We’re in the final stages of releasing Piwigo 16, and this is the first release candidate.

To see what functionnalites the betas brought you can read about them here :

[Forum, topic 34376] Piwigo 16.0.0beta1
[Forum, topic 30870] Piwigo 16.0.0beta2

Here’s what we’ve added since Piwigo 16.0.0beta2 :

A) A New Way to Explore Related Tags

The main visual change concerns related tags in the gallery. Previously, this feature was available in the menu, but because it was often misunderstood or unkown, we have decided to improve how related tags are displayed.

Now, on any page with thumbnails, you’ll find the related tags dropdown in the secondary actions menu (on the right-hand side when using the Modus theme). And when you open a tag page, you’ll see badges showing the different options for combining the current tag with others. You can click on multiple badges to "combine" them and see which picture have the combination of tags.



B) Introducing Expert Search Mode

For anyone who has been waiting for a more advanced way to search in the gallery — it’s finally here! We’ve added an Expert Mode search widget that lets you refine your queries with much greater precision. You can now exclude words, search for exact matches, and make use of a variety of other operators.



Feel free to experiment with the different possibilities… in the next section, we explain the syntax available for this expert mode.

C) New help popin for advanced search

For users who have never tried advanced search before (mainly because it was only available in the administration), we’ve redesigned the help pop-in. This is where you’ll find guidance on how to use advanced search effectively. The same popin is used for the gallery search and the batch manager search.



D) Updated Default Settings for New Image Sizes

In Piwigo beta 1, we introduced new derivative image sizes. After testing and gathering feedback, we’ve decided to deactivate these sizes by default. They were previously enabled, but for users with limited storage, these additional sizes can consume a significant amount of space.

This is also why the two new image sizes are generated at a maximum of 75% quality by default. If your quality setting in the administration is lower than 75%, the derivatives will follow your setting, but they will never exceed 75%. The visual difference is imperceptible, while this approach helps reduce the storage space required for these images.


E) Smarty 5.5.2 and PHP 7.4 Compatibility, on our way to PHP 8.4

We’re moving Piwigo toward full PHP 8.4 compatibility, but getting there means some updates along the way. One of them is our template engine, Smarty. We’ve upgraded it to version 5.5.2, which requires features only available in PHP 7.4 and above. As a result, Piwigo 16 now requires PHP 7.4 or higher.

F) Explicit action to empty lounge

The "lounge," introduced in version 12 four years ago, requires that photo upload tools implement an "end of upload." When this is not done, you have to wait several minutes for your photos to appear in the gallery and even in the administration panel. We have introduced a new maintenance task to force the transfer of photos from the lounge to their destination albums.

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Download Piwigo 16.0.0 RC1

If you’d like to try this version but are unable to install it, don’t hesitate to contact us.

For any issues you may encounter, please create a new topic in the appropriate section of the forum.

Enjoy exploring this beta!