Instead of directly containing images, NextGEN albums hold galleries or other albums. Show them with Justified Image Grid but continue to use NextGEN's interface to manage them and their contents. Below you can observe JIG vs. native NextGEN and compare their looks and how they work. Note the very useful breadcrumbs - the small navigation above the grid - which comes bundled with the plugin, and how well JIG utilizes the space that is given to it. Feel free to drill down into this multi-level hierarchy: album » album » gallery. See about 700 images neatly organized here. Once you reach the thumbnails you can see that they show title, description and tags of any photo.
Showing NextGEN albums with JIG
- <a href="https://justifiedgrid.com/wp-content/gallery/life/baby/102086320.jpg" title="in a park with a basket full of lilac - Mother">
Mother smiling at baby
in a park with a basket full of lilac - Mother - <a href="https://justifiedgrid.com/wp-content/gallery/life/baby/109553663.jpg" title="3-month old and smiling - Father">
Father kisses baby girl
3-month old and smiling - Father - <a href="https://justifiedgrid.com/wp-content/gallery/life/baby/110596034.jpg" title="looking at dad - Father">
Curious baby
looking at dad - Father 
Baby hand
gently holding mother's finger- <a href="https://justifiedgrid.com/wp-content/gallery/life/baby/114080698.jpg" title="who also seems cheerful - Mother, White">
Happy mother with baby
who also seems cheerful - Mother, White 
Newborn baby boy
sleeping calmly- <a href="https://justifiedgrid.com/wp-content/gallery/life/baby/123027208.jpg" title="sitting under a hooded towel after bath - White">
Adorable baby girl
sitting under a hooded towel after bath - White 
Hand of sleeping baby
in the hand of mother
Smiling toddler boy
with mohawk gel hairstyle- <a href="https://justifiedgrid.com/wp-content/gallery/life/baby/131909909.jpg" title="playing and smiling under a blanket - Mother, White">
Mother and baby
playing and smiling under a blanket - Mother, White 
Heart shaped
baby feet- <a href="https://justifiedgrid.com/wp-content/gallery/life/baby/141951463.jpg" title="sitting on bed expecting the baby - Mother, White">
Pregnant woman
sitting on bed expecting the baby - Mother, White - <a href="https://justifiedgrid.com/wp-content/gallery/life/baby/147648872.jpg" title="with a kiss - Father">
Father holding baby
with a kiss - Father - <a href="https://justifiedgrid.com/wp-content/gallery/life/baby/148708958.jpg" title="soon-to-be father kissing woman's stomach - Father">
Couple expecting pregnancy
soon-to-be father kissing woman's stomach - Father 
Portrait of a newborn baby boy
wearing crocheted green overalls and bear hat and is sleeping on a miniature wooden bed- <a href="https://justifiedgrid.com/wp-content/gallery/life/baby/154024490.jpg" title="feather looks more sleepy though - Father, White">
Baby resting on dad's chest
feather looks more sleepy though - Father, White - <a href="https://justifiedgrid.com/wp-content/gallery/life/baby/154542038.jpg" title="silhouette over white background - Father, Mother">
Family with newborn baby
silhouette over white background - Father, Mother 
Sleeping baby
with teddy bear- <a href="https://justifiedgrid.com/wp-content/gallery/life/baby/164787299.jpg" title="mother and baby boy cuddling with affection - Mother">
Moments of tenderness
mother and baby boy cuddling with affection - Mother - <a href="https://justifiedgrid.com/wp-content/gallery/life/baby/170358467.jpg" title="with happy parents - Father, Mother">
Baby in red
with happy parents - Father, Mother - <a href="https://justifiedgrid.com/wp-content/gallery/life/baby/172726682.jpg" title="up high and smiling in adorable clothes - Mother">
Mother holds daugher
up high and smiling in adorable clothes - Mother - <a href="https://justifiedgrid.com/wp-content/gallery/life/baby/186864950.jpg" title="by loving mother and her baby - Mother">
Nose to nose
by loving mother and her baby - Mother - <a href="https://justifiedgrid.com/wp-content/gallery/life/baby/189603617.jpg" title="with sunrise background - Mother, Orange">
Holding adorable baby
with sunrise background - Mother, Orange - <a href="https://justifiedgrid.com/wp-content/gallery/life/baby/189649565.jpg" title="holding smiling baby - Mother">
Mother
holding smiling baby - Mother - <a href="https://justifiedgrid.com/wp-content/gallery/life/baby/190452671.jpg" title="all smiling - Father, Mother">
Couple with newborn baby
all smiling - Father, Mother 
Confused
toddler- <a href="https://justifiedgrid.com/wp-content/gallery/life/baby/197111885.jpg" title="embraced by mom - Mother">
Baby drinking milk
embraced by mom - Mother - <a href="https://justifiedgrid.com/wp-content/gallery/life/baby/35809984.jpg" title="Mmankgodi village, Botswana - Mother">
Mother with baby girl
Mmankgodi village, Botswana - Mother 
Mother and baby's hands
small, soft and cute
Baby hand
in mother's hand
Baby's foot in mother hands
all five there, on both feet- <a href="https://justifiedgrid.com/wp-content/gallery/life/baby/69629524.jpg" title="under blanket - White">
Cute baby girl
under blanket - White - <a href="https://justifiedgrid.com/wp-content/gallery/life/baby/79033279.jpg" title="wrapped in yellow towel - Orange">
Cute baby face
wrapped in yellow towel - Orange
The above example uses the following, generated shortcode (how to use):[$justified_image_grid caption=slide last_row=flexible mouse_disable=yes load_more=click load_more_limit=20 ng_album=10 ng_breadcrumb=yes ng_bc_home=custom_text ng_bc_home_text="Overview album" ng_description=yes]
The same thing shown with the original NextGEN
How does showing NextGEN albums work exactly?
They use the same URL structure and conventions as original NextGEN, that's why you can see them in parallel.
What can be displayed on the thumbnails?
- Title of galleries and albums.
- Description of NextGEN albums and galleries, also above the grid. Interestingly, NextGEN does not make use of this.
- Photo count of a gallery in an album, for example "48 Photos".
- Count of NextGEN albums and galleries in an album. This appears separately, for example "2 Albums, 5 Galleries".
How does the integration work?
- The thumbnail order is the same as in original NextGEN.
- You can select multiple NextGEN albums to combine their contents in a grid.
- JIG ensures that each album and gallery has a cover photo (NextGEN does not acquire one automatically, if missing).
- Sort the contents of the album using the global sort options in NextGEN, by their Title or ID - this feature is added by JIG.
I like that breadcrumbs thing, what's the deal with that?
- Show or hide it. Also to even include it on the topmost level or not.
- Change the separator character like arrows, slashes between path elements and optionally at the end.
- Set your own text prefix, for example the 'You are here:' text.
- Re-write the home element or automatically get the title of the current post or the album's name.
- Decide if the home and/or the current content's title should be clickable.
Album management
NextGEN Gallery's album editing screen lets you drag and drop galleries and albums into your desired album.
How do the settings look like?
NextGEN
NextGEN
