Introduction
A photo gallery is a curated set of images (for example behind-the-scenes photos or event coverage). You create the gallery object in ViewLift Tools, add images by upload or from the image library, then place the gallery on site pages in Template Builder.
This article explains how to add a new photo gallery, complete the object, publish it, and place it on the site.
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to help you:
- Create a new photo gallery object in ViewLift Tools
- Fill in the metadata required to publish
- Add and order images on the Photo Gallery tab
- Know how to place the gallery on trays and which Template Page renders it
Scope
This article covers:
- Creating a photo gallery in ViewLift Tools → Content Management → Photo Gallery
- Completing the gallery object (metadata, availability, SEO)
- Adding images on the Photo Gallery tab
- Publishing the gallery
- The required Template Builder points for trays and the PhotoGallery Template Page
It does not cover full Template Builder how-to (that is a separate documentation set), or using images as thumbnails on other content types. Those live on Manage Images for videos, series, and similar objects. For videos, see Create a VOD Object.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure you have:
- Access to ViewLift Tools with permission to create and publish photo gallery content
- Access to Template Builder
- Image files ready to upload (any standard image type, such as JPEG, PNG, or WebP), or images already in the Tools image library
- Your metadata ready before you start: title, description, tags, and categories
Example used in this article
Throughout the steps below we use one running example — a gallery called Championship Behind the Scenes. Replace the sample values with your own.
Step 1: Open Photo Gallery in ViewLift Tools
- Log into ViewLift Tools.
- From the main menu, open Content Management.
- In the content type selector at the top of the list, choose Photo Gallery.
Figure 1. ViewLift Tools → Content Management → Photo Gallery. Use the content-type dropdown to select Photo Gallery, then click + Add New Photo Gallery.
The list shows existing gallery objects. You can search by title, tag, or category.
Step 2: Curate a New Photo Gallery
- On the Photo Gallery list, select + Add New Photo Gallery in the header. The button is labelled with the content type you selected, so it reads Add New Photo Gallery while Photo Gallery is active.
- The Curate New Photo Gallery dialog opens.
- Enter a Title (required). Example:
Championship Behind the Scenes. - Optionally enter a Description.
- Select Create.
Tools creates the gallery as a draft and opens the editor.
Permalink is not set in this dialog. It is generated on the detail page — editorialize it before you publish (see Step 3).
Figure 2. Curate New Photo Gallery dialog. Enter a Title (required) and an optional Description, then select Create.
Step 3: Complete Content Metadata
Open the gallery. The detail page sidebar includes Content Metadata, Availability & Scheduling, Photo Gallery, SEO, and Version History.
Start with Content Metadata.
Figure 3. Photo gallery detail page, Content Metadata. Required fields are Title and Permalink.
| Field | Required | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Yes | Customer-facing gallery title. | Championship Behind the Scenes |
| Permalink | Yes | The URL path for this gallery. See permalink guidelines below. | /championship-behind-the-scenes |
| Description | No | Summary shown on the gallery detail page and in discovery. | Locker-room and pitch-side photos from championship weekend. |
| Author | No | Attribution (person or staff name). | Sports Desk |
| Tags | No | Keywords for search and programmatic trays. Type to choose an existing tag or create a new one. | championship, photos, bts |
| Categories | No | Higher-level grouping used to drive trays and landing pages. | Photo Stories |
Permalink guidelines
Use the same rules as other content types:
-
Start with a slash (
/) -
Lower-case letters only
-
No spaces or special characters except dash (
-) or underscore (_); dashes are preferred -
No leading or trailing whitespace
-
Keep it SEO-friendly (about 59 characters)
-
Remove auto-generated numeric identifiers when you editorialize the path
-
Good:
/championship-behind-the-scenes -
Avoid:
/Championship Behind_the_Scenes_final
You can change the permalink later if you need a better URL. Use the copy control next to the field to copy the current path. To see who changed the gallery and when, open the Version History tab.
Gallery photos are added on Photo Gallery (Step 4), not on a Manage Images tab.
Step 4: Add Photos
This is the step that makes a photo gallery different from other content. Open Photo Gallery.
The left card is Gallery. The right card is the image library. Helper text on the right is Drag images into the gallery on the left.
You can add photos in two ways:
- Upload — drag files onto Drag & drop images to upload (or click to browse). Upload starts immediately. Each file becomes an image in the library and is added to this gallery.
- Library — on the right, Search images, then drag an existing image into Gallery on the left. Empty search copy is No images found.
Then:
- Drag cards in the gallery to set display order.
- Use the trash control on a card to remove that photo from this gallery (it stays in the image library). The control is labelled Remove plus the image name.
- If the Unsaved Changes banner appears (You have unsaved changes. Make sure to save before closing.), select Save Changes before you leave the page.
Adding, reordering, or removing photos marks the gallery dirty. Tools does not auto-save those edits; use Save Changes.
An image can appear only once in this gallery. Images already in the gallery are hidden from the source list. You can still use the same image in other galleries.
Empty gallery: Drop images here to build the gallery — Drag from the source list on the right.
You can publish a gallery with no photos yet, but viewers will not have images to browse until you add them.
Figure 4. Photo Gallery. Upload images or drag them from the library, then select Save Changes if the unsaved-changes banner appears.
Step 5: Configure Additional Photo Gallery Settings
Complete the sections your service uses before you publish.
Availability & Scheduling
The section header is Content Availability. There is no AIR Date on photo gallery.
Set when users can access the gallery:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Start Date & Time | Before this time, users cannot access the gallery. Placeholder: Select Date & Time. If you set a time, it must be in the future (Please select a future date and time.). |
| End Date & Time | After this time, the gallery becomes unavailable. Optional. Same future-date rule if you set a time. |
| Timezone | Optional. Timezone for the start and end times. |
SEO (Search & Discovery)
These fields are optional and are not required to publish.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Title | SEO title for search results and browser tabs |
| H1 Title | Main on-page heading |
| H2 Title | Supporting heading |
| Description | Meta description (aim for 150–160 characters) |
| Keywords | Search terms for this gallery |
| Redirect URL | Optional URL if this permalink should send users elsewhere. Include http or https. |
| Redirect Code | Typically 301 (permanent) or 302 (temporary) |
Follow your site’s SEO guidelines when filling these fields.
Version History
Open Version History to see who changed the gallery and when.
Step 6: Publish the Photo Gallery
Required before publish:
- Title
- Permalink
A 16:9 Landscape image is not required, because Photo Gallery has no Manage Images tab. Photos in the gallery are also not required to publish, but add them before you expect a full gallery experience.
- When you are ready, select Publish to go live now.
- Or use Schedule to publish at a later date and time.
- After publish, use Update for further metadata changes, Unpublish to take it down, or Archive to retire it.
Duplicate is not available for photo galleries in ViewLift Tools. Create a new gallery and attach images under Photo Gallery.
Figure 5. Photo gallery detail header. Use Publish (or Schedule) to go live in the CMS.
The gallery is now in the CMS library. It does not appear on the website until you curate it onto a page or a user opens its permalink (which uses the PhotoGallery Template Page).
Step 7: Curate the Photo Gallery on a Template Builder Page
To show the gallery on Home (or any Modular Page):
- Open AppCMS → Edit Template Builder.
- Open Modular Pages and find the page (for example, Home).
- Add or select a tray module. Typical trays:
- VL HighlightTray
- VL LandscapeTray
- VL Vertical Tray
- Open module settings and set a tray title, for example
Championship Photos. - Choose Content Selection:
- Manually Curate — search for the gallery. In the Content Type list it appears as Photogallery.
- Programmatically Generate — fill the tray from tags or categories. For example, generate from the tag
photos.
- Set Content Type to Photogallery (or Any) if the tray filters by type.
- Publish the Template Builder page.
Changes can take about 5–10 minutes to appear on the website because of caching. To verify sooner, use a private window, another browser, or clear cookies and cache.
Clicking the gallery takes the user to the gallery detail page. That layout is the PhotoGallery Template Page. Keep one default PhotoGallery Template Page unless this gallery is assigned a custom template. The detail module caption is PhotogalleryDetailModule.
Tray modules, gallery layout, and template-page customization are covered in the Template Builder documentation.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | What to check |
|---|---|
| Photos disappear after you leave the tab | Select Save Changes on the Unsaved Changes banner before you navigate away. Gallery add/reorder/remove is not auto-saved. |
| An image does not appear in the source list | It is already in this gallery. Remove it from Gallery first if you need to add it again. Empty search copy is No images found. |
| Publish is greyed out or shows an error | Confirm you have a Title and a Permalink. A 16:9 thumbnail is not required for this type. |
| Availability will not save | Start and end times must be in the future. Tools shows Please select a future date and time. |
| The gallery is published but viewers cannot find it | Confirm it is curated onto a tray on a published page, and that the availability window has started. Photo gallery has no Hide Content (Search & Trays) control. |
| The gallery page has no photos | Publish does not require images. Open Photo Gallery, add photos, then Save Changes. |
Best Practices
- Write titles for viewers.
Championship Behind the Scenesworks far better thangallery_final_v3. - Save gallery photos before you leave. Use Save Changes when the unsaved-changes banner appears.
- Set display order on purpose. Drag cards in Gallery to the order viewers should see.
- Tag consistently. Programmatic trays are built from tags and categories, so a misspelled tag means the gallery silently never appears.
- Reuse library images when the same photo belongs in more than one gallery, instead of uploading a second copy.
FAQs
Q. Can I create a gallery before I have any photos?
Yes. Create the gallery, then upload or drag images in later.
Q. Where do I set a 16:9 thumbnail?
Photo Gallery does not have a Manage Images tab. Photos live on the Photo Gallery tab. Title and permalink are what Tools requires to publish.
Q. If I remove a photo from the gallery, is it deleted from Tools?
No. It is removed from this gallery only. The image stays in the image library.
Q. Can the same image be in two galleries?
Yes. Inside a single gallery, that image can appear only once.
Q. Can I duplicate a photo gallery?
No. Duplicate is not available for photo galleries in ViewLift Tools. Create a new gallery and attach images under Photo Gallery.
Q. Can I edit a gallery after publishing?
Yes. Open the gallery, change what you need, and select Update. For photo membership and order, also select Save Changes if the unsaved-changes banner is showing. You do not have to unpublish first.
Q. I published the gallery but I do not see it on Home.
Publishing adds it to the library. You still need to curate it onto a tray (manually or by tag/category) and publish that Template Builder page. Allow a few minutes for cache.
Q. Which Template Page does a photo gallery use?
The PhotoGallery Template Page. The detail module caption is PhotogalleryDetailModule.
Important Information
- Create the photo gallery object in Tools. Template Builder only places that object on pages and defines the detail layout.
- Add photos on Photo Gallery, not on a Manage Images tab.
- Save when the Unsaved Changes banner appears.
- Photo gallery has no Monetization, Geo-Restrictions, Quick Settings, or Manage Images tab.
- Use the same permalink style as other content:
/lowercase-path-with-dashes. - Cache can delay frontend updates by 5–10 minutes.
Glossary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Photo Gallery | The content type in Tools for a curated set of images. |
| Gallery | The left-hand list of photos on the Photo Gallery tab. |
| Image library | Existing images you can search and drag into the gallery. |
| PhotoGallery Template Page | The Template Builder page that defines the layout for an individual gallery detail screen. |
| Permalink | The permanent URL path for the gallery, for example /championship-behind-the-scenes. |
| Tray | A horizontal row of content on a page in Template Builder. |
Contact Support
If you need help beyond this article, contact the ViewLift support team.
- Email: techsupport@viewlift.com
- Phone (US): +1-800-859-0420
- Phone (UK): +44-203-014-8921
Support hours: B2C requests are handled Monday to Friday. B2B support is available 24/7.
After the photo gallery is published in Tools, users can open it on the site by permalink, or from a tray after you curate it in Template Builder. The detail layout is the PhotoGallery Template Page.