Image gallery widget
You use this widget to display a gallery of image thumbnails, where each image can be opened individually. You choose an image from the images already uploaded in libraries.
PREREQUISITES: You uploaded at least one image. For more information, see Upload images.
After you place the Image gallery widget on your page, you configure it to display images. To do this, click the Edit button in the upper-right corner of the widget. The Image gallery window contains a few tab pages, described in the following sections.
Select images to display
On the Content tab page, you select which images to display in the gallery. Choose one of the following options:
-
From all libraries
All images that are uploaded and published will be displayed in the gallery.
-
From selected libraries only...
A custom selection of libraries is displayed.
To select one or more libraries from which you want to display images, click the Select button.
-
From currently opened library
All published images from the currently opened library will be displayed in the gallery.
Under Narrow selection by..., you can further specify which images to display by choosing one of the following:
-
All published images
This is selected by default and displays all images selected in the previous step.
-
Selection of images...
You can narrow down the displayed images using categories, tags, and dates. Select one or more of the following:
- Categories...
Click the Select button to select the categories from which you want to display images.
- Tags...
Click the Select button to select tags that displayed images need to have.
- Date...
Select one of the predefined time intervals so that images uploaded during that interval will be displayed or choose Custom range….
List settings
List settings define how the Image gallery widget display images. Choose one of the following options:
| Option |
Description |
| Use paging |
The system divides the image thumbnails into pages. In the input field, you specify how many image thumbnails per page you want to display. |
| Use limit |
The system displays only a limited number of image thumbnails. In the input field, you specify how many image thumbnails you want to display. |
| No limit and paging |
The system displays all images that meet the requirements and filters you set in the Content tab. |
| Sort images |
By default, the last published images are listed on top. You can select a different sorting criterion:
- Last published
- Last modified
- By Title (A-Z)
- By Title (Z-A)
- As set in Advanced mode
To sort the list of images by property that is not defined in the sort dropdown menu, you must add a new sorting expression in the designer’s Advanced mode. For example, to sort images using the Extension property of the image, navigate to Advanced » Model and, for SortExpression, add Extension ASC. As a result, in the sort dropdown, the As set in Advanced mode option is selected by default.
|
| Thumbnail size |
Provides an option for configuring size of image thumbnails. This size applies to the thumbnails of the images when widget is in List mode. |
| List template |
Select the template you want to use to list images on the webpage. Choose one of the following options:
- ThumbnailStrip
The Image gallery displays a horizontal strip of image thumbnails. When you click an image from the strip, a preview of the image is displayed above the thumbnail strip.
- ImageGallery
The images are displayed as thumbnails. When clicked, the image is displayed together with the image title, the user who has uploaded the image, and the date of upload.
- OverlayGallery
The images are displayed as thumbnails. When clicked, the image is displayed as an overlay of the page together with its title.
- SimpleList
All images are displayed in a large size. The description of the images is displayed in tooltip text.
|
| CSS classes |
Expand More options section to apply additional CSS classes to the Image gallery widget when in List mode. |
Single item settings
Single item settings define how individual images are displayed. Choose one of the following options:
-
Open single item in...
Select one of the following options:
-
Auto-generated page
When you click an image, it is displayed in an automatically generated page with the same layout as the list page.
-
Selected existing page...
Select a page from the list of existing pages that has the desired layout. When you click on the image, it is displayed in this specific page.
NOTE: The page on which you want the image displayed must have an Image gallery widget added.
-
Image size
Provides an option for configuring the size of the image. In the dropdown box, all predefined image sizes appear.
-
Detail template
Select the template you want to use to display the image's details on the webpage.
-
CSS classes
Expand More options section to apply additional CSS classes to the Image gallery widget when the image details are opened.
Advanced settings
In Advanced settings, you specify individual properties of the widget:
-
DetailsPageId
Gets the ID of the page you have selected in the Selected existing page... option in the Single item settings tab.
-
DetailTemplateName
Gets the template you have selected in the Detail template dropdown in the Single item settings tab.
-
ListTemplateName
Gets the template you have chosen in the List template dropdown in the List settings tab.
-
OpenInSamePage
Defines whether when you click on an image thumbnail to open the detail view in a new window. The default value is False.
Model settings
Model settings display all properties directly bound to the Image Gallery widget model. Access these properties by clicking the Model button in Advanced settings.
| Setting |
Description |
| DetailCssClass |
Gets and sets additional CSS classes to the image detail view. |
| DisplayMode |
Gets the value you have selected in the List settings tab:
- Paging
This is the default option.
- Limit
- All
|
| FilterExpression |
Filters images based on an additional filter expression. |
| ItemsPerPage |
Defines the number of images per page when paging is enabled. The default value is 20. |
| ListCssClass |
Gets and sets additional CSS classes to the list view. |
| ParentFilterMode |
Gets the option that you have chosen for libraries in the Content tab. The possible values are:
- All
This is the default option.
- Selected
- CurrentlyOpen
|
| ProviderName |
If you have more than one provider added, you can use an image provider different than the default one. To do this, specify the name of this provider.
NOTE: If you leave this property value empty, the default image provider is used.
|
| SelectionMode |
Gets the option that you have chosen for images under Narrow selection by... in the Content tab. The possible values are:
- AllItems
This is the default option.
- FilteredItems
|
| SerializedAdditionalFilters |
If images are filtered based on a date, tags, or categories, the IDs of the selected filter criteria are serialized and populated in that field. |
| SerializedSelectedItemsIds |
In case images are specifically selected, the IDs of the selected images are serialized and populated in that field. For example: ["3f47d0b8-2d22-6e58-888c-ff0000bfc4e0"] |
| SerializedThumbnailSizeModel |
Contains serialized settings for the size of the thumbnails. Specified size is used in the frontend of the Image Gallery widget when displayed in List mode. |
| SerializedImageSizeModel |
Contains serialized settings for the size of the image. Specified size is used in the frontend of the Image Gallery widget when displayed in Details mode. |
| SortExpression |
Adds additional sorting expression for the images. The default value is PublicationDate DESC. |
| UrlKeyPrefix |
Gets or sets the URL key prefix. Used when building or evaluating URLs for paging and filtering. |
Lazy loading of images
When you use the Image gallery widget, Sitefinity CMS generates a series of img tags in the HTML of the page. In these tags, Sitefinity CMS automatically generates the loading="lazy" attribute.
This attribute instructs the browser not to load images that are off-screen until immediately before the moment they become visible. Thus, lazy loading of images improves performance.
Width and height image attributes
Sitefinity CMS automatically uses width and height attributes within the img tag. This has the following benefits.
- The browser can properly layout the page before the images are downloaded and displayed to the user.
This increases the rendering speed and avoids unnecessary page layout shifts.
- This improves the Google page experience score, measured by Google Lighthouse, and thus, increases your SEO standing.
RECOMMENDATION: If you add width and height attributes to your images, we recommend adding the following CSS to your styles, so that images do not exceed their container in the rendered page: