Category Gallery Block

Standalone gallery block that displays images from posts filtered by Gallery Taxonomy OR Category. Auto-detects taxonomy/category archives so it works perfectly on archive pages.

Two Image Sources

Gallery Taxonomy (Original)

• Display all images from posts tagged with selected galleries
• Select multiple galleries
• Perfect for photography portfolios

Category (NEW)

• Display featured images from posts in a category
• Select one category only
• Great for blog post highlights

Three Usage Modes

Mode 1: Manual Selection (Any Page)

Add the block to any page and manually select galleries or category.

Steps:

1. Add "Category Gallery" block to any page
2. In sidebar → "Source Selection" → Choose "Gallery Taxonomy" or "Category"
3. Select your gallery/category
4. Configure layout settings
5. Publish

Mode 2: Auto-Detect Gallery Archives

When you add this block to a photo_gallery taxonomy archive template, it automatically detects and displays that gallery.

Example:

• URL: https://alwaysphotographing.com/photo_gallery/infrared/
• Block automatically shows all images from "Infrared" gallery
• No need to manually select the gallery!

Mode 3: Auto-Detect Category Archives (NEW)

When you add this block to a category archive template, it automatically detects and displays that category's featured images.

Example:

• URL: https://alwaysphotographing.com/category/travel/
• Block automatically shows featured images from "Travel" category posts
• No need to manually select the category!

Unpublished Pages Support (NEW)

Toggle "Include Unpublished Pages" to show featured images from:

• Draft posts
• Pending posts
• Private posts

Perfect for previewing galleries before publishing!

Setting Up Archive Templates

Option A: Using Full Site Editor (Block Themes)

For Gallery Archives:

1. Go to: Appearance → Editor → Templates
2. Find or Create: "Taxonomy: Galleries" template
3. Edit the template:
   • Remove default post loop if present
   • Add "Category Gallery" block
   • Configure layout (Tiled, Grid, Masonry, or Collage)
   • Set columns, gutter, link options, etc.
4. Save the template

For Category Archives:

1. Go to: Appearance → Editor → Templates
2. Find or Create: "Category" template
3. Edit the template:
   • Remove default post loop if present
   • Add "Category Gallery" block
   • Configure layout
4. Save the template

Option B: Using Classic Theme (PHP Templates)

For Gallery Archives:

Create taxonomy-photo_gallery.php in your theme:

<?php
/**
 * Template for Photo Gallery Taxonomy Archives
 */

get_header();
?>

<main id="primary" class="site-main">
    <header class="page-header">
        <h1 class="page-title"><?php single_term_title(); ?></h1>
        <?php
        $term_description = term_description();
        if ( ! empty( $term_description ) ) {
            echo '<div class="taxonomy-description">' . $term_description . '</div>';
        }
        ?>
    </header>

    <?php
    // The Category Gallery block will auto-detect and show this gallery
    echo do_blocks( '<!-- wp:category-gallery/block {"layout":"tiled","columns":3,"gutter":12,"linkToImage":true} /-->' );
    ?>
</main>

<?php
get_footer();

For Category Archives:

Create category.php in your theme:

<?php
/**
 * Template for Category Archives
 */

get_header();
?>

<main id="primary" class="site-main">
    <header class="page-header">
        <h1 class="page-title"><?php single_cat_title(); ?></h1>
        <?php
        $category_description = category_description();
        if ( ! empty( $category_description ) ) {
            echo '<div class="taxonomy-description">' . $category_description . '</div>';
        }
        ?>
    </header>

    <?php
    // The Category Gallery block will auto-detect and show this category's featured images
    echo do_blocks( '<!-- wp:category-gallery/block {"sourceType":"category","layout":"grid","columns":4,"gutter":16,"linkToPost":true} /-->' );
    ?>
</main>

<?php
get_footer();

Block Settings

Source Selection (NEW)

• Image Source - Choose "Gallery Taxonomy" or "Category"
• Select Galleries - Choose one or more galleries (Gallery mode only)
• Select Category - Choose ONE category (Category mode only)
• Include Unpublished Pages - Include draft/pending/private posts

