FINALLY…figured out the answer!!!
for anyone else who is stuck with this…
I had loaded all NextGEN files into the PLUG-IN folder on my server. The template files need to be copied to a new folder titled “nggallery” that is in my THEME folder (the wordpress theme i use is: widescreen)
1. Create new “nggallery” folder on server in THEME folder that is currently being used for wordpress (i use widescreen)
public html>wp-content>themes>currentthemefolder
2. copy template (php) files to new “nggallery” (in current THEME folder)
Template (.php) files can be found inside the “lib” and “view” folders. You will now be able to see the template files active when selected through dashboard>appearance>editor
here is a link which may help, too:
https://nextgen-gallery.com/templates/
hope this helps someone else.
kelly
https://kellyangard.com