Look, I know its the New Year tonight, but I can’t help being a geek. Yup, after so many years, I’m finally owning up to being one. This means I can add this atop my other nicknames such as world-famous raconteur, high-flying adventurer, swashbuckling debonair man about town, and all sorts of adjectives of the dexterously dashing and prodigious variety.

At any rate, here I am Dec. 31, installing Coppermine 1.42 (released Nov. 24, 2005), and I’m thinking. Hey, this is cool. Hey, that new feature is tight. Hey, I’ve always wanted that. And Hey, I gotta get a life.

To wit:

The first thing I noticed while in the config area was the “Read EXIF and read IPTC data” in JPEG files.

Google has yet to index images using these parameters, instead relying on good ol’ “alt”, “title” and such. However, Google likes to mine data, and I’m guessing / hoping EXIF and IPTC data in JPEGs can’t be that far behind. Just check out the fields in EXIF for example, and see what Google’s missing:

AF Focus Position
Adapter
Color Mode
Color Space
Components Configuration
Compressed Bits Per Pixel
Contrast
Customer Render
DateTime Original
DateTime digitized
Digital Zoom
Digital Zoom Ratio
Exif Image Height
Exif Image Width
Exif Interoperability Offset
Exif Offset
Exif Version
Exposure Bias
Exposure Mode
Exposure Program
Exposure Time
FNumber
File Source
Flash
Flash Pix Version
Flash Setting
Focal length
Focus Mode
Gain Control
IFD1 Offset
ISO Selection
ISO Setting
ISO
Image Adjustment
Image Description
Image Sharpening
Light Source
Make
Manual Focus Distance
Max Aperture
Metering Mode
Model
Noise Reduction
Orientation
Quality
Resolution Unit
Saturation
Scene Capture Mode
Scene Type
Sharpness
Software
White Balance
YCbCrPositioning
X Resolution
Y Resolution

That’s 54 fields the JPEG (Join Photographers Experts Group) put in there for a reason, so I’ve always wondered why it’s not used other than for the occasionaly geeky comment (“Hey I can tell you used an Olympus! aka See how cool and hi-tech I am?”). There’s got to be more than that.

Anyway next up is the “ability to add new fields to profiles“:

Which in previous versions is possible only if you’re willing to get your hands dirty in php/mysql muck. Really not that hard except if you’re pressed for time like the rest of us.

Speaking of fields, you can “also add more for image descriptions” too. I’m not sure if this was present in previous versions, but here it is anyway:

Next up is “clickable keywords in search“, which is very very cool, and one of my faves, “Enable plugins“:

I figure this might be inspired from WordPress, whose success I think is partly due to the ease with which it uses plugins. I haven’t really found any useful ones yet, although this holds much much promise.

Again, I’m not sure if the next one is new, but it’s cool anyway:

Setting the maximum file size, width and height saves the admin from having to tell everyone time and time again not to upload pics that are too big, which is very common for two reasons: a.) Digicams are always set at their highest levels by default, and b.) People aren’t born with the knowledge of jpeg resizing.

Auto resizing images will save you a TON of having to explain these things.

The next is Custom menu link name, which along with Custom menu link URL, will produce a menu link like the “Administered by” one I did below:

You enter the details at the top portion of the config area like so:

Pretty neat, except maybe there should be an option to edit the whole menu field, for when you want to add more than just one link.

Next up, I’ve saved the best for last with the lower portion. This is the one I’m raring to have a go at, “Path to custom header and footer include“.

This means I can put html code at the top and at the bottom, allowing stuff like 3 columns (my favored design), and the photos will just show up like normal in the middle.

This gives you that old “the possibilities are enormous” giddy feeling that can only be described as geeky at the very least.

Anyway, here’s the complete “what’s new in this version” in detail:

advanced user management
exif manager
additional logging
browsable batch-add
detailed statistics
GIF support for GD
bridge manager
reset album properties
alphabetical category sort
help icons
improved xhtml compliance
picture manager
clickable keywords
expandable config page
emails in plain-text and html
plugin API
password protected albums
additional user profile fields
language fallback
server-side favorites
pics in multiple albums

I’ve yet to put pics in the new installation, but I’ve decided to put up an experimental version to give those new features I mentioned a go, especially that header and footer thing.

So far the Coppermine installation I’ve been most impressed with is Mabuhaybeauties.com, and I have to admit I stared at it a lot trying to figure out how it was done. Other than, of course, they happen to have a special FHM section, adding a degree of pleasantness to aforementioned staring activity.

Now that I’ve seen 1.42’s feature set (with accompanying how to make your own theme instructions in the DOCS folder), everything has now come to light.

Well then, it looks like I’ve found something to keep me busy this New Year weekend. Ahh but to feel that old geeky feeling again. A much more welcome one than the pervasively rotten one in previous blogposts no doubt.

Till then though, everyone have a safe and Terrific