Sharing photos & the gallery

The more guests join in, the fuller and better the gallery gets – which makes sharing one of the most important ways to keep an event alive. This guide is written for guests and walks through every way in detail: passing on the whole gallery, sending a single photo, and what sharing an album really means.

The basic idea is simple: anyone who opens your link or QR code needs no account and no app and lands straight in the gallery. The share dialog says so too: “Anyone with this link can open the gallery.”

The link can contain the access code

If the gallery is protected (invite-only), the shared link can carry the access code with it – appended as a parameter at the end of the address. That is deliberate: your guests should get in without typing a code.

The flip side: whoever passes the link on also passes on the access. The recipient no longer needs to know the code – and can forward the link at will, post it in a group, or share it in a story.

So treat such a link like a password:

• Only send it to people who really belong to the event.
• Don’t put it in public groups, forums, or social networks.
• If in doubt, ask the host whether the code is in the link.

Whether the code is appended at all is the host’s decision (the Include default invitation code in QR code checkbox under Settings ▸ Access). For completely private events it is never embedded – sharing is deliberately impossible there.

Sharing has to be enabled

Sharing is a feature the host turns on per event. There are two separate layers:

• The share buttons on individual photos need the event feature Share single photos (Settings → Gallery features → Interaction & Engagement). Without it they are hidden.
• The round share button in the gallery header is a separate switch and is off by default. It lives in the admin area under Settings → Appearance → Header Style and is called “Share the gallery: button in the header”. The explanation underneath spells out the difference: “Guests can pass on the WHOLE gallery by QR code and link. Not to be confused with ‘Share single photos’ under ‘Gallery features’.” Even when photo sharing is on, this header button may be missing. Everything about the Appearance tab: Customizing the look.

If you see no share button at all, it is not your mistake – check When you can’t see a share button.

Share the whole gallery

The share button in the gallery header (main way)

If the host has enabled it, a round share icon sits in the top right above the photo grid, labelled “Share gallery” for screen readers. On a computer it stands free at the right edge, level with the header card carrying the gallery title; on a phone it overlaps that card’s top right corner. You will not find it in the navigation bar at the very top. It opens the full share dialog with a QR code, a link, and direct buttons.

1. Open the gallery (the event home page) and look to the top right.

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   Computer

   

   ① the round share icon. On a computer it stands free at the right edge, level with the header card; on a phone it sits in that card's top right corner – either way above the photo grid and not in the navigation bar. It only appears once the host has switched it on; otherwise that spot is simply empty.

2. Tap the round share icon in the top right.

3. The share dialog opens, titled Share with the subtitle “Invite others – they can view the photos and add their own.”

When does the button appear?

The header share button only shows when the host has enabled it, the sharing feature is available, and the event is not completely private. For completely private events it is deliberately omitted, because a link would only end up at the invitation wall anyway.

What’s in the share dialog

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Computer

The share dialog from top to bottom. ① the QR code, with “Scan with a phone camera to open the gallery” beneath it, ② DOWNLOAD saves it as a PNG file, ③ the Link field with the finished address – here `https://photogala.net/a/@sarah-adams-hochzeit`; tapping into it selects the link automatically, ④ Copy Link, after which it reads Copied! for two seconds, ⑤ Share via with WhatsApp, Email and Facebook. At the very bottom the line “Anyone with this link can open the gallery.” On a phone the same dialog slides in as a sheet from the bottom.

The “Share …” button is missing from these images

On phones a wide Share … button sits at the very top of the dialog and opens the system share sheet. It is absent from the screenshots here because the browser they were taken with has no native sharing – just like most desktop browsers. On your phone it is the first button you see.

The share dialog gathers every option in one place. From top to bottom:

• Share… – only on devices with native sharing, usually smartphones. Opens your familiar system share sheet to pass the gallery to WhatsApp, Signal, AirDrop, and so on. This is the fastest way on a phone.
• QR code with the hint “Scan with a phone camera to open the gallery”. Below it is a Download button that saves the QR code as a PNG (gallery-qr-code.png, 1024 px across) – large enough to print. Ideal when you’re together in person: print it, put it on a card, or show it on a TV.
• Link field labelled Link with a Copy Link button. After you click, a brief Copied! with a checkmark appears. Tapping the field selects the link automatically. Use it to paste the link into a chat, email, or story.
• A Share via section with three direct buttons:
  • WhatsApp – opens WhatsApp with the link pre-filled.
  • Email – opens your mail app with the subject “Check out this album” and the link in the body.
  • Facebook – opens the Facebook share dialog.
• At the bottom, the note “Anyone with this link can open the gallery.” – remember: the link is the access.

