Title: Odd Thumbnail Problem with mla_gallery Shortcode
Last modified: January 27, 2022

---

# Odd Thumbnail Problem with mla_gallery Shortcode

 *  Resolved [Greg Neise](https://wordpress.org/support/users/geneise/)
 * (@geneise)
 * [4 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/odd-thumbnail-problem-with-mla_gallery-shortcode/)
 * Something odd is happening. When I place this shortcode on a test page:
 * [mla_gallery size=full columns=4 attachment_category=birding-archive post_mime_type
   =application/pdf post_parent=all link=file]
    mla_caption=’[{+title+}](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/odd-thumbnail-problem-with-mla_gallery-shortcode/{+file_url+}?output_format=md)‘[/
   mla_gallery]
 * … the gallery loads as expected, with thumbnails, BUT ONLY IN PREVIEW MODE.
 * So, this link shows no thumbnails (featured images):
    [https://www.aba.org/test-bunny-single-post/](https://www.aba.org/test-bunny-single-post/)
 * But the preview link displays the 3 thumbnails that I have placed in this test:
   
   [https://www.aba.org/test-bunny-single-post/?preview_id=1828&_thumbnail_id=-1&preview=true](https://www.aba.org/test-bunny-single-post/?preview_id=1828&_thumbnail_id=-1&preview=true)
 * I’m trying to build what should be a simple pdf gallery to browse files, and 
   am wits-end. I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong here. I suspect it might
   have something to do with css minification (maybe?), but I’ve toggled all minification
   on and off (and cleared caches to test), with the same results.
 * TIA for any insight.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

 *  Plugin Author [David Lingren](https://wordpress.org/support/users/dglingren/)
 * (@dglingren)
 * [4 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/odd-thumbnail-problem-with-mla_gallery-shortcode/#post-15300305)
 * Thanks for your report and thanks as well for including the links to both versions
   of the page; very helpful.
 * In preview mode the IMG tag SRC attribute has the file name, as expected:
 *     ```
       <dl class="gallery-item ">
       <dt class="gallery-icon ">
       <a href="https://www.aba.org/themencode-pdf-viewer/?file=https://www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/ABA-birding.pdf#zoom=page-fit"><img aria-describedby="mla_gallery-1-2053" width="1024" height="1372" src="https://www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Birding-10-2017.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full" alt=""></a>
       </dt>
       <dd class="wp-caption-text gallery-caption" id="mla_gallery-1-2053">
       <a href="https://www.aba.org/themencode-pdf-viewer/?file=https://www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/ABA-birding.pdf#zoom=page-fit" target="_blank">Birding October 2017</a>
       </dd></dl>
       ```
   
 * The version returned by the site’s front end has a different value for the SRC
   atttribute:
 *     ```
       <dl class="gallery-item ">
       <dt class="gallery-icon ">
       <a href="https://www.aba.org/themencode-pdf-viewer/?file=https://www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/ABA-birding.pdf#zoom=page-fit"><img aria-describedby="mla_gallery-1-2053" width="1024" height="1372" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="attachment-full size-full" alt=""></a>
       </dt>
       <dd class="wp-caption-text gallery-caption" id="mla_gallery-1-2053">
       <a href="https://www.aba.org/themencode-pdf-viewer/?file=https://www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/ABA-birding.pdf#zoom=page-fit" target="_blank">Birding October 2017</a>
       </dd></dl>
       ```
   
 * Some function of your theme or another plugin is altering the SRC attribute and
   not matching the value to the proper image file. I do not believe MLA has any
   role in this issue.
 * I will leave this topic unresolved for now in case you can provide more details
   of any MLA involvement. I regret that I cannot give you more specific or useful
   help at this point. Thanks for your understanding and your interest in the plugin.
 *  Thread Starter [Greg Neise](https://wordpress.org/support/users/geneise/)
 * (@geneise)
 * [4 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/odd-thumbnail-problem-with-mla_gallery-shortcode/#post-15303440)
 * Hi David, thank you for the reply. As a way of testing things, I took the same
   short code and just changed the file type, then assigned one of the images the
   same attachment category:
 * [mla_gallery size=full columns=4 attachment_category=birding-archive post_mime_type
   =image/jpeg post_parent=all link=file]
    mla_caption=’[{+title+}](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/odd-thumbnail-problem-with-mla_gallery-shortcode/{+file_url+}?output_format=md)‘[/
   mla_gallery]
 * That is working as expected on the site’s front end:
 * [https://www.aba.org/test-bunny-single-post/](https://www.aba.org/test-bunny-single-post/)
 * … not sure what to make of that.
 *  Plugin Author [David Lingren](https://wordpress.org/support/users/dglingren/)
 * (@dglingren)
 * [4 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/odd-thumbnail-problem-with-mla_gallery-shortcode/#post-15303707)
 * Thanks for your update. With the change in file type the content of the link 
   and IMG tags has changed singificantly:
 *     ```
       <dl class="gallery-item ">
       <dt class="gallery-icon portrait">
       <a href="https://www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/birding-cover_v1_no1.jpg"><img aria-describedby="mla_gallery-1-47532" width="1024" height="1247" src="https://www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/birding-cover_v1_no1.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full" alt="" srcset="https://www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/birding-cover_v1_no1-200x244.jpg 200w, https://www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/birding-cover_v1_no1-246x300.jpg 246w, https://www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/birding-cover_v1_no1-400x487.jpg 400w, https://www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/birding-cover_v1_no1-500x609.jpg 500w, https://www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/birding-cover_v1_no1-600x731.jpg 600w, https://www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/birding-cover_v1_no1-700x852.jpg 700w, https://www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/birding-cover_v1_no1-723x880.jpg 723w, https://www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/birding-cover_v1_no1-768x935.jpg 768w, https://www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/birding-cover_v1_no1-800x974.jpg 800w, https://www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/birding-cover_v1_no1.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" data-attachment-id="47532" data-permalink="https://www.aba.org/?attachment_id=47532" data-orig-file="https://www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/birding-cover_v1_no1.jpg" data-orig-size="1024,1247" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="birding-cover_v1_no1" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/birding-cover_v1_no1-246x300.jpg" data-large-file="https://www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/birding-cover_v1_no1-723x880.jpg"></a>
       </dt>
       <dd class="wp-caption-text gallery-caption" id="mla_gallery-1-47532">
       <a href="https://www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/birding-cover_v1_no1.jpg" target="_blank">birding-cover_v1_no1</a>
       </dd></dl>
       ```
   
 * Note that the link in the earlier PDF case goes to a “pdf-viewer”. Perhaps the
   theme has special features for PDF viewing that alters the link and the IMG tag?
 *  Thread Starter [Greg Neise](https://wordpress.org/support/users/geneise/)
 * (@geneise)
 * [4 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/odd-thumbnail-problem-with-mla_gallery-shortcode/#post-15303868)
 * David, thanks again. It seems that the PDF viewer we use — which intercepts links
   that go directly to PDF files and forces them into the viewer is replacing the
   MLA gallery links completely.
 * I think you can mark this as resolved, and I need to figure out another way to
   create our archive galleries. Thank you *very* much for your time and effort.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

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 * 4 replies
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 * Last reply from: [Greg Neise](https://wordpress.org/support/users/geneise/)
 * Last activity: [4 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/odd-thumbnail-problem-with-mla_gallery-shortcode/#post-15303868)
 * Status: resolved