Title: Convert Gallery?
Last modified: May 25, 2019

---

# Convert Gallery?

 *  Resolved [frgtech](https://wordpress.org/support/users/frgtech/)
 * (@frgtech)
 * [7 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/convert-gallery/)
 * Hi,
    I’ve been trying out different galleries to to improve on the default supplied
   by WordPress and I like that it’s lightweight and doesn’t make itself dependent.
 * Being new to WordPress I might be missing something but it seems that every gallery
   I try I have to recreate the gallery from scratch by going to my library and 
   hand selecting every image from scratch. I can’t create a gallery in my media
   library and then access it with different plugins or edit it as its own entity
   that could be used or updated in multiple places.
 * When trying your gallery I tried to cheat a bit by creating a small gallery then
   inspecting the shortcode and adding image ids to it. Apparently that is not an
   option and I’m back to being frustrated. 😛
 * The other shortcode I tried to hack was to add captions by inserting captions
   =”true” inside the block but that didn’t work either. ([Following this](https://meowapps.com/meow-gallery-tutorial/#Gallery_Shortcode))
 * Anyway, maybe from the supplied link you can get an idea of what I’m after. We
   are a tackle shop and do a daily fishing report. I want to display pictures of
   customers with their proud catches, (with a caption) and add to it as we go. 
   My problem is I just inherited this blog that goes back to 2011 and there is 
   a huge media library to sift through to collect all these images. Since I’ve 
   done this already using the built in gallery, I have the list of image IDs I 
   want to use.
    -  Can I build a gallery with a list of image ids?
       Can I sort a gallery by 
      date? If I can’t sort, is there a better option when adding new images than
      to drag images one by one from the bottom of a gallery to the top? Can I add
      captions? Can I set the image link to the attachment page?
 * Thank you for any insight you might impart.
    -  This topic was modified 7 years ago by [frgtech](https://wordpress.org/support/users/frgtech/).
 * The page I need help with: _[[log in](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fwordpress.org%2Fsupport%2Ftopic%2Fconvert-gallery%2F%3Foutput_format%3Dmd&locale=en_US)
   to see the link]_

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 21 total)

1 [2](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/convert-gallery/page/2/?output_format=md)
[→](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/convert-gallery/page/2/?output_format=md)

