Idea for global media manager

[steveooo]

Hello guys,

I really like ProcessWire, but there are a few features I really miss. One of them is a global media manager with the ease of use like the one in WordPress.

There is an old module out there that uses images as pages. So each "image" page has an image title field and a files/image field. I use this kind of media manager on some projects and it kind of works but isn't the best option.

I created my own system that also allowed folders. Same as above: A image is a page, but I allowed a "folder" page that can have "folder" or "image" children. So I simulated folders in the page tree:

I then created a selectImage and selectImages field, that was a PageTable. With this fields I could select the pages I want on a page to show up.

The problems that system has: no support for multi-upload and no batch-like features like moving multiple "images" to another "folder".

Now to my idea and the reason I write this post:

I thought about this problem and I came up with a theory how it could work (without testing it yet):

I create a File or Image field with infinite allowed files/images and I activate the tags property (which is currently only for images) and in the tags I would define the structure of this image. So in real life, all files are on the same level, but I simulate a folder structure by writing the location of a file in the media folder inside the tags property. An example:

monkey.jpg with following tags: "zoo__animals". This would mean, that monkey.jpg is simulated to be located in /zoo/animals/monkey.jpg.

I then need do hook in the way files are displayed and try to do some magic to create a UI that transforms the flat image/file-list into some nested folder structure like you now it from WordPress.

Some problems that can come up:

- All files would be in one big folder in assets/files/12345/... A huge folder with lots of images might not be that good in scaling...

- File fieldtype currently doesn't support tags. Only images.

Well, maybe this idea is total bullsh1t, but maybe someone has got a better idea. I need brains (to eat) to brainstorm!

Let me know what you guys think about this chaotic concept of mine!

Steve

[kongondo]

Or maybe we just wait for 'Media Manager'    ...could save us a few brain cells, huge folders and a couple of monkeys at the zoo will be the merrier...

The person developing MM...(I know him/her from the forums) has recently told me it should be out for sale very soon. Fingers crossed...

[mr-fan]

Batch upload images on folders....a basic script is there...i used on a installation it works...not fancy but it works.

https://github.com/mr-fan/AutoImagePages

for me i used the term "album" for your "folder" type of page....

Pro tipp: just wait for 'Media Manager'    ...could save us a few brain cells, huge folders and a couple of monkeys at the zoo will be the merrier...

...best regards mr-fan

[steveooo]

Well. Any other solutions except "Media Manager"?

[mr-fan]

You habe read my first sentence? And looked at the small module¿