Troubleshooting

LENA or a required button is missing

Check the user group’s permissions. Component access, creation, editing, state changes, deletion and configuration are controlled separately. A missing button normally means the corresponding permission is unavailable.

A photo cannot be uploaded

Check, in order:

1. that it is JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP or AVIF;
2. that the file is within the Joomla Media or separate LENA limit;
3. that the file is within PHP, web server and hosting limits;
4. that fileinfo and gd are available;
5. that GD supports this particular format;
6. that PHP can write to the photo directory;
7. that the administrator session has not expired.

Check Environment limits in the LENA Options. Memory can be the limiting factor for very large pixel dimensions, even when the stored file is small. An external proxy, CDN or hosting limit can be lower and invisible to Joomla.

A photo has the wrong orientation

Automatic orientation correction uses JPEG EXIF data. Check that the PHP exif_read_data function from the exif extension is available on the server. Correction applies to generated copies, not the retained original. Other formats or files without valid EXIF orientation may need to be rotated before upload. Rebuilding thumbnails applies the stored orientation again but cannot correct inaccurate source metadata.

A thumbnail or enlarged image is missing

Under Photos, set Show → Published, clear the search and select Rebuild thumbnails. If it reports a missing original, check that files have not been moved or deleted manually. If variant creation fails, check GD, memory and write permissions.

Album order cannot be changed

Select Ordering ascending on the album list. Ordering works only inside one category and requires permission to change the state of every visible card.

Photos cannot be dragged in an album

If Load more appears below the grid, first load every album batch. Dragging and the Alt plus arrow shortcuts are available only for the complete list. To move content to an edge of a large album without loading everything, select the photos and use the action for moving them to the beginning or end.

Uploaded photos appear in reverse order

Check Where photos are added in an album. With At the beginning of the album, LENA places each successive upload before the previous one. Change the setting to At the end of the album to retain upload order. This does not rearrange existing photos — adjust their order in the album.

An article displays a shortcode instead of a gallery

Enable Content - LENA Gallery under System → Manage → Plugins. A valid shortcode looks like {lena album="12"}, where 12 is a published album ID. If LENA gallery is missing from the editor, also check Editor Button - LENA Gallery, permission to access the component and the Editor-xtd button settings in the JCE profile.

If a valid shortcode disappears without a gallery, check the state and access level of the album, its category and parent categories. An unavailable album intentionally produces no message in article content.

An album or category does not appear on the website

Check:

• whether the menu item is published;
• the album or category selected in that menu item;
• album state and access level;
• state and access of the category and every parent category;
• whether the album is assigned directly to the selected category;
• whether the visitor has the required view level.

An album with No category can work as a single album but cannot appear in a category view.

The album is visible but has no cover

Use the star on Photos in this album to select a cover. The photo must be active and assigned to that album. A missing cover does not hide an album; the frontend displays a placeholder.

The gallery is empty

The album must contain at least one active photo with a valid small variant and either a medium or large variant. Trashed photos are skipped.

Descriptions are missing from the website gallery

This is the current behaviour of LENA 1.0’s standard views. The frontend displays an album or category title and images. It does not render album, category or photo descriptions. Photo alternative text is used as the accessible image description, with its title as a fallback.

Album changes do not appear in an article

Check that the shortcode points to the correct album. If it does, refresh the page and clear any Joomla or website cache in use. You do not need to remove and reinsert the shortcode whenever photos change.

Older files remain in the previous folder after changing the photo directory

The option affects new imports only. LENA retains and uses the stored paths of older photos. Do not move or remove the old folder without a data migration and complete backup.