Using piwigo with pictures in existing folder structure #848

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opened 2026-10-05 00:20:40 +02:00 by adam · 7 comments
Owner

Currently, piwigo requires that pictures are stored in its own folder structure, right? At least I haven't found a way of handling pictures in an existing folder structure.

Why is this restriction necessary?

This is in fact a rather strong counter argument to me for using piwigo, as I want to keep my files being stored the way they already are, but use them with piwigo anyways.

Would it be a big effort adding this kind of functionality?

Alternatively, it would also be an improvement to me, if pictures could be linked via symlinks instead of being duplicated into piwigos folder structure.

Currently, piwigo requires that pictures are stored in its own folder structure, right? At least I haven't found a way of handling pictures in an existing folder structure. Why is this restriction necessary? This is in fact a rather strong counter argument to me for using piwigo, as I want to keep my files being stored the way they already are, but use them with piwigo anyways. Would it be a big effort adding this kind of functionality? Alternatively, it would also be an improvement to me, if pictures could be linked via symlinks instead of being duplicated into piwigos folder structure. <!-- github-sync-id:398799335 -->
adam closed this issue 2026-10-05 00:20:41 +02:00
Author
Owner

Pwigo does not require its own folder structure. There is an option to use an existing one. I am currently using that approach. As I recall there may be features not available with this option however for me it works well enough.

Pwigo does not require its own folder structure. There is an option to use an existing one. I am currently using that approach. As I recall there may be features not available with this option however for me it works well enough. <!-- github-comment-id:458557498 -->
Author
Owner

Nice! Could you tell me where I can find more info about it?

So far whatever I tried piwigo always copied the pictures over.

On 29 January 2019 15:22:46 john- notifications@github.com wrote:

Pwigo does not require its own folder structure. There is an option to use
an existing one. I am currently using that approach. As I recall there may
be features not available with this option however for me it works well enough.
—
You are receiving this because you authored the thread.
Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or mute the thread.

Nice! Could you tell me where I can find more info about it? So far whatever I tried piwigo always copied the pictures over. On 29 January 2019 15:22:46 john- <notifications@github.com> wrote: > Pwigo does not require its own folder structure. There is an option to use > an existing one. I am currently using that approach. As I recall there may > be features not available with this option however for me it works well enough. > — > You are receiving this because you authored the thread. > Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or mute the thread. <!-- github-comment-id:458558025 -->
Author
Owner

You want Physical albums:

https://piwigo.org/doc/doku.php?id=user_documentation:albums_management
You want Physical albums: https://piwigo.org/doc/doku.php?id=user_documentation:albums_management <!-- github-comment-id:458566370 -->
Author
Owner

Unfortunately there is a dependency with this solution that directories and file names must not contain spaces. I have used spaces extensively in my directories so it looks like a deal breaker for me :(

Unfortunately there is a dependency with this solution that directories and file names must not contain spaces. I have used spaces extensively in my directories so it looks like a deal breaker for me :( <!-- github-comment-id:586313706 -->
Author
Owner

Hello,

you can add the following lines to your local config file using the Local Files Editor Plugin and allow spaces to be valid characters in your directory and file names.

// permitted characters for files/directoris during synchronization
$conf['sync_chars_regex'] = '/^[ %()äöüÄÖÜßa-zA-Z0-9-+=_.]+$/';

Kind regards

Jens

Hello, you can add the following lines to your local config file using the Local Files Editor Plugin and allow spaces to be valid characters in your directory and file names. // permitted characters for files/directoris during synchronization $conf['sync_chars_regex'] = '/^[ %()äöüÄÖÜßa-zA-Z0-9-+=_.]+$/'; Kind regards Jens <!-- github-comment-id:587337524 -->
Author
Owner

Hi, I've tried putting a folder with a picture in out inside of the galleries folder in my piwigo installation, but when I go to the website, no associated album shows up. Are you not allowed to mix virtual albums with physical albums?

Hi, I've tried putting a folder with a picture in out inside of the galleries folder in my piwigo installation, but when I go to the website, no associated album shows up. Are you not allowed to mix virtual albums with physical albums? <!-- github-comment-id:792063505 -->
Author
Owner

The synchronisation will only look inside the ./galleries folder so you need to use symlinks of it's outside of it.
Yes you can have virtual and physic albums.

Don't hesitate to use our forum for questions. Just explain in detail if you do

The synchronisation will only look inside the ./galleries folder so you need to use symlinks of it's outside of it. Yes you can have virtual and physic albums. Don't hesitate to use our forum for questions. Just explain in detail if you do <!-- github-comment-id:792068216 -->
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Reference: adam/Piwigo#848