme.

Appreciate the collective wisdom of this forum. You have helped me many times.

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For additonal detail. Site is 130+ pages @ 3.2g. Lots of images (hi majority less than 300k). Using version 9.6.3. Cheers

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With that many images … why don’t you “warehouse” them? This means putting them directly onto your domain via an FTP product like Transmit. Copy the URL for an image and use that in your project.

A project that is 3.2g is way way way too large. You are inviting disaster. Or at the least many headaches. It’s not the number of pages I’m looking at but the overall size.

There are details I’m skipping about warehousing that I can share later if you go down that route. I’ve created several 40-50 page sites … none larger than 50 Mb. If I scale up to 150 pages that would be about 150 Mb. And I use a lot of images plus videos.

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Many thanks @Mathew ~ Appreciate the response. I have had to revert to loading a section at a time so this could be a welcome relief. Where can I find more info about warehousing. Cheers

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@mzscapes There are probably some good resources out there, and probably in old topics on this forum. So I would encourage you to search for “warehousing” (or similar) at this forum that might provide more details.

First step is to acquire FTP software. I use Transmit and love it. But it’s not free and others look for cheaper alternatives. I’m glad I paid for it, but you might want to at least start with a free product. Those would include FileZilla and Cyberduck.

Next step is to learn how to login to your server space with the FTP software of your choice. They differ slightly so I won’t try to describe this. BUT you want a product that makes it super easy not only to upload files, but also to copy the resulting URL of the file. I think all 3 products I mentioned do that, but not 100% positive. Transmit, of course, does this well.

Once you can access your server space then you’ll want to create a folder where all the other web files reside. I tend to call it something like “warehoused-images” or “warehoused-stuff”. Something that makes it very obvious that it’s not a folder created by RW. (You should see all the RW folders and some files in the same area.)

A very important aspect of using a FTP software and naming files: don’t use any spaces!!! So if you have an image titled: “baby elephant in Mozambique” then make sure to rename it: “baby-elephant-in-Mozambique”. Remember … no spaces.

In addition the extension (JPG, PNG, PDF, etc.) needs to be explicitly stated in the name. For example: baby-elephant.png. No extension and you’ll get troubles.

Then all you do is drag your image from computer (already optimized by you, which seems you do quite nicely already) into the relevant “warehouse” folder. Of course you can create sub-folders inside your warehouse folder … which may be needed for organizational reasons.

Then copy the URL for an image and place the code for that in your RW. I use the Markdown stack a lot, but others will also work. The general HTML for doing this is:

<img src="https://full-path-of-image" alt="text describing the image for those with sight problems" width="100%" />

Since I use this so often I’ve created a shortcut for it in Typinator. But you do want to use the HTML for this. You can simply store the general code somewhere you can always use quickly if you don’t have Typinator or similar product. And that’s it!

Well, almost. If you have galleries of images then things change a bit. And it depends a lot on the product you are using. But I’ll skip that for now as I don’t know if gallery stacks are a “thing” you are using.

I know this description is probably incomplete, but I hope it provides some tips about how to get started. I’d start slowly, just playing around. Once you get the hang of it, you won’t go back. And … you will get to experience a MUCH smaller project size and no re-linking of images. Or of other documents (PDFs, music, etc.) that you also might be using.

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Wow, thanks @Mathew ~. Really appreciate mapping out the process and all the extra details. I have been looking at ‘warehousing’ subjects in this forum and taking notes. The one issue I will need to tackle is that the vast majority of my images are in galleries. I use Montage 2 (80%), Light page base (10%), Pro gallery 3 for a handful and recently converted to Shutter going forward which is much easier to use Need to dig into those apps and see what I can do. Cheers

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Most galleries I know of have the option to use warehoused images. I do have Montage but have not used it for awhile. However, I do constantly use Frag (by the same developer Doobox). Here’s a link to that stack:

I have also used Light Page (but several years ago) and Pro Gallery 3 (by Will Woodgate). Since, in many ways, you’d need to restablish your galleries this might be a good time to go with one product instead of several. (I realize there may be stylistic reasons that you use different products.)

One of the reasons I like Frag so much isn’t due to “style” but how super simple it is to set up with a folder of warehoused images. (I think the linked page above explains this, but I can provide help if needed.) Montage “might” use a similar approach.

The other approach I’ve seen to warehoused images is using “relative paths”. Since I don’t use relative paths regularly, and since I’m not a “real” web designer, I keep forgetting how to set this up. But it may be the better way to go … and once you know how to set up a relative path to your folders it becomes simple. Pro Gallery 3 is a relative path product and if I remember Will does a good job explaining how to do this.

Light Page might not accept warehousing, but I think it depends on the version you have. The first version didn’t. The second version did (at least as I can best remember).

