Component options

Here you can set the cover layout, placement of new photos in albums, upload limit and file storage folder. These settings apply throughout LENA.

Opening the options

Go to Components → LENA → Photos or Albums, then select Options in the toolbar. The button is available to users allowed to configure the component.

Album cover ratio

This option controls the public Albums in a category view:

• Square 1:1 — up to 4 per row;
• Photographic 3:2 — up to 3 per row.

This is global. A change affects every Albums in a category menu item, not only the page currently being viewed. It does not modify source files; it controls how the cover is cropped in the layout.

Where photos are added in an album

This option determines where a photo appears when you add it to an album:

• At the end of the album — the default;
• At the beginning of the album.

The setting applies both to photos selected from the library and to files uploaded directly into an album. Changing it does not rearrange photos already in the album.

Photos selected from the library in one action retain their selection order. Files from your device are uploaded individually. With At the beginning of the album, each successive file is placed before the previous one: files uploaded as A, B, C appear as C, B, A. Check the layout after uploading and rearrange the photos if needed.

Uploaded file size limit

Use the Joomla Media limit is enabled by default. LENA then reads the current Maximum Size value from the Media component options. A later change to the Media setting immediately applies to LENA as well.

When this option is disabled, Maximum LENA file size (MB) appears. Enter a separate limit for one photo. A value of 0 disables LENA’s own size limit but does not remove PHP, web server, proxy, CDN or hosting limits.

The browser checks the size before upload, and the server performs the mandatory check again before inspecting the image or starting GD.

Photo directory in /images

The default value is lena, so new files are stored below images/lena. The name may contain:

• unaccented letters;
• digits;
• hyphens;
• underscores.

The first character must be a letter or digit. Do not enter a full path, slashes, .., spaces or accented characters.

The server must allow PHP to create the required subdirectories and write files. After a change, upload one test photo, open its viewer and check the public gallery.

Environment limits

This section displays current settings relevant to uploading and processing photos, including upload_max_filesize, post_max_size, memory_limit, time limits, GD and Fileinfo availability, free disk space, and the Joomla Media and LENA limits. Open it when uploads fail or thumbnails are not created.

The table is diagnostic and is read again whenever the options are opened. It does not change server configuration. The actual limit can be lower than the displayed values if the web server, proxy, CDN, hosting account or disk space allocation imposes another restriction.

Permissions

The Permissions tab uses Joomla’s standard ACL system. Available actions include:

• Configure ACL & Options — full permission administration;
• Configure Options Only — edit component options;
• Access Administration Interface — open LENA;
• Create — create albums and upload photos;
• Delete — move photos to the trash, restore them and delete them permanently, and permanently delete albums;
• Edit — edit albums and photo metadata;
• Edit State — publish, unpublish, trash and arrange albums;
• Edit Own — edit albums created by the current user.

Adding photos from the library, removing them from an album, choosing a cover and arranging photos require permission to edit that album. Uploading new files also requires Create permission in LENA. Changing a photo’s title, alternative text or description and rebuilding thumbnails require Edit permission for the whole component — permission to Edit Own albums alone is not enough.

Categories have additional permissions inherited through Joomla’s standard mechanism. A group result can be Inherited, Allowed or Denied. An explicit Denied at a higher level cannot be overridden by an allow lower down.

Example permissions for your team

For example:

• a photo editor needs access, create and edit;
• an album manager needs access and edit plus edit state to publish and arrange albums;
• delete should be limited because it permits permanent file removal;
• option and ACL configuration should remain with administrators.

After changing permissions, test an account belonging only to the target group. A Super User account is not a meaningful restrictions test.