How do I assign all images in posts to the post's categories?
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Hi,
Or better yet – how do I enable images in media library to inherit their post’s categories?
I’ve got around 1700 posts, so it’s a must to be able to automate this.
Morten
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When I look further on, I see no linkage or inheritance option for new image uploads either, which means assigning categories now has to be done twice – one for post and one for each image uploaded to post.
How do I enable categories defaulting from those set in the post?
Thanks for your interest in MLA and for this stimulating question. The idea of assigning categories to Media Library items based on their relationship to posts/pages has not come up before. There’s nothing in the current MLA version that will help with this task.
I’ve given this a few minute’s thought now, and several questions come to mind. I’d like to make sure I understand what you need.
When you say “images in posts“, do you mean:
- Images “attached” to the post, i.e., whose
post_parentmatches the post ID? - The “Featured Image” in the post?
- Images inserted in the body of the post?
- Images appearing in a
[gallery]or [mla_gallery]` shortcode output in the post? - Something else?
When you say “linkage or inheritance“, it implies an ongoing relationship, beyond the moment of uploading a new item.
- What should happen when the categories of the related post are changed; should all the “linked” items change as well?
- What should happen when an item is “detached” from its parent (or a Featured Image is deleted)?
What about tags? Custom Taxonomies?
I’m interested in any answers you have for these questions, but mostly I’m thinking out loud about the implications of your suggestion.
The most practical thing I can imagine is to extend the mapping features already present for IPTC/EXIF/PDF metadata and custom fields to enable mapping of taxonomy terms from an item’s parent to the item itself. This would happen on demand (“map all attachments now”) and when an item is added to the Media Library. That would avoid the inheritance/linkage maintenance issues. Are you familiar with those MLA features, and would something like that be useful?
With version 3.5 and the new Media Manager, WordPress is moving away from the idea of “attaching” items to posts/pages, and using the “IDS” parameter for building galleries.
I should also note in passing that most MLA customers have separate “Att. Categories” and “Att. Tags” for media items that are different from post categories/tags.
Thank you for bearing with me as I explore the implications of this idea; I welcome any further comments you have. I will consider adding something in a future version, although it may take some time to complete the work.
Hi David,
Thanks for your quick and very constructive reply. It seems you are definitely serious about your plugin! Often I experience no reply or vague replies – this is really interesting.
I’m referring to images attached to posts, meaning those displayed in Edit Post + Add Media + Uploaded to this post, which I guess is the same as post_parent matching the post ID. But I’d prefer if I could have the Featured Image + those inserted in post, as I sometimes upload images to a post that I do not display in the published post. So I’ve got posts with let’s say 4 uploaded images, but only 2 published (one Featured Image and one inserted in post’s body).
With linkage/inheritance I mean that as soon as I’ve selected categories (preferably also Tags) for the post, the uploaded images will inherit these categories (and preferably the Tags as well), so that I do not have to click the same categories again just for the images
As Custom Taxonomies are custom, I think that should be for a future version.
1: When categories of the post are changed, this should also happen for the photos.
2: When detached/Featured image is deleted it should revert back to orphaned/default state / no categories (however this is rarely a situation, as I don’t upload or keep images just for themselves – they are basically orphans).For the time being I find categories to be most relevant, but somewhere down the road I think tags should have the same methodology, as images are uploaded to be part of a post, which is also tagged.
I haven’t used the EXIF MLA features, as I have a custom EXIF plugin that dynamically displays image EXIF on mouse over, and that is sufficient for me.
I don’t understand why one would need separate Att. Categories and Att. Tags for images and posts they belong to. This creates a separatistic and non-holistic system.
Let’s give an example – I have a post with category-tree “Plants”, “Flowers”, “Asteraceae”, and then the species of the plant as the title – e.g. “Erato polymnioides”, and the photos of this species with text describing this species and how I found it. They are both linked in content and meaning. I naturally must have these images with the same categories, if not I’m creating a different and non-related Category-tree.
This means that when I have an image-only representation/photostream I will be able to select all images belonging to one family of plants. Thus I can filter on categories from two sides: posts or images.