I hope this helps a little. Also I don’t want to scare you about “relative paths”. My shortcoming in using them is only that I need to figure them out so infrequently (once every 3 years) that I forget the exact process. If I used them regularly then it would be simple for me.

Update: I just checked my Montage 2 stack and it does not seem to support warehousing. I’d encourage you to take a look at Frag.

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Okay, I forgot you mentioned Shutter. It also handles warehoused images! That’s the good news. But I’m not seeing exactly how to specificy the folder … it’s called Batch Mode in the Shutter stack. And the instructions for how to use this stack are no longer online.

@jacksona or @jenkman: do you know how to do this? Do the images have to be in the same folder as the actual webpage files? Or can they be in any folder on the website (e.g. a special folder)?

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Hello~. I looked at my 2 Pro gallery setups where I used the RapidWeaver Resources option, created a folder in the Resources window, loaded my images and pointed to the folder, so looks like this a ‘relative path’ option that I am using. Question here, the images I use exist on my Mac not the host server, so does this decrease the RW file size?

Thanks for passing on to @jacksona and @jenkman as I am curious if it works the same as Pro gallery. Cheers

PS… going to be a big project to switch over all my galleries, so have to keep that in mind.

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It sounds like you are not warehousing. If the images are anywhere in RW, it’s not warehousing nor will it reduce the size of your overall project. The “magic” is all in moving stuff off the RW project file into your server space.

And, yes, it’s definitely a project to move things over. Obviously it would be MUCH easier if you started with a warehousing approach. But it is what it is. You’ll just need to be patient. Depending on how many images you have (and it sounds like a lot) it may take steady (but not crazy) work over several weeks or months. I really wouldn’t try to do it all in one go … unless you are dreaming of a stay in a local mental institution. :slight_smile:

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I did use Shutter briefly, but not for about 3 years now, so can’t remember the batch setup, I’m afraid.

I’m using Weaver’s Space Photo Pro, which is 99% perfect for my needs as a photographer. I dread to think how unwieldy my project file would be if I wasn’t warehousing, and having to republish every time I want to add a shot to our portfolio would be a massive PITA.

Warehousing is well worth the effort. I’d also strongly suggest picking a gallery stack, and sticking with it, rather than having multiple to manage.

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Thanks @jacksona ~ I will take a look at Photo Pro and appreciate the advise to stick with a single gallery stack. Still researching ‘warehousing’ and a bit confused on how to set the path to the image on web server in general, but hopefully will find some step x step instructions.

I have been uploading just the changes I make, which are tweaks or additions to an established page. The real bummer is when I add a page and all pages need to be updated with the navigation. Then I upload a section at a time. PITA for sure.

Looking at the time and effort it will take. Cheers

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@Mathew @jacksona I want to thank you for the support.

@differentdan Getitng to the point that I am considering abandoning RWC as it continues to delink my images. Fix one set, and then another delinks. I constantly save but that does not seem to help. RWC goes into the spining color wheel and I know trouble lies ahead.

I keep my images files in a separate folder from the RW doc file on my mbp. Is this causing delinking? Should all these image folders be in the project resources? Any insight is appreciated as I want to keep using RWC given all the time I have invested. Let me kmow if I should start a new thread. Cheers

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My apologies @differentdan ~ I am getting key players mixed up. Also, realizing that the issue with de-linking is Stacks and not RWC. Been a frustrating few days. Cheers

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@mzscapes this may be a total red herring but I had the same issue with local image files and discovered my copy of CleanMyMac was cleaning them up when I ran it. I now use the same Transmit/warehouse solution as outlined by others and never have an issue. I use hosting.com for my site and have had brilliant support. I too am not a developer but have learnt by trial and error and some stellar support by the professionals on this forum. Cheers.

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Thanks @dougparke ~ Apologize for the delayed response, recovering form shoulder surgery and finally able to type! Looking at a slow roll of converting my galleries, so appreciate the encouragement.

@Mathew I like Frag for its simplicity and will test it out on my next addition. Photo Pro was a contender but looks ike you need to load both full size & thumbnail images!

Thanks everyone~

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Fraq is a nice little stack with the only observation being you can’t add text below the image. Otherwise, I like how you can manage how many images to see on site and then opening up the entire gallery.

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Thanks @Pete ~ Appreciate the observation. I do rely on text below the image for my galleries so may have to look for another. I really like Shutter for its simplicity and space saving, so will keep hunting for a replacement. Cheers

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I also use Montage with no loss of images, which I keep in a separate folder on my computer. I don’t warehouse images, as I don’t have that many yet, to warrant doing that.

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Hi @Pete ~ I use Montage for the majority of my galleries and does not look like you can batch or warehouse. I was good with Montage for many moons, but once the site grew the delinking started! I also believe a contributing factor is while publishing and RWC runs into a transmission issue and crashes, that delinking follows. Also happens after an in-program RWC crash. Cheers