Resource folders versus galleries

Resources offers two different ways to organize your files: Resource folders and galleries. The basic difference between these two features is:

• Folders are intended to help you organize your files on the back end of your site
• Galleries let you organize files for display on the front end of your site.

There are a number of other distinctions, though, so this article outlines both and how to use both Resource Folders and Galleries to manage your resources.

Resource folders

• Every Resource must exist in a folder. By default, Resources comes with two folders, Public and Private. In order to upload a resource, you must first choose one of these folders, or any of the sub-folders you create underneath those headings.

• Each Resource can only exist in one folder at a time. While it is possible to move a resource between folders, it can only be stored in one folder at a time. On the other hand, you are allowed to place a resource in as many galleries as you want.

• Folders cannot be selected in the Resource element to specify which Resources should be displayed. That’s what galleries are for! Folders are only meant to organize files as you upload them, not to display on the website.

• Folders will never be displayed to website visitors. Again, folders are for your back-end organization purposes, and they’ll never be shown to end users.

• Folder permissions control who can:

  • View the resources within the specified folder in the picker, modules, and “All Resources” views. If an admin user doesn’t have permission to view a certain folder, files within that folder won’t appear for the user anywhere on the site.

  • Edit the resources within that folder, or any sub-folder. Use folder permissions to control who has access to edit file properties, even if they can view and select the resource.

  • Create new sub-folders. Folder permissions can help you maintain your organization structure by managing who is allowed to create new sub-folders in Resources.

  • Set permissions on the folder or any sub-folders. Only users with “admin” permission level on a folder can view and set permissions for other users.

Galleries

• A Resource does not have to exist in any gallery. It is not necessary to include a file in a gallery in order to display it on your website. You can navigate directly to a resource (in its folder) and select it individually to put it on the site.

• Each Resource can exist in multiple galleries at the same time. One file can be added to as many galleries as you need.

• Galleries can be selected in the Resource element to specify which Resources should be displayed. Galleries are designed to help you display a group of resources on your site, so you can select a gallery in a Resource element to easily display the files within as a list, grid, or slideshow.

• Galleries can be displayed to website visitors. Along with the files within the galleries, you have the option to display the gallery name and the structure of any sub-galleries on the front end of the site.

• Gallery Permissions control who can:

  • View the gallery in the Resources module and the Resource element’s gallery picker. While they may still see the files in the gallery separately due to folder permissions, users who don’t have permission for a gallery won’t see it as an option in Resources or in Composer.

  • Add or remove resources from the gallery. If users only have permissions to view the gallery, they won’t be able to add or remove files from that gallery.

  • Create new sub-galleries. Like folders, gallery permissions can help you maintain your organization structure by managing who is allowed to create new sub-galleries.

  • Set permissions on the gallery or any sub-galleries. Also like folders, only users with “admin” permission level on a gallery can view and set permissions for other users.

• Privacy settings on private galleries are used to determine which constituents can view the private resources that exist in the gallery. If you only want members of a certain role or group to be able to access resources in a gallery, you can select that group in the gallery Settings.