Search Images Outside of the Uploads / Media Folder

  • My site is successfully searching all text and images, but ONLY if the images were uploaded using the media uploader in WordPress. The issue is that we are using a gallery plugin (for 90% of the images on the site) that stores images in a folder inside WordPress (in wp-content) but not in the uploads folder and so these images are not being indexed/listed in the search results. If I know what folder they are in, is there any way to tell the search feature (using code) to include it when it’s searching the site?

    (I have tried plugins like “search everything” etc. with no luck.)

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

  • Can you see images available in media library that were uploaded to the uploads folder via FTP and not by the media uploader?

    Thread Starter lightfoot33

    (@lightfoot33)

    We haven’t been uploading images via FTP to the uploads folder. That’s not the issue at hand. The issue is whether we can include a way for the search feature to index images that have been uploaded using a gallery plugin to a folder in wp-content… For example, this image is NOT being listed when you search for “imagename” : mysite.com/wp-content/fancygallery/imagename.jpg but it is listed if it’s in: mysite.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/imagename.jpg

    Does that help clarify? In short, I am just needing a way for the search feature to list images that are also outside of the uploads folder.

    My question was rather about whether you can see any images uploaded to the WP not via WP media uploader, regardless of their location.

    The thing is that all of the images uploaded using WP media uploader are added to the library and to the database. Each image has its own record in the DB as WP stores images in the same table in the DB as posts are stored into, which is the posts table.
    When you upload new image, new record is created where post_type=attachment.

    To make it work your way, it’d be good if a script was created to import images to WP system, so it both moves the images to your uploads folder, and also inserts appropriate entries in the DB.

    Thread Starter lightfoot33

    (@lightfoot33)

    Ah, that makes sense. Unfortunately, writing a script like that is a little outside my comfort zone. Do you know where I might begin looking to find one?

    As a ready to use solution you may want to try this maybe? Never used it but looks like it does what you need to be done.

    Thread Starter lightfoot33

    (@lightfoot33)

    After a week of continuing to try to solve this issue, I still haven’t had any luck. Thanks x500.net for your link, but unfortunately that plugin duplicated too many things and did not play nice with some of the other plugins.

    It’s hard for me to believe that there isn’t a script or plugin that tells the search feature to index everything in the database — both in the media gallery and in other folders/data tables, but either one doesn’t, or I haven’t found it yet.

    If anyone else comes across this post and has a solution to this problem, please let me know!

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
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