A New Plugin for Tiny Theme: Adaptive Photo Layout

When I first created Tiny Theme, I knew I wanted to allow users to create posts with more than a handful of images. While technically possible from day one, the default layout was a simple vertical stack of images. While this is to be expected on mobile devices, it’s less than elegant on larger screens.

The solution comes in the form of the Adaptive Photo Layout plugin for Tiny Theme.

Installation

Go to the Plugin Page
Install It

Usage

To create a gallery, you have to follow a few steps manually. This allows you to only use the adaptive photo layout when you’re sure you need it. Here’s the sample code:

<div class="adaptive_photo_layout">
	<ul>
		<li><img src="LINK TO IMAGE 1" alt="IMAGE 1 DESCRIPTION" loading="lazy"></li>
		<li><img src="LINK TO IMAGE 2" alt="IMAGE 2 DESCRIPTION" loading="lazy"></li>
		<li><img src="LINK TO IMAGE 3" alt="IMAGE 3 DESCRIPTION" loading="lazy"></li>
		<li><img src="LINK TO IMAGE 4" alt="IMAGE 4 DESCRIPTION" loading="lazy"></li>
		<li><img src="LINK TO IMAGE 5" alt="IMAGE 5 DESCRIPTION" loading="lazy"></li>
		<li></li>
	</ul>
</div>

The last empty <li></li> is suggested for formatting purposes.

There are no limits to the amount of photos you can use. As long as your code is formatted like the above, it will work. If you’d like, you can even link each image to a standalone version (or to anything else) as well.

Shortcode?

I made the intentional decision to not include a shortcode with this plugin. Shortcodes create longterm lock-in to a plugin. I wanted you to be able to switch themes and plugins in the future without your site breaking or you being required to manually remove every shortcode.

Shortcuts!

Thanks to the excellent work of Jarrod Blundy of HeyDingus.net, this plugin is launching with 2 included Shortcuts for iOS/MacOS.

Gallery Creator (default gallery creation)
Gallery Builder (adds ability to add more photos to an existing album)

Both shortcuts require you to validate your Micro.blog account upon initial use. They also give you the opportunity to view and add alt descriptions to each photo in your album. The results are then added to your clipboard. Easily paste the html into your new post/page and publish!

Jarrod did an excellent job with these plugins. Checkout his library for more shortcuts. Best of all, you can even hire him to create one for you.

Support Development

Tiny Theme and its plugins are provided free of charge to Micro.blog users. I do not receive payment from Micro.blog in any way. If you’d like to help offset expenses and ensure the future of Tiny and its plugins, please consider supporting its development.

Example

With the Adaptive Photo Layout plugin, you can create albums that look great on desktop and tablet browsers. For this example, I used the iOS shortcut.