 *  Plugin Author [Jordy Meow](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tigroumeow/)
 * (@tigroumeow)
 * [7 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/convert-gallery/#post-11573203)
 * > Can I build a gallery with a list of image ids?
 * Definitely. Normally mentioning the ids= in the shortcode works.
 * > Can I sort a gallery by date?
 * By default, WordPress orders stuff using their IDs which is, more or less (but
   not exactly) the added date. More information here: [https://meowapps.com/meow-gallery-tutorial/#Order_Sort](https://meowapps.com/meow-gallery-tutorial/#Order_Sort).
   Modifying the order_by_taken_date I have given as an example would be the solution,
   I think.
 * > Can I add captions?
 * Yes, by adding the caption parameter to the shortcode and set it to true (or 
   1). Have you tried? Of course, you would need an actual caption built into your
   Media entries.
 * > Can I set the image link to the attachment page?
 * Yes, that’s the link attribute.
 * It seems like the Gallery doesn’t work at all for you though, are you sure another
   gallery (maybe built-in in your theme) takes over?
 *  Thread Starter [frgtech](https://wordpress.org/support/users/frgtech/)
 * (@frgtech)
 * [7 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/convert-gallery/#post-11573357)
 * Thank you Jordy for getting back.
 * I was able to sort out most of my issues already. I still had no luck with editing
   the shortcode, but I was able to convert my wordpress gallery to the Meow gallery
   once I found the option. I think some of the troubles was due to having Envira
   gallery still installed from when I tried it. I will try hacking the shortcode
   again now that I removed that.
 * I created 2 more galleries from scratch and had zero issues so I’m trilled that
   I wouldn’t have to repeat that process should I ever need to remove Meow gallery.(
   not likely) The 2 galleries I created in Envira were lost of course when I removed
   it.
 * I love this gallery and glad I was able to sort my issues out. I was able to 
   get my captions and attachment links working, so I’ll try your suggestions on
   sorting by date and see how that goes.
 * > By default, WordPress orders stuff using their IDs which is, more or less (
   > but not exactly) the added date.
 * What I have found is when I create a wordpress gallery, it orders them in the
   order I added them to the gallery. The last image I add is the last image displayed.
   When I add to the gallery later, it always put new images at the bottom even 
   though the newest images are at the top and I end up having to painstakingly 
   drag them to the top since the galleries are large. (hopefully the shortcode 
   will work now and I can just reorder that way if needed)
 * My question on your sort function is if I need to trigger it somehow after adding
   new images, or will it auto-sort accordingly?
 * Lastly, thanks for the wonderful software!
 *  Thread Starter [frgtech](https://wordpress.org/support/users/frgtech/)
 * (@frgtech)
 * [7 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/convert-gallery/#post-11573511)
 * Hi again,
    I’m not sure if I found a bug or did something wrong. Under the main
   admin menu there was an option to hide the main menu and have it sorted inside
   the settings menu. I tried setting this option and it complained about something
   which I assumed meant it was a pro version feature and ignored it.
 * Problem is, it removed the menu from either places and I couldn’t get it back.
   I went ahead and installed another one of your plugins and now everything has
   returned to normal, but something definitely went wrong there.
 * Cheers
 *  Plugin Author [Jordy Meow](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tigroumeow/)
 * (@tigroumeow)
 * [7 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/convert-gallery/#post-11598290)
 * Hi 🙂
 * About the menu disappearing, that’s normal if you choose to hide the Meow Apps
   Menu in the dashboard. The only way to get it back is to indeed, install another
   Meow Apps plugins (that will reset this option), or to go in General Settings,
   and there is an option to re-display the Meow Apps menu.
 * About your question:
 * > My question on your sort function is if I need to trigger it somehow after 
   > adding new images, or will it auto-sort accordingly?
 * The sort function will be applied automatically, always, before displaying the
   gallery on your website, so you don’t need to think about it. Once you have added
   the code for that “sort”, it’s always applied, you can remove/add/move images,
   but the sort will be always performed.
 *  Thread Starter [frgtech](https://wordpress.org/support/users/frgtech/)
 * (@frgtech)
 * [7 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/convert-gallery/#post-11600174)
 * Thanks Jordy,
    I might be a bit out of my depth with the sort function, so for
   now I’ll just move the images manually. I do have some bash scripting experience
   but I’m not comfortable at all with php yet. (and wordpress’s inner workings)
   I’ll study some more so I can ask smarter questions if I can’t figure it out 
   on my own.
 * My more immediate issue is the gallery borders are not displaying properly. Borders
   are being cut off for some reason. Everything looks fine when editing the page,
   but not once published.
 * Justified layout cuts off right border:
    [https://fishingreport.friscorodandgun.com/image-galleries/surf-fishing/](https://fishingreport.friscorodandgun.com/image-galleries/surf-fishing/)
 * Tiles layout cuts off right and bottom borders:
    [https://fishingreport.friscorodandgun.com/image-galleries/weather-events/](https://fishingreport.friscorodandgun.com/image-galleries/weather-events/)
 * Are you able to discern if this is a gallery or a theme issue?
 * Thanks
 *  Plugin Author [Jordy Meow](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tigroumeow/)
 * (@tigroumeow)
 * [7 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/convert-gallery/#post-11602053)
 * Those borders are added by your theme. You will need Custom CSS to remove the
   borders and the paddings. You could add this through the Customizer in your admin:
 *     ```
       img[class*="wp-image-"] {
           border: none;
           padding: 0px;
       }
       ```
   
 * That will work 🙂
 *  Thread Starter [frgtech](https://wordpress.org/support/users/frgtech/)
 * (@frgtech)
 * [7 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/convert-gallery/#post-11604560)
 * Worked a charm and I also was able to get Meow Lightbox working except on the
   one page I didn’t want to use it so I could take comments on the pictures.I’ll
   try my hand at sorting soon as well.
 * Thank you for the excellent products and helpful support!
 *  Plugin Author [Jordy Meow](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tigroumeow/)
 * (@tigroumeow)
 * [7 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/convert-gallery/#post-11605996)
 * Thanks so much! Don’t hesitate to leave a few reviews for the Gallery and Lightbox,
   they need them 🙂
 * If you would like to disable the Lightbox on specific pages, you can use the “
   Anti Selector” in the Settings. For example, for your Surf Fishing page, you 
   could use this part:
 * `<article id="post-12450" class="post-12450 page type-page status-publish hentry"
   >`
 * What interests us is the id “post-12450”, as it is unique. Just drop “post-12450”
   in the “Anti Selector” and the Lightbox will be disabled on this page 🙂
 *  Thread Starter [frgtech](https://wordpress.org/support/users/frgtech/)
 * (@frgtech)
 * [7 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/convert-gallery/#post-11606076)
 * Thanks for that, but I was trying to say that I got it working. After re-reading
   my post I can see it can be read many ways. 😛
 * I used `#post-12090` (for my Wall of Fame page) and it worked, but I’m certain
   your code is much more pinpoint so I’ll update it accordingly.
 * I did also take the plunge on sorting and it is working as well, but only on 
   my Wall of Fame gallery. If I change the a-b order, my images sort accordingly
   ascending or descending. For some reason it’s not working on my surf fishing 
   or weather galleries though. I feel like I’ve bugged you enough so am still trying
   to sort it myself, but I’ll post my code just in case. 😉
 * Will certainly do reviews for all that I use.
    Thanks!
 *     ```
       // Meow Gallery Sort Options
       // https://meowapps.com/meow-gallery-tutorial/#Order_Sort
   
