How to Use

The following assumes that you are familiar with Apple iPhoto. Also, I assume that you have iPhoto '08 and a web browser with macromedia flash version 8 or greater installed.
  • Follow the instructions to download and install the plugin.
  • Select the files you want to export and then select the File Export menu and the FAExporter plugin tab.

    HINT: you can select entire albums and events or just individual groups of photos.

  • Pick the album style (SimpleViewer, PostCardViewer, AutoViewer, BananAlbum, GreyBox or LightBox)
  • Enter an album name. This is the name of the folder that will hold all web album files.

    NOTE: If the folder already exists, the plugin will delete the existing files inside it during the export process (after a OK to continue prompt). This is useful so that you can easily update an album, but if can be dangerous if you are not paying attention.

  • Select the thumbnail, color and titling options. For the sake of simplicity, the iPhoto version supports a subset of the options available for Aperture.

    NOTE: each style supports different options settings. Options that are not available are displayed in grey and are not selectable.

  • The “Include MetaData" checkbox will embed the metadata information in the exported photos.
  • The “Include iPhoto Comments" checkbox will use this information as photo label text.
  • The “Open in Safari” checkbox will open the web page in a browser window after the export is complete.
  • Select the image pixel Size and JPEG Quality attributes. This allows you to control both how large (screen size) and how big (file size) the exported photos will be. Typical values for albums with less than 20 photos are Size of "Large (800)" and Quality "High". For larger albums, you may want to reduce your Size and Quality values appropriately.

    NOTE: There are no hard limits on the number of photos per album. However, practically speaking, you should try to limit your albums to 50 photos or less (25 is better). Remember, these albums will be viewed on the web and load time is part of the viewing experience.

  • Pick the export button. This will start the export process. Steps that are done include setting up the directory structure, exporting the image and thumbnail files, and creating the proper HTML and XML configuration files. Once complete, the files are now ready to be moved to your web site.