Frequently Asked Questions

PhotoFlow Gallery is a professional image gallery extension for Joomla 4, 5, and 6. It provides a complete solution for displaying, organizing, and managing images on your Joomla website with stunning visual design and exceptional performance.

Built with modern architecture, PhotoFlow delivers features like automatic image optimization, WebP/AVIF conversion, virtual scrolling, multiple display modes, and advanced security options - all through an intuitive interface.

PhotoFlow is a complete 3-in-1 package that includes:

• Component (com_photoflow) - Full gallery management system with admin interface and frontend display
• Module (mod_photoflow) - Display galleries in any module position with customizable settings
• Plugin (plg_photoflow) - Extended functionality and integration with Joomla

All three extensions work seamlessly together and are installed as a single package.

PhotoFlow Gallery natively supports Joomla 4.x, 5.x, and 6.x without requiring any legacy compatibility plugins. It's built using modern Joomla 4+ architecture with namespaced classes and follows current best practices.

The extension is not compatible with Joomla 3.x. If you're still on Joomla 3, you'll need to upgrade to Joomla 4 or later first.

PhotoFlow has standard requirements that most modern hosting environments already meet:

• PHP 8.0 or higher - Optimized for PHP 8.x performance
• MySQL 5.7+ or MariaDB 10.3+ - Standard database requirements
• Joomla 4.0+, 5.x, or 6.x - No legacy plugins needed
• GD or Imagick extension - For image processing and optimization

For best performance, we recommend enabling WebP and AVIF support in your PHP installation.

PhotoFlow Gallery costs 20 EUR as a one-time payment. There are no recurring subscription fees, no monthly charges, and no hidden costs.

Once you purchase, you own the license forever and receive all future updates at no additional cost.

Yes! Your purchase includes lifetime updates. This means:

• All future feature updates and improvements
• Security patches and bug fixes
• Compatibility updates for new Joomla versions
• New features and enhancements as they're released

Simply download the latest version from your account whenever an update is available.

Each license of PhotoFlow is valid for one Joomla installation. If you manage multiple websites, you'll need a separate license for each site.

However, you can use PhotoFlow on:

• One production site
• Unlimited development/staging environments for that site
• Unlimited local testing environments

Need licenses for multiple sites? Contact us for volume pricing options.

We offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. If PhotoFlow doesn't meet your expectations or doesn't work as described, contact us within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.

No questions asked - though we'd appreciate feedback to help us improve!

Installation is straightforward using Joomla's standard extension installer:

• Download the PhotoFlow package (com_photoflow_x.x.x.zip) from your account
• Go to System → Install → Extensions in Joomla admin
• Upload the ZIP file using the Upload Package File tab
• Wait for installation to complete
• Navigate to Components → PhotoFlow Gallery to start using it

The package automatically installs the component, module, and plugin in one go.

Updating PhotoFlow is just as easy as installing:

• Download the latest version from your account
• Go to System → Install → Extensions
• Upload the new ZIP file - Joomla will automatically detect it's an update
• Your settings and data are preserved during the update

Tip: Always backup your site before updating, though PhotoFlow updates are designed to be non-destructive.

No! When you update PhotoFlow, all your data is preserved:

• All uploaded images remain in place
• Component configuration settings are maintained
• Categories, albums, and organization are kept
• Custom CSS and template overrides stay intact

Only the extension code files are updated. However, it's always good practice to backup before any update.

PhotoFlow includes a powerful bulk import feature that can import thousands of images from existing directories on your server. This makes migration from other gallery extensions straightforward:

• Point the import tool to your old gallery's image directory
• PhotoFlow automatically processes and imports all images
• Duplicates are detected and skipped
• Batch processing ensures smooth handling of large libraries

While there's no direct migration tool for specific extensions, the import process typically takes just minutes.

PhotoFlow supports all standard image formats:

• JPEG/JPG - The most common format, fully supported
• PNG - Perfect for images with transparency
• GIF - Including animated GIFs
• WebP - Modern format with excellent compression (auto-generated)
• AVIF - Next-gen format for maximum optimization (auto-generated)

When you upload JPEG or PNG images, PhotoFlow automatically generates optimized WebP and AVIF versions for browsers that support them, dramatically improving load times.

