Hello pLoader fans,

ron and I have been working lately on the "re-upload" feature for pLoader/Piwigo. This feature will cover the following cases:

* new thumbnail dimensions
* new "web resized" dimensions
* new compression level
* new sharpen level
* add the high resolution (that was not uploaded when adding the photo for the first time)

Code is ready on Piwigo side. I have add 2 new methods in the web API:

* pwg.images.checkFiles takes the 3 updated files (thumbnail/web/high) checksums as input. Piwigo returns an answer for each file : equals/differs/missing

* pwg.images.addFile let you add/update any of the 3 files. This method only update the file, not the "Piwigo related properties" such as category list, tag list, title, description, date, etc.

No problem so far.

Now the question is "how do we design the user interface at pLoader level"?

This is where we need your help. We have some difficulties to find the nice idea that would keep pLoader as simple as possible for basic usage and if someone wants to use this new feature, it should not give him a headache!

Currently (pLoader 2.0.5b and earlier revisions) we already have a "magic" update behavior. Let me explain with an example:

step 1) you transfer the photo "Homer" in the "Simpson's House" category
step 2) you transfer the very same photo "Homer" in the "Nuclear Plant" category

pLoader will detect that this photo is already on Piwigo side and the second step will be very fast because no file will be uploaded, only a new category will be associated to an existing photo. At the end of step 2, "Homer" photo will be visible in categories "Simpson's House" and "Nuclear Plant". It sounds like a hidden feature, I know. But at least it doesn't disturb the user for basic usage.

We could keep the same behavior for files re-upload if the file differs or is missing. My problem is that if the user doesn't remember in which category the photo was added 2 years ago, he will have to find this category or else the photo will be associated to a new category (that he doesn't want, he just wants to update his photo dimensions).

ron proposes to add a "Transfered photos" tab next to "Photo selection". In the "Transfered photos" tab, first you choose the category in the tree, then the thumbnails are displayed from the website, the "Piwigo properties" are filled based on Piwigo content. The trick is that pLoader knows how to find the corresponding photo on the local file system. Let's say we're practicing high level magic and we can find the file on disk :-). Then the user changes the global settings such as the width/height of the web resized photo. At last the user starts the transfer, the files are updated on Piwigo side.

If you have no idea what I'm writing about but you're interested, ask for a better description of the problem.
If you have any idea, just write it down and let's discuss about it!