The Spotlightr Gallery Module is a fantastic option if you wish to create a simple and cleanly designed page that holds multiple videos intended for a particular audience. Gallery pages can be hosted on spotlightr.com or even embedded into your own site as an iframe. These pages can be set to have public access or can be accessed via a login or payment.
We have a page on our blog that includes more information and various demo galleries to browse.
Getting Started
Gallery pages are populated by individual Sections. When you add a section you can choose whether it will hold videos, HTML, an iframe, or downloadable content. The HTML option also includes a WYSIWYG HTML editor.
Sections can be organized however you wish. For example, if you are creating Tutorials for your software then each Section could represent the main feature of your software. Or if you are creating a Gallery page to send to students each Section could represent a week's worth of video lessons.
To create a Gallery, browse to the Project you want to use and select the Gallery module from the menu. Then click on the New Gallery button from here to get started.
Please note that only videos in this project can be added to the gallery. If you have videos in other projects you need to add to this, you can clone and move the videos from that project to this one.
Sections
To start adding videos or content to a Section, simply click on it. Then you will see a dropdown where you can select Videos, HTML, iFrame, or Download:
Videos - To use a video section and add videos, just use search field by typing a video name. Or you can simply select it from the drop-down list to add it to this section.
Once you have added desired videos, you can change their order by drag & drop. The bucket icon will remove a video from the section. Finally, click on the green checkmark button to save it.
HTML Sections - Various use cases may require you to add content in-between sections or under a video list. For example, you may want to show a row of videos and a google form to complete underneath them. To accomplish this you may switch the section type from videos to HTML.
iFrame - Select this option and add your iFrame code.
Download - Here you can add a section for downloadable images and documents for your students.
Settings
Description & Information
In this section you will configure the name, description, and add a welcome video if desired. The welcome video will appear for anyone that launches the gallery page, including those that need a password or payment to open the entire gallery. Think of is as a trailer video.
You can also configure welcome content and overview content. Depending on which type of gallery style you choose will determine if you see both the welcome and overview content. For example, the sidebar style will display both welcome and overview content. The carousel style will only show welcome content. More on gallery styles below.
Appearance
Here you'll configure the look and design of the Gallery page. Keep in mind that the settings that you see will depend on the layout you choose. So if you choose the grid layout you will see different options from the sidebar layout.
Feel free to experiment with all of these settings and displays and check the watch page to see how they look.
Gallery Name - Main name of gallery which will display at the top of your gallery
Gallery Description - Description will display below the name
Welcome Video - Video that will display on the top of your gallery, even for login or payment required galleries. Think of this as a trailer video.
Welcome / Overview Content - Additional content for your gallery. If you select either the carousel or grid layout, then only the overview content will be available.
Gallery Layout - The Gallery Layout options feature the carousel, grid and sidebar layouts. The carousel will display each section of videos as one line of videos that will scroll left and right. Think of it like a Netflix style display.
The grid style will show all videos on the screen in a grid without the need to scroll left or right. You will only scroll up and down with this display.
And the sidebar display shows your videos on the left side, in a sidebar, with your video playing on the right.
Gallery Theme - Dark/Light theme.
Popup Thumbnail - The image that will appear on your when you publish your gallery using the embed option and add the embed code for your gallery to your page. If you plan on using the Spotlightr hosted watch page then there is no need to configure this.
Gallery Logo - Logo that will appear at the top of your gallery. When you add an image for gallery logo, it will replace the display of your gallery name.
Header Alignment - Align the gallery title and description either left or center
Header Background - This is the image that will appear in the background of your header. If you are using the layout gallery style then you will not see this option.
Video Display - This is what appears on your video thumbnails
Video Description - Where to show the description. Video descriptions are added in the sections here:
Playback
Auto-play next videos - Turn this on if you want the player to play the next video automatically once the current one has finished.
Hide "playing next" message - This is to get rid of the message that says "playing next".
Video progression - This is to enforce the video sequence so the viewer cannot watch random videos and has the follow the gallery sequence.
Once you set your desired preferences, do not forget to Save your settings.
Students
In the Students tab you'll configure how people will access your gallery, as well as collect a list of students that access your gallery with their login or payment.
Public
Gallery does not require a login or purchase. Anyone with the link to the Gallery may open it. But they must have the link as your Gallery can't be browsed publicly from anywhere on spotlightr.com.
Sign Up
A login is required to access the gallery. You can add your own students and send them a link to create their own account.
Access Restrictions
In addition to requiring a login to open the gallery, you can configure various access and expiration restrictions.
Never - This means codes never expire and will work for as long as they exist. The only way to remove access would be to delete the actual code.
After X unlocks - This limits the number of times the code can be used. If you choose this option and add 5, then each code can be used a total of 5 times.
On a particular date - All codes will work as many times as it's used, but all will expire on the date set.
Time after unlock - Set how long the code can be activated after its first use. For example, setting this to 10 days means that the code will work for only 10 days after its initial use.
Paid Access
Here you'll configure and integrate your Stripe account to Spotlightr and allows you to charge for access to your Gallery. More information on this is available in this article on configuring Stripe payments for galleries.