       class My_Custom_Order_For_Meow_Gallery
       {
       	public $data;
   
       	public function __construct() {
       		add_filter( 'mgl_sort', array( $this, 'my_mgl_sort' ), 25, 4 );
       	}
   
       	function order_by_taken_date( $id_a, $id_b ) {
       		// We get the information for each id we need to compare
       		$data_a = $this->data[$id_a];
       		$data_b = $this->data[$id_b];
       		// We return the result of the comparison on the created timestamp (taken date)
       		return $data_a['meta']['image_meta']['created_timestamp'] > $data_b['meta']['image_meta']['created_timestamp'];
       	}
   
       	function order_by_title( $id_a, $id_b ) {
       		// We get the information for each id we need to compare
       		$data_a = $this->data[$id_a];
       		$data_b = $this->data[$id_b];
       		// We return the result of the comparison on the title
       		return strcmp( $data_b['meta']['image_meta']['title'], $data_a['meta']['image_meta']['title'] );
       	}
   
       	function my_mgl_sort( $ids, $data, $layout, $atts ) {
       		// Data contains metadata about the media (use printf on it to understand its structure)
       		$this->data = $data;
   
       		// The usort function will order the $ids depending on a function.
       		// For fun, we pick a different function for the Tiles and Masonry layouts only.
       		if ( $layout === 'masonry' )
       			usort( $ids, array( $this, "order_by_title" ) );
       		else if ( $layout === 'tiles' )
       			usort( $ids, array( $this, "order_by_taken_date" ) );
       		return $ids;
       	}
       }
   
       new My_Custom_Order_For_Meow_Gallery();
       ```
   
 * Edit:
    Looks like I might need to sort by post date if possible. Not all my images
   have the `created_timestamp` files populated. Open to other suggestions as well.
    -  This reply was modified 7 years ago by [frgtech](https://wordpress.org/support/users/frgtech/).
    -  This reply was modified 7 years ago by [frgtech](https://wordpress.org/support/users/frgtech/).
 *  Plugin Author [Jordy Meow](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tigroumeow/)
 * (@tigroumeow)
 * [7 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/convert-gallery/#post-11606412)
 * I am sure you can do it ^^ Indeed, the
 * > created_timestamp
 *  might not be present. You might want to use the
 * > post_date
 *  instead, but I don’t think it’s part of this meta, but the “post” information
   for this media. So maybe like:
 * > $post_info = get_post( $id_a );
   >  // Compare using $id_a->post_date
 *  Thread Starter [frgtech](https://wordpress.org/support/users/frgtech/)
 * (@frgtech)
 * [7 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/convert-gallery/#post-11607553)
 * Thanks,
    Looks like I have more studying to do. 😛
 *  Thread Starter [frgtech](https://wordpress.org/support/users/frgtech/)
 * (@frgtech)
 * [7 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/convert-gallery/#post-11616862)
 * I guess I still have a way to go. I can’t get this working.
 * I can see the order and orderby options in the standard gallery shortcode, but
   they aren’t working here. I’ve never worked with an object oriented language 
   before and wordpress is still new so it gets overwhelming quickly and I get lost.
 * Can you give me a hint to get on the right track?
 *  Plugin Author [Jordy Meow](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tigroumeow/)
 * (@tigroumeow)
 * [7 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/convert-gallery/#post-11617837)
 * Hi [@frgtech](https://wordpress.org/support/users/frgtech/),
 * As an ordering function, please use this:
 *     ```
       function order_by_upload_date( $id_a, $id_b ) {
       	// We get the information for each id we need to compare
       	$post_a = get_post( $id_a );
       	$post_b = get_post( $id_b );
       	// We return the result of the comparison on the created_timestamp
       	return strcmp( $data_b->post_date, $data_a->post_date );
       }
       ```
   
 * This works 🙂
 *  Thread Starter [frgtech](https://wordpress.org/support/users/frgtech/)
 * (@frgtech)
 * [7 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/convert-gallery/#post-11620451)
 * Thanks so much Jordy, I can now see where I was going wrong before.
 * This indeed changes the order, but it’s still not ordered properly according 
   to the day published(post_date). The dates are so wildly distributed that I’m
   not sure I can see a pattern of why it’s not working.
 * Does this look correct to you for a tiles gallery?
 *     ```
       class My_Custom_Order_For_Meow_Gallery
       {
       	public $data;
   