PhotoFlow offers four distinct display modes, each fully customizable:

• Grid View - Classic grid layout with configurable columns and aspect ratios
• List View - Detailed list format with image metadata
• Masonry - Pinterest-style layout that adapts to different image sizes
• Carousel - Full-width slideshow with navigation controls

Each mode supports hover effects, lazy loading, and responsive column adjustments for mobile devices.

Yes! PhotoFlow includes comprehensive organization features:

• Nested categories - Create unlimited category levels for hierarchical organization
• Albums - Group related images within categories
• Breadcrumbs - Automatic navigation showing category path
• Per-category settings - Different display options for each category
• Flexible ordering - Manual ordering, date sorting, or alphabetical

This makes it easy to organize even massive image libraries logically.

PhotoFlow offers flexible security options to protect your images:

• Individual passwords - Set unique passwords for specific images or albums
• Global passwords - Apply one password to multiple images
• Pattern-based passwords - Dynamic password generation based on date/time patterns
• Lockout protection - Block access after failed attempts
• Direct link only mode - Hide images from listings, accessible only via direct URL

Plus, PhotoFlow integrates with Joomla's native ACL system for user group-based access control.

Virtual Scroll is a performance technique that makes galleries with thousands of images load instantly. Instead of rendering all images at once, it:

• Only renders images currently visible in the viewport
• Intelligently recycles DOM elements as you scroll
• Uses GPU acceleration for smooth 60fps scrolling
• Dramatically reduces memory usage and initial load time

This means you can display 10,000+ images in a gallery that loads in under 100ms - something impossible with traditional pagination.

PhotoFlow automatically optimizes images on upload without quality loss:

• Automatic thumbnails - Generated at configurable sizes for grid views
• Detail images - Medium-sized versions for full-screen viewing
• WebP conversion - Creates WebP versions (typically 30-50% smaller)
• AVIF conversion - Next-gen format (up to 90% smaller than JPEG)
• Progressive JPEG - Images load incrementally for perceived speed
• Smart lazy loading - Images load only as needed

Original high-resolution files are preserved for downloads while optimized versions are served to browsers.

Yes! PhotoFlow includes built-in CDN support. Simply configure your CDN URL in the component settings, and all gallery images will be served through your CDN automatically.

This works with popular CDN providers like:

• Cloudflare
• Amazon CloudFront
• KeyCDN
• BunnyCDN
• Any CDN that supports custom domains

CDN integration further improves global load times and reduces server load.

PhotoFlow implements multiple caching layers for optimal performance:

• Query caching - Database queries are cached to reduce load
• Browser caching - Proper cache headers for images and assets
• Component cache - Joomla's native caching system integration
• JSON API caching - AJAX responses are cached when appropriate

Cache can be cleared via the maintenance panel when you make changes. The system automatically invalidates caches when needed.

If uploads are failing, check these common issues:

• File permissions - Ensure images/photoflow/ directories are writable (755 or 775)
• Upload limits - Check PHP's upload_max_filesize and post_max_size settings
• Image size - Very large images (50MB+) may timeout - consider resizing first
• Memory limit - Image processing requires adequate PHP memory (256MB+ recommended)
• GD/Imagick - Verify image processing extensions are enabled in PHP

Check Joomla's System Information page for current PHP configuration values.

Try these troubleshooting steps:

• Clear cache - Use the Maintenance panel in PhotoFlow admin to clear component cache
• Regenerate thumbnails - The Maintenance panel can rebuild all thumbnail files
• Check file paths - Ensure images exist in images/photoflow/ directories
• Template compatibility - Test with default Cassiopeia template to rule out conflicts
• JavaScript errors - Check browser console for JS errors that might break virtual scroll

If issues persist, the Maintenance panel includes diagnostic tools to identify problems.

If you're experiencing slowness despite Virtual Scroll:

• Enable query caching - Turn on query cache in Performance settings
• Use a CDN - Configure CDN settings to offload image serving
• Optimize database - Run database optimization in Joomla maintenance
• Enable Joomla cache - Turn on Joomla's page caching system
• Check hosting - Shared hosting may struggle with large galleries; consider VPS
• Reduce thumbnail size - Smaller thumbnails load faster (adjust in settings)

PhotoFlow is optimized to handle 10,000+ images efficiently on decent hosting.

We offer multiple support channels:

• Documentation - Comprehensive guides and tutorials in your account
• Email support - Contact us directly for technical assistance
• Community forum - Ask questions and share tips with other users
• Bug reports - Submit issues via our tracking system

Most support inquiries receive a response within 24-48 hours during business days.