Another example – let us say I have a travel blog. I have photos from Sydney, and Darling Harbour – both are Categories (could be tags also, of course). I have several posts from Darling Harbour all with images. If I want to have a gallery of all images from Darling Harbour with a parallel set of categories, I have to maintain a second set of categories with identical names in order to have any meaning, as these images are also in posts where the stories and details for these locations are. This parallelism makes no sense and is manual, and thus will be inconsistent over time.
Looking forward to your response.
Thank you for your detailed and thoughtful explanation of your application and your requirements. The linkage and inheritance you outline are fairly complex; I will think about how it might be done in a way that’s appropriate for the general audience.
Given the specificity of your site architecture and your requirements, it is possible that a stand-alone plugin that implements the logic you’ve described would be a better approach. I will think about that, too.
I would also like to respond to your comment:
I don’t understand why one would need separate Att. Categories and Att. Tags for images and posts they belong to. This creates a separatistic and non-holistic system.
Let me give you two examples of other applications with different requirements.
1. Our site has a number of images, PDF documents and other assets that appear in several different posts/pages. For example, organization logos and stylized buttons implemented as images. Thus, we have Att. Categories like “logo” and “button” that make sense for these images but have no meaning for posts or pages. These assets do not “belong” to any given post or page; they are used throughout the site.
2. Our site (Fair Trade Judaica) has custom taxonomies for Products, Artisans and Fair Trade Organizations. We blog about issues such as child labor in cocoa production. Our WordPress categories include terms like “Social Justice” and “Labor Practices”. Our blog posts often contain images of Products and/or Artisans, but it makes no sense to code an image of an Artisan group as “Social Justice”.
I am continually amazed at the ways MLA is put to use in different applications, and I am always trying to add features that are flexible enough to be applied in ways I haven’t thought of. Your site has given me some new things to consider; thank you again.
Hi David,
Thanks again for a thorough response!
I am really happy to see that you’re willing to consider this in a future release! I am waiting in anticipation, as WP still has many limitations, this is really important to keep WP housekeeping to a minimum.
The great thing about WP is the huge user base and thus the diversity of uses, which you are encountering through your excellent plugin.
Please keep me informed, and I will of course be your “lab rat” during the development!
That said, I’m afraid I’ve encountered a critical problem introduced by MLA:
When I realized you deal with EXIF I didn’t think much about it until I added another post and in previewing it did not see the EXIF data on image mouse over.
I then checked my published posts, and none are displaying EXIF now. Even after I have deactivated the plugin I no longer have EXIF displayed. This seems a bit intrusive, so how do I get my EXIFs back?
You’re most welcome.
With regard to your EXIF issue, I am at a loss to see how MLA could be causing this. MLA’s use of EXIF is strictly read-only, and uses a standard PHP function for that purpose.
Your earlier post says that you use “a custom EXIF plugin” for your application. I could investigate that plugin and give you more help, but I would need a copy of the plugin or access to your site.
WordPress is changing the way it supports attachment metadata, starting with version 3.5 and continuing to evolve in 3.6 and now 3.7. Is it possible that a new WordPress version is involved?
If you’d like further help, the best way to proceed would be by e-mail. You can send me you address from the “Contact Us” page at our web site:
Thanks for your understanding and for your patience.
Thanks for confirming what I also assumed – a read-only approach.
I’ve therefore deactivated another plugin I’ve been testing simultaneously – Justified Image Grid. Lo and behold – that was the culprit 🙂
I will deal with the plugin author.
Thanks again for your quick response.
I’m looking forward your updates regarding plugin enhancements! Do you want me to submit my contact details in the above contact form?
I am very happy that MLA did not intrude on your EXIF data; good luck with the Justified Image Grid.
You are welcome to give me your contact information and I will follow up when I have news regarding this topic. I’ll also post an update here at some point.
Morton,
Thank you for working with me on the design and implementation of a separate, custom plugin to meet your post/attachment synchronization and inheritance requirements.
I am marking this topic resolved, since there is no further need for MLA fixes or enhancements to address it. Thanks again for your interest in both of the plugins.
- Images “attached” to the post, i.e., whose
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