       	public function __construct() {
       		add_filter( 'mgl_sort', array( $this, 'my_mgl_sort' ), 25, 4 );
       	}
   
       	function order_by_taken_date( $id_a, $id_b ) {
       		// We get the information for each id we need to compare
       		$data_a = $this->data[$id_a];
       		$data_b = $this->data[$id_b];
       		// We return the result of the comparison on the created timestamp (taken date)
       		return $data_a['meta']['image_meta']['created_timestamp'] > $data_b['meta']['image_meta']['created_timestamp'];
       	}
   
           function order_by_upload_date( $id_a, $id_b ) {
       	    // We get the information for each id we need to compare
       	    $post_a = get_post( $id_a );
       	    $post_b = get_post( $id_b );
       	    // We return the result of the comparison on the created_timestamp
       	    return strcmp( $data_b->post_date, $data_a->post_date );
           }
   
       	function order_by_title( $id_a, $id_b ) {
       		// We get the information for each id we need to compare
       		$data_a = $this->data[$id_a];
       		$data_b = $this->data[$id_b];
       		// We return the result of the comparison on the title
       		return strcmp( $data_b['meta']['image_meta']['title'], $data_a['meta']['image_meta']['title'] );
       	}
   
       	function my_mgl_sort( $ids, $data, $layout, $atts ) {
       		// Data contains metadata about the media (use printf on it to understand its structure)
       		$this->data = $data;
   
       		// The usort function will order the $ids depending on a function.
       		// For fun, we pick a different function for the Tiles and Masonry layouts only.
       		if ( $layout === 'masonry' )
       			usort( $ids, array( $this, "order_by_title" ) );
       		else if ( $layout === 'tiles' )
       			usort( $ids, array( $this, "order_by_upload_date" ) );
       		return $ids;
       	}
       }
   
       new My_Custom_Order_For_Meow_Gallery();
       ```
   
 * I even tried reversing the order to check the results, but only some images get
   moved around.
 * `usort( $ids, array_reverse( $this, "order_by_upload_date" ) );`
 * Am I missing something easy, or is something going on with my particular installation?
   I am using a child theme and this gallery code is the only PHP code added to 
   it.
 * I don’t consider myself having a lot of plugins, but does anything stand out 
   to you that could interfere?
 * Analytify
    Broken Link Checker Classic Editor Duplicate Post Easy Updates Manager
   Instagram Widget by WPZOOM Mailchimp for WordPress Media Cleaner Meow Gallery
   Block Meow Lightbox Post Date Time Change Social Pug UpdraftPlus – Backup/Restore
   Webcraftic Disable Admin Notices Individually Yoast SEO
 * Thanks.
 *  Thread Starter [frgtech](https://wordpress.org/support/users/frgtech/)
 * (@frgtech)
 * [6 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/convert-gallery/#post-11656976)
 * Hi again,
    Well I never got sorting to work but I did end up purchasing a lifetime
   license to your gallery. I really do love the gallery but sorting should not 
   be such a chore.
 * Cheers.

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 21 total)

1 [2](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/convert-gallery/page/2/?output_format=md)
[→](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/convert-gallery/page/2/?output_format=md)

The topic ‘Convert Gallery?’ is closed to new replies.

 * ![](https://ps.w.org/meow-gallery/assets/icon-256x256.png?rev=2791571)
 * [Meow Gallery](https://wordpress.org/plugins/meow-gallery/)
 * [Support Threads](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/meow-gallery/)
 * [Active Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/meow-gallery/active/)
 * [Unresolved Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/meow-gallery/unresolved/)
 * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/meow-gallery/reviews/)

 * 21 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [frgtech](https://wordpress.org/support/users/frgtech/)
 * Last activity: [6 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/convert-gallery/page/2/#post-11708639)
 * Status: resolved