Photo upload
From Wiki
This page is intended as a guide to uploading photos to Geni. Please see the photos page for more information on other photo related features
Geni provides unlimited photo uploads for you and your family. When you upload your photos, you can add people, event, date, and location information to your photos to create a rich family history.
Contents
Photo Specifications
Geni does a great job of resizing photos or you, but photos with an aspect ratio of 4x3 are ideal. Some common examples of 4x3 aspect ratio are 640x480, 1024x768, 1600x1200, and 2048x1536. If the photo you are adding to Geni is going to be the main photo for the profile, try to make sure that the person's face is in the center of the photo so that their face shows up on their box in the tree.
Geni accepts the following file formats: jpeg, png, and gif.
There are two ways to upload your photos to Geni:
Advanced Photo Uploader
Geni's Advanced Photo Uploader is a browser plug-in that supports up to 40 photo uploads in a single session. The plug-in supports JPEG, PNG, and GIF formats and reduces and compresses large photos down to 640x480 pixels for faster upload. A photo that is reduced down to half it's original dimensions results in a 75% reduction in file size and therefore upload time. The plug-in is packaged as an ActiveX Control in IE and a Java Applet in Firefox and Safari.
Simple Uploader
Geni's Simple Photo Uploader uses the standard http file upload mechanism and is therefore compatible with virtually all browsers. Once uploaded, Geni creates two versions of your photo: a reduced 640x480 pixel version viewable through Geni, and the original full resolution version where the integrity of the original is preserved. To view the original image file, click the View Full Size button while viewing any photo. Because the original image files are uploaded, upload times may be very long.
Photo Uploader Comparison Table
| Attribute | Advanced Uploader | Simple Uploader |
|---|---|---|
| Max number of photos per upload session | 40 | 10 |
| Resulting photo dimensions | 640 pixels x 480 pixels (640 pixel max height if portrait orientation 480 pixel max width if landscape orientation) | original size no maximum or miniumum |
| JPEG quality | 10 | setting from original file is preserved |
| Copy exif data | true | setting from original file is preserved |
| Auto rotate based on exif data | true | false |
| Rotate option in the UI | true, during upload | available soon |
| Supported file types | jpeg, png, gif | All formats that imagemagick is configured to support |
| Minimum image width | 100 pixels | none |
| Minimum image height | 100 pixels | none |
| Keep original file | false | true |
| Overall upload progress indicator | yes | no |
| Per file progress indicator | no | no |
After your photos are uploaded successfully you will have the opportunity to associate the photos with an event, tag the photos, and add captions.
Known Issues
Internet Explorer 7
Microsoft recently released a security update that has caused issues with the Advanced Photo Uploader. If you have installed this recent security update, when you attempt to use the advanced photo uploader, the install message: "Image Uploader ActiveX control is necessary..." will appear, even if you have already installed the uploader. You will not be able to upload photos with the advanced photo uploader.
We are working on a fix and hope to have it released soon. In the meantime, you can continue to use the simple photo uploader.
Norton Antivirus
Norton Antivirus can conflict with the Advanced Photo Uploader. Note that you should still be able to use the Simple Photo Uploader.
If you use Norton Antivirus and have issues uploading photos, follow the instructions below to resolve the issue.
- Go to Norton Antivirus Tab -> "Settings" -> "Web Browsing"
- Click on the buttons "Internet Worm Protection", then "Configure", then "General Rules", then "Add"
- Click "Allow" and then "Next"
- Select "Connections from other computers" and click "Next"
- Select "Only the computers and sites listed below" and click "Add"
- When the window pops up, choose "individually", enter "*.geni.com", click "OK", click "Next"
- Select "All types of communication" and click "Next"
- Name the rule "Geni", click "Next", click "Finish".
- Click "Okay" and "okay" again to close the settings.
- Once you restart your browser you should be able to upload photos
Photo Notifications
For information on the Media Digest and Media Comments notifications please view the Notifications page.