Tip

Fastest on a phone: tap Share… and pick the app in the system menu. On a computer, use Copy Link or the QR code, since desktop browsers usually don’t offer native sharing.

Other ways to get the gallery link

If the header share button is missing (it’s off by default), you can still get a shareable link:

• The browser address bar. The current gallery URL is shareable – just copy it from the address bar and send it. Note: for protected events, a plain address-bar link may land the recipient at the invitation or password wall. In that case the host’s share dialog is better, because it can embed the access code.
• A QR code from the host, the photo booth, or a table card. Often the QR code is already displayed on site. See Scanning a QR code.
• Ask the host. The classic fallback: ask for the link or QR from the share dialog.

Automatic invitation code

For invite-only events, Photogala automatically appends the default invitation code to the shared link and to the QR code – provided the host allowed it. Recipients then get in without typing a code. Remember the warning box at the top: passing on the link means passing on access. More on access: Joining a gallery.

How the link arrives at the other end

• A preview in the messenger. When you send the link via WhatsApp, Facebook and the like, Photogala serves a dedicated response with a title and an image for the preview. So the recipient doesn’t just see a bare address but a card they recognise the event by. For a single photo, the preview shows exactly that picture.
• The address with the event slug is the recommendation. If the event has a slug, Photogala automatically puts it into the link with an @ instead of the long event ID. The share dialog then shows exactly this shape: photogala.net/a/@annas-wedding. The /a/ belongs there – it is the language-neutral permalink that takes the recipient into the gallery no matter what language you have set yourself. That address can be read aloud, fits on a table card, and can be typed by hand if need be. The even shorter form without /a/ – photogala.net/@annas-wedding – works too, but is never offered anywhere; when in doubt just copy what the dialog shows. Without a slug, the long event ID takes the place of @annas-wedding.
• Filters travel with it. If you open the gallery filtered (to an album, say) and copy the address, the filters are active for the recipient right away.

Share a single photo

You can share a single photo from three places. All three are only visible when sharing is enabled for the event. What happens next depends on your device (see Phone vs. computer).

From the gallery via right-click or long press

1. On a computer: right-click a photo in the gallery grid. On a phone: press and hold the photo.

   

   Right-click opens the context menu – Share is here. ① Select and Open, ② Like, Comments, Share and Download – Share only appears when sharing is switched on for the event, Download only when single downloads are allowed, ③ Edit and Delete – on your own photos, on other people’s only with moderation rights, ④ Unpublish – only with moderation rights; on a photo that is not approved yet the entry reads Publish, ⑤ Customize gallery – for hosts and admins only.

2. Choose Share in the context menu.

3. On a phone, the system share sheet opens including the image file. On a computer, the share dialog opens instead with the direct photo link.

Note

The context menu offers more actions – Open, Select, Like, Comments, and Download. How those work is covered in Browsing the gallery and Downloading photos.

In full screen / the slideshow

1. Tap a photo to open it in full screen.

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   Full-screen view with the control bar and kebab menu. ① the icon bar in the top right – on a computer with Like, Comments, Slideshow, the three-dot menu, Fullscreen and Close, on a phone only Slideshow, the menu and Close, ② Details reveals title, album and capture data, ③ the arrow to the next photo – on a phone you can swipe instead. Like and Comments sit next to Details at the bottom on a phone.

2. Open the ⋮ menu (kebab, three dots) and choose Share.

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   Computer

   

   The kebab menu holds Download and Share under Actions, Report and Help under Information. ① the ⋮ menu in the toolbar at the top right – to its left sit like, comments, play, full screen and close. ② Actions with Download and Share: this section only exists when downloading or sharing is allowed for the event – with both switched off it disappears entirely. ③ Information with Report and Help. Above them sits View Options with Hide controls (on a phone also Enter full screen). The Management section – Unpublish and Delete – only appears if you manage the event or uploaded the photo yourself; guests never see it.