Layout Settings

• Layout - Tiled (Justified), Grid, Masonry, or Collage
• Columns - 1-8 columns (Grid, Masonry, Collage)
• Gutter - Space between images (0-50px)
• Target Row Height - For Tiled layout (100-600px)
• Crop Images - For Collage layout

Image Settings

• Image Size - WordPress size (thumbnail, medium, large, full)
• Maximum Images - Limit display (0 = show all)

Features

• Link to Image - Click to open lightbox
• Link to Post - Click to go to post
• When BOTH enabled - shows "View: Image | Post" menu
• When only one enabled - direct click action

EXIF Caption Template

Create custom captions from photo metadata with conditional text support:

Placeholders:

• {FileName} - Image filename
• {Copyright} - Copyright with default: {Copyright,© 2024 Name}
• {CameraMake} - Camera manufacturer
• {CameraModel} - Camera model
• {ISOSpeedRatings} - ISO (formatted as ISO-400)
• {FocalLength} - Focal length (50mm)
• {ShutterSpeedValue} - Shutter speed (1/250s)
• {FNumber} - Aperture (f/2.8)

Conditional Text (NEW in 1.3.0):

Use {'text', Placeholder} to display text only when EXIF data exists:

• {'© ', Copyright} - Shows "© " only if Copyright has data
• {'| ', FNumber} - Shows "| " only if FNumber has data
• {' | ', CameraModel} - Shows " | " only if CameraModel has data

Examples:

Basic template:

{Copyright} | {CameraMake} {CameraModel} | {FocalLength} {FNumber} {ShutterSpeedValue} {ISOSpeedRatings}

With conditional text (cleaner output when data is missing):

{'© ', Copyright}{' | ', CameraMake}{' ', CameraModel}{' | ', FocalLength}{' ', FNumber}{' ', ShutterSpeedValue}{' ', ISOSpeedRatings}

Result when all data exists:

© Richard Cox | Canon EOS R5 | 24mm f/2.8 1/250s ISO-400

Result when some data is missing (e.g., no Copyright):

Canon EOS R5 | 24mm f/2.8 1/250s ISO-400

(Note: No "© |" prefix when Copyright is empty)

Installation

chmod +x /home/alwaysvw.net/downloads/install-category-gallery-block.sh
bash /home/alwaysvw.net/downloads/install-category-gallery-block.sh

How It Works

The block checks:

1. Is this a photo_gallery taxonomy archive?
   • YES → Auto-load that gallery (Gallery mode)
2. Is this a category archive?
   • YES → Auto-load that category (Category mode with featured images)
3. Neither?
   • Use manually selected galleries/category

This means:

• On /photo_gallery/infrared/ → Shows all images from Infrared gallery posts
• On /category/travel/ → Shows featured images from Travel category posts
• On regular pages → Shows what you selected manually

Image Behavior by Source

Gallery Taxonomy Mode

• Displays all images attached to posts in selected galleries
• Images are the actual post attachments
• Great for photography portfolios

Category Mode

• Displays only featured images from posts in selected category
• One image per post
• Great for blog post highlights and visual indexes

Keyboard Shortcuts (Lightbox)

• Escape - Close lightbox
• Left Arrow - Previous image
• Right Arrow - Next image

Requirements

• WordPress 6.0+
• PHP 7.4+
• photo_gallery taxonomy registered (for Gallery mode)

Version History

1.3.0

• Refactored: Renamed to category-gallery-block (removed ap_ prefix)
• 2025 Best Practices: Moved to separate frontend asset files with automatic cache busting
• Category Source: Added category mode to display featured images
• Auto-Detection: Enhanced to detect category archive pages
• Unpublished Pages: Added option to include draft/pending/private posts
• Enhanced EXIF: Added conditional text syntax {'text', Placeholder} for cleaner captions
• Performance: Assets now lazy-load with versioned URLs (file.js?ver=hash)

1.2.0

• Bug fixes and performance improvements

1.1.0

• Added auto-detection for taxonomy archive pages
• Block now works on /photo_gallery/{gallery-slug}/ URLs automatically

1.0.0

• Initial release
• Manual gallery selection
• All layout options
• EXIF template support