FW Gallery – Documentation

What the Meta Add-on Does

The FW Gallery Meta add-on extends each gallery file with EXIF- and IPTC-style metadata fields — camera model, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, focal length, author, copyright, keywords, and more. These fields appear on the file edit form in the backend and can be displayed to visitors on the file detail page in the frontend.

Use Cases

• Photography portfolios — show technical shooting information alongside photos so visitors can see exactly how an image was captured.
• Stock and archival galleries — record licensing, copyright, and authorship details on a per-file basis.
• Professional photography sites — give technically minded visitors access to full image specifications on the detail page.

Metadata Fields on the File Edit Form

Once the add-on is active, the file edit form gains a dedicated metadata section. You can populate fields such as camera make and model, lens, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, focal length, author, copyright notice, description, and keywords. Only fields you fill in are stored; empty fields are ignored.

Automatic EXIF Extraction

When you upload a JPEG image, FW Gallery Meta can read EXIF data embedded in the file and pre-populate the metadata fields automatically. This saves manual data entry for large photo sets. Auto-extraction requires the PHP exif extension to be enabled on the server. If the extension is unavailable, fields can still be filled in manually.

Frontend Display

When a file has stored metadata, the detail page presents a metadata table or card alongside or beneath the main image. Only fields that contain values are shown — visitors never see blank rows. This keeps the display clean regardless of how many fields you have populated.

Important Notes

• Metadata is stored in FW Gallery's own database tables, not in Joomla's core metadata fields.
• EXIF auto-extraction works only with JPEG images; other formats must be populated manually.
• No metadata fields are mandatory — populate only what is relevant to your gallery.

To install this addon, open the Add-ons panel inside FW Gallery. See Getting Started → Add-ons for details on free addons, paid addons, and site verification.