3. On a phone, the system share sheet opens with the image file; on a computer, the share dialog opens.

There is no keyboard shortcut for sharing

Full screen only knows a handful of keys: left/right arrow steps through photos, F toggles fullscreen, H hides and shows the control bars, Esc leaves fullscreen. There is no share shortcut – use the ⋮ menu or right-click in the gallery.

From the image details

1. Open a photo’s details – via the Details button in the bottom control bar of full screen (on a phone, a swipe up on the photo works too).

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   The image details gather stats and info – and the share button. ① the figures: Likes, Comments, Shares, Downloads, Views. A tile only shows when its number is above zero – for the first four also only when the feature is switched on for the event; Views always counts. Likes, Comments and Downloads are clickable and open the matching list. ② View on Map under Metadata & Location – only for photos carrying a GPS location; below it sit capture date and camera info. ③ the button row at the bottom. It fills up in order with Like, Comments, Share, Download – and, if you are allowed to, Edit, Unpublish, Delete. On wide screens the first four of them sit in the row, on a phone the first three; the rest live under More (if only one entry is left there, it joins the row instead). In between you find uploader and date, the Description (with Edit if you uploaded the photo or manage the event) and Albums, if the photo belongs to one.

2. Tap the round Share action button. When there are many actions, “Share” sits in the overflow submenu.

3. Depending on the device, the system share sheet or the share dialog opens.

What exactly gets shared: file or link

When you share a photo, Photogala always tries to include the image file first – a picture in the chat is worth far more than a link. If that doesn’t work out, it falls back to the link silently. In this order:

1. Image file plus link. The normal case on modern phones: the actual file is attached in the system share sheet. WebP is converted to JPEG on the way, because not every app accepts WebP. The file name carries the gallery name, not “Photogala” – for example annas-wedding-<id>.jpg. Videos and motion photos work this way too.

2. The link only. If your device can’t share files, or preparing the file takes too long, only the link is shared without asking. That time limit is deliberate: browsers only allow sharing shortly after your tap – if the app waits any longer for the file, the share sheet won’t open at all.

3. The share dialog. If your browser doesn’t support native sharing at all (typical on a computer), the Photogala share dialog opens instead, with Copy Link, a QR code and the direct buttons – the link then points straight to this one photo.

   

   The same dialog, but opened from a photo in full screen. ① the Link field – the address now ends in `/gallery?media=…` and leads to exactly this one picture, ② Copy Link. Title, subtitle and the line at the bottom still talk about the whole gallery; that is an inaccuracy of the interface – what counts is the link in the field.

Note

So a link without a picture is not an error but the built-in fallback. A shared photo link shows a preview with an image in WhatsApp, Facebook and the like anyway, so it’s clear what’s behind it. Tip for phones: leave the photo open for a moment before you tap Share – the file is usually ready by then.

Share an album or a selection

Photogala has no dedicated “Share album” button. Here’s how you still share a sub-collection on purpose:

1. Filter the gallery to the album you want (e.g. “Ceremony” or “Party”).

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   Use the filter to narrow the gallery to an album or a person. ① Quick Filters: My Uploads shows only what you uploaded yourself, My Likes only your hearts, Tasks only photos taken for a photo task – one tap switches a filter on, the next one off again. ② Media Type: All, Photos, Videos, Motion Photos. ③ Apply commits your choice; to its left Clear resets everything and Cancel closes without changes. Further down come Sort Order and Albums – and, depending on the event, Tasks, Filter by People, Filter by Number of People and Filter by Number of Likes; on a phone you scroll to reach them. There is no filter for a date or a time range.

2. Now share the gallery link – via the header share button or the address bar. When the gallery is opened through the album entry, the link carries the album state.

3. Alternatively, just share a single, characteristic photo from the album (see above).

Note

If sharing is missing entirely, it’s probably deliberately disabled – for instance on a private event, so the photos stay within the circle of guests. More on browsing: Browsing albums and Filtering the gallery.

