Alternative to Nextgen for slideshows?

  • Resolved eswrite-wp

    (@eswrite-wp)


    13 years, 1 month ago

    I’ve been using Nextgen for a while, but I’m tired of how it doesn’t center images inside the slideshow area if images are of different width. Display a wider-than-taller image first, then a taller-than-wider image next, and the latter snaps to the left of the display. I much prefer the slideshow that comes with the www.ads-software.com blogs. I manage one of those, and the slide show works perfectly. Any suggestions on alternatives for an independently/privately hosted WP blog would be great.

Viewing 14 replies - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)
  • Thread Starter eswrite-wp

    (@eswrite-wp)

    Here are some options I’ve found. I’d like recommendations based on usage and, well, I’d like them to be free ??

    Since I already have quite a bit of content that uses Nextgen, it’d be nice to find a plugin that can co-exist with Nextgen.

    Thread Starter eswrite-wp

    (@eswrite-wp)

    Having a nice conversation with myself here… Looks like Portfolio Slideshow is a very nice choice. Working very well for me in early testing. Thanks to all who chimed in. ??

    haha thanks for the self talk. I’m looking for an alternative as well.

    Checking out your links right now…

    I’ll update if I find anything.

    Just purchased dev license of:

    https://madebyraygun.com/wordpress/plugins/portfolio-slideshow-pro/

    Thread Starter eswrite-wp

    (@eswrite-wp)

    Hmm. Is there an advantage to getting the dev license? I guess you want to do some customization? The free version is working nicely for me. Check it out at:

    https://imagesbyeduardo.com/main/2012/02/28/weddings-and-groom-prep/

    Dalton Rooney

    (@daltonrooney)

    @eswrite-wp: The Pro version of Portfolio Slideshow Pro has quite a few features that the free version doesn’t. Multiple pager & navigation options, custom image sizes, a custom post type that allows you to create slideshows that can be embedded on every page, a sidebar widget, lightbox integration etc.

    Go here https://madebyraygun.com/wordpress/plugins/portfolio-slideshow-pro/ and click on the “more features” link for more info.

    I’m glad to hear that the free version works for you, though!

    Cheers,
    Dalton

    Thread Starter eswrite-wp

    (@eswrite-wp)

    Thanks, Dalton. One thing I haven’t figured out yet (need to read some more before I give up) is how to show just the image slideshow automatically, without the pause/next/prev text up top and without the thumbnails below. So far I’m not finding the “turn-off” options, so I may have to grab that fuller package after all.

    Dalton Rooney

    (@daltonrooney)

    You should be able to set the nav position and pager position to disabled in the settings or in the shortcode. It’s navpos=disabled and pagerpos=disabled.

    Dalton

    Thread Starter eswrite-wp

    (@eswrite-wp)

    I think I found those options afterall:

    [portfolio_slideshow navpos=disabled]
    >> Disables (hides?) pause/prev/next
    [portfolio_slideshow pagerpos=disabled]
    >> Disables (hides?) thumbnails

    Will try out tonight.

    EDIT: beat me to it, Dalton! ??

    Ramzii

    (@ramzii)

    Me gusta ??

    Thread Starter eswrite-wp

    (@eswrite-wp)

    Hey, Dalton, thanks for chiming in. It finally dawned on me last night that you’re Portfolio Slideshow’s author. Good job, man, and thanks for putting it out there.

    I incorporated your suggested shortcode here and here. Looking much better, though I still need to go back and set a fixed height with another shortcode.

    I have another question for you: is there a way to re-sort/re-order images after uploading? It looks like I’m pretty much restricted by the Media options there?

    Dalton Rooney

    (@daltonrooney)

    Hi Eswrite: if you want to set a fixed height for the slideshow, you can add the “slideheight” attribute, e.g. [portfolio_slideshow slideheight=400], that sets a minimum height for the slideshow container so the content below the slideshow won’t move around.

    And yes, you can reorder images in the “gallery” tab of the WP uploader using drag and drop and Portfolio Slideshow will follow that order. You may want to watch the demo video, I think I show an example there.

    Cheers,
    Dalton

    Thread Starter eswrite-wp

    (@eswrite-wp)

    Thanks again for the help, Dalton. For those that are willing to do a litle CSS/HTML coding, there’s an alternative way that also allows you to do the fixed height combined with a custom background color for your slide show.

    Here’s the CSS:
    div.slide_show1 { background-color: #a8a9ad; padding: 10px; padding-bottom:10px; width: 512px; height: 512px; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; }

    And here’s the HTML call-out with shortcode:
    <center><div class=”slide_show1″>[portfolio_slideshow size=medium navpos=disabled pagerpos=disabled]</div></center>

    You can see a sample use of it at:
    https://imagesbyeduardo.com/main/wedding

    BTW, I recommend that you size your images exactly in the dimensions that you are going to be displaying them. For example, I had 512 pixel wide images displaying inside a 500 wide slide show, and the resizing killed the image sharpness. By resizing my images for a 500 pixel wide display, I gain full control of the sharpness that the slide show displays. Most people know this, but I thought I’d just throw it out there.

    Thread Starter eswrite-wp

    (@eswrite-wp)

    Hey, I just wanted to report back. I’ve been using portfolio slide show for 10 months, and it’s really super. I’m now using it throughout my website in various ways, and it’s giving me a very nice look and capability. It works great with the latest WP3.5. Really recommend it.

Viewing 14 replies - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)
  • The topic ‘Alternative to Nextgen for slideshows?’ is closed to new replies.