CSV - Gallery Connect

http://www.muse-themes.com/products/gallery-connect

The Gallery Connect widget is incredibly powerful, and infinitely versatile. Instead of providing a single gallery look, we've included 7 unique galleries, sliders, and grids. Like other widgets in our "Connect" series, this widgets utilizes CSV files, allowing for remote management of all images in the gallery, as well as video (YouTube, Vimeo, Wistia and HTML5).

In addition to remote management of gallery content, the Gallery Connect widget also uses CSV files for styling – allowing the entire look, feel, and function to change in an instant. By including styling options in the CSV spreadsheet, we can offer more control than what is typically possible in Muse. Style files also let us offer our users pre-styled skins, and allow you to make your own!

  • Widget Compatibility: Highly Compatible (No known issues when combining with other MuseThemes widgets)
  • Current Version: 1.0
  • Supported Devices: Desktop, Tablet, Phone

Release Log

  • 1.2: Fixes error in accessing Google Sheets data (08/26/2021)
  • 1.1: Renamed Mosaic and Uniform Gallery widgets to match expected behavior (11/16/2017)


Video Playlist



Setup

  • Download the widget package and extract the .zip file. You will find a Muse library file, along with several .csv template files. Once you’ve installed the library file, you will find 7 separate widgets in the library folder:
    • Gallery - Mosaic Grid: Displays image thumbnails of various shapes in a mosaic pattern
    • Gallery - Uniform Grid: Displays image thumbnails uniformly in the same aspect ratio
    • Slider - Carousel: Displays multiple image thumbnails in continuing rotation
    • Slider - Compact: A Slider with compact thumbnail image navigation
    • Slider - Default: A classic slider with thumbnail navigation and captions
    • Slider - Sidebar Nav: A Slider with a sidebar grid containing image thumbnails
    • Slider - Simple: A simple captioned slider without thumbnails
  • Each widget is highly customizable. The above configurations are simply a starting point for the look and function of your gallery or slider.
  • Drag a widget from the library and drop into your project in Design mode.
  • The widget container represents the size of the gallery when previewed or published. Size appropriately for your project.
  • These widgets are responsive. You many want to check all breakpoints to ensure that the widget is where you like, and sized appropriately.
  • Each widget is functional as soon as you drop it into Muse. Feel free to preview in browser to take a look.
  • Open the widget option panel.
  • If you plan to use multiple Gallery Connect widgets on the same page, be sure that they have unique ID’s entered in the Unique ID field.
  • Choose a CSV File Type:
    • Google Spreadsheet - Using Google's Sheets web app, you can manage your gallery remotely and update in realtime. Click the link at the bottom of the widget option panel to go to our Google Sheets web-based templates (the web versions are identical to the .csv files in the download package). See below for details on acquiring your Google Spreadsheet Keys and editing the web-based template.
    • Local File - This option uses a CSV file that can be saved and stored locally on your computer. CSV files can be edited using any spreadsheet editor such as Excel, Numbers, and Google's Sheets web app. The CSV files included with the widget are templates that can be updated however you like (please see guidelines on editing CSV files below)
  • These widgets require 2 different CSV spreadsheets:
    • Content Spreadsheet: This spreadsheet is what you use to enter your content information. Since these widgets use web-based content, you only need to enter the URL links (rather than load files). Images and video (YouTube, Vimeo, Wistia, HTML5) are supported. All content must be hosted on the web.
    • Presets Spreadsheet: This spreadsheet contains all main widget settings. Think of this as you think of the widget option panel on other widgets - only this way, we can offer more options than what’s available within Muse.
  • We’ve built templates for each type of spreadsheet to help you get started. Use the links at the bottom of the widget panel to access the web-based templates. For local files, see the widget download folder. Each widget has it’s own Presets CSV file. The included Content CSV file can be used with any Gallery Connect widget.
  • The Styling section contains most of the basic style settings like colors and font options. We placed these options here because things like colors are easy to set up within Muse. The rest of the widget options are included in the Presets CSV file.


Editing the web-based Google Spreadsheet templates

  • You will need a Google account and access to the free Sheets web app in order to edit the template (no Google account is required for viewing the template).
  • Follow the link in the bottom of the widget panel to open the template.
  • The template is view-only and cannot be edited as-is. Make a copy of the template: File > Make A Copy.
  • Name the new copy.
  • The new copy can now be edited.
  • When ready, you will need to publish the spreadsheet in order to use it with Sidebar Menu. Go to File > Publish to the web...
  • Click the "Web Page" dropdown and select comma-separated values (.csv).
  • Click “Publish".
  • Copy the long set of random characters in the browser's URL field, or in the link shown in the Publish To Web pop-up.
  • Paste this Google Spreadsheet Key into the Widget option panel in Muse (you will need keys for both the Content and the Presets spreadsheets).


Tips for editing CSV files

  • Once you've published your Google Spreadsheet, ANY change made to the spreadsheet will be updated on your website. This is handy and quick, though you will want to be careful to make sure that your changes are exactly what you want.
  • The data within the CSV must be entered carefully:
    • Spaces are not supported in most entries
    • Be careful if you're cutting and pasting (be sure not to include extra characters or spaces)
    • Do not create empty rows
  • In the Presets Spreadsheets, the only fields that need to be updated are the cells in the "option_value" column. Values in this column may be numbers or letter text. For basic enable/disable options, 1=enable, 0=disabled. We've built in dropdowns wherever possible for common variables.
  • Check your progress often while editing CSV files. Small errors such as spaces or typos can make it so that your sidebar menu does not appear. If you’re working with a local file, save and load the file into the widget, then publish to check for functionality. If you’re working in Google Sheets, simply preview your sidebar and refresh the browser to see ongoing updates. If you do have an issue, use the “undo” function in your spreadsheet editor to back up to a point where the widget was working.


Commonly Asked Questions

What is a .csv file?

A .csv file is a basic spreadsheet file that can be edited in Excel, Numbers, Google Sheets, or similar.

Should I use the web-based template, or the local file? What's the difference?

Ultimately, there's no difference in the functionality of the sidebar menu, whether you use the web template or the local template. Local files allow for traditional editing and backup in your favorite spreadsheet editor. The web template option allows for immediate remote updates for you or your client.


When updating basic enable/disable options in the Preset Spreadsheet, use "1" for enable, and "0" for disable


Known Issues/Conflicts

No known issues or conflicts


Additional Info Links