Example

Your aunt was there for the reception but hasn’t opened the gallery yet. On your phone you tap the round share icon in the top right, then Share… in the Share dialog and pick WhatsApp — she gets the link photogala.net/a/@annas-wedding and needs neither an account nor an app. Because the event is invite-only and the host enabled Include default invitation code in QR code, the access code rides along on the link: she gets in without typing a code — which is exactly why that link does not belong in a public group. Later you send her the cake-cutting photo as well: long-press the photo → Share → the system sheet carries the image file with it (WebP is converted automatically, so it arrives as annas-wedding-<id>.jpg). On a computer the same route looks different: there the share dialog opens with the QR code and Copy Link (a brief Copied! appears).

Phone vs. computer

Why sharing feels different on a phone and a computer:

• On a phone: the share button opens the system share sheet (WhatsApp, Messages, AirDrop …). For single photos, the image file comes along. Instead of right-click you use a long press.
• On a computer: the share button and right-click open the share dialog with a QR code, Copy Link, and the WhatsApp / email / Facebook buttons. There’s usually no system share sheet here, because desktop browsers rarely offer that feature.

When you can’t see a share button

Troubleshooting

• No share button anywhere? The host disabled sharing. Enable it under Settings → Gallery features → “Share single photos”. The plan must also include this feature.
• No round share button in the header, but photo sharing works? The header button is a separate switch and off by default. Use the address bar or photo sharing in the meantime. The host ticks the box under Settings → Appearance → Header Style → “Share the gallery: button in the header” (see Customizing the look).
• Link leads to the invitation or password page instead of the gallery? The event is private or invite-only. Ask the host for the link/QR from the share dialog (which may embed the code) or for the invitation code. For completely private events, sharing is deliberately not possible.
• “Share…” (native) missing on a computer? That’s normal – desktop browsers don’t offer native sharing. Use the QR code, Copy Link, or the WhatsApp / email / Facebook buttons.
• Message “Still processing”? The image is still being prepared. Wait a moment and try again.
• Share menu opens with only a link, no image? Your device doesn’t support file sharing; the link was shared. Not an error.
• WhatsApp/Facebook window won’t open? A popup blocker is probably blocking it. Allow popups and tap again.

For moderators and hosts

The sharing options are the same for every role – guests, moderators, and admins see the same buttons, as long as the feature is on. To enable it, open the profile menu in the top right and switch to the admin area.

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The profile menu in the top right takes you to Moderation and the Admin portal. ① your points and solved tasks, ② Profile options with My Profile, Language, Theme and Help, ③ Management with Account Settings, Moderation and Admin Portal – this section is missing until you hold a role for it, ④ Account with Sign out.

There are three separate switches, and they live in three different tabs. One by one:

1. “Share single photos” – the share buttons on the photos

This switch is what makes Share appear in the context menu, in the ⋮ menu of full screen and in the image details. With it off, all three are gone.

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Computer

Settings → Gallery features → Interaction & Engagement. ① the Share single photos toggle; the explanation underneath reads “Guests can post a SINGLE photo to social media. The button for the whole gallery lives under ‘Appearance’.” It sits in the same group as Likes, Photo Comments and Activity Feed. ② then SAVE CHANGES at the bottom right – without that click nothing changes. On a phone the same button just reads SAVE.

2. “Share the gallery: button in the header” – the round button on top

This one shows the round share icon above the photo grid. Off by default – which is the most common reason guests cannot find it.

Settings → Appearance → Header Style. ① the Share the gallery: button in the header checkbox – it sits directly below the header style picker and above Configure header. The explanation spells out the difference itself: “Guests can pass on the WHOLE gallery by QR code and link. Not to be confused with ‘Share single photos’ under ‘Gallery features’.” ② then SAVE CHANGES. Note that this is a checkbox, not a toggle like in the features tab.

3. “Include default invitation code in QR code” – the code inside the link

It decides whether the default invitation code is embedded into the link and the QR code automatically. You find it under Settings → Access; everything about it is in Inviting guests.

Don't mix up the two sharing switches

The interface warns about this itself, because both are called “share”: Share single photos is about one picture, Share the gallery: button in the header is about the whole gallery. They are independent – you can switch on one without the other.

Related help pages

• Scanning a QR code
• Joining a gallery
• Browsing albums
• Filtering the gallery
• Downloading photos
• Customizing the look (for hosts)