What is a gallery?
On ArtInStack, a gallery is what visitors see—built from Media files in Portfolio collections, not a separate upload location; you curate in Portfolio, then share via public URLs, links, or the client portal.
What “gallery” means here
In ArtInStack, gallery is the experience your audience gets — a grid on a page, a dedicated public URL, a lightbox, or a client share link. It is not a sidebar label and not where files are stored.
Files live in Media. Curated sets live in Portfolio. A gallery is what you build from a portfolio collection: ordered images, cover, privacy, layout, and lightbox behavior applied on top of the same underlying files.
Upload once in Media, then place those files in one collection or many. Removing an image from a portfolio does not delete it from your library.
Media, Portfolio, and the gallery experience
Media → the file (upload, caption, EXIF, storage)
Portfolio → a curated collection (sequence, cover, settings)
Gallery (visitor) → how that collection is presented on your site or to clients
| Layer | In the dashboard | What it holds |
|---|---|---|
| Media | Media | Your library — originals, metadata, folders |
| Portfolio | Portfolio → Manage portfolio | A named collection: which files, in what order, with which presentation rules |
| Gallery | Shown to visitors | Public page, page embed, lightbox overlay, or portal delivery — assembled from a portfolio |
There is no separate Galleries item in the sidebar. When docs or the UI say “gallery,” they mean a portfolio collection and how it is shown — not a second library.
Resource collections use the same Portfolio list with a different purpose: files packaged for client portal delivery (share or license) without a public marketing page. Showcase work and client handoffs are both portfolios; the toggles differ.
The portfolio hub
Each collection opens from Portfolio → Manage portfolio — one screen with top tabs, like the page editor:
| Tab | What you configure |
|---|---|
| Media (default) | Add from Media, drag to reorder, per-image captions, cover, remove from collection |
| Settings | Visibility & SEO, Public page layout, Commerce (prints when enabled) |
| Lightbox | Overlay, presets, layout shell, captions, video |
| Motion | Animated layouts (by plan) |
Workspace-wide presentation defaults live under Settings → Portfolio. Each collection inherits those defaults until you override them on Settings or Lightbox.
How visitors see your work
| Goal | Where to start |
|---|---|
| Standalone portfolio URL | Turn on Public page — /portfolio/{slug} (Public portfolio pages) |
| Cinematic motion gallery | Motion tab — animated templates (Motion portfolio pages) |
| Gallery inside a site page | Image Portfolio block on a Page |
| Client review or delivery | Portfolio + Portal Manager; privacy on Settings |
| Shareable single-image pages | Settings → Enable Page View (Photo detail pages) |
Related guides
- Create your first gallery — name, cover, public toggle
- Add media to a gallery — picker, drag reorder
- Portfolio layout settings — Settings tab → Public page
- Motion portfolio pages — Motion tab (eligible plans)
- Portfolio lightbox settings — Lightbox tab
Team workspaces
Portfolio is included on every subscription plan. If you are signed in as a team member (not the workspace owner), sidebar items depend on your role and scope. Roles with portfolio access can create and manage collections; workspace Settings (including Settings → Portfolio site defaults) are limited to owner and manager.
Verifying your setup
- Media holds files; Portfolio holds collections; gallery describes what visitors see.
- You can open a collection hub and move between Media, Settings, and Lightbox.
- You know whether your next step is uploading (Media) or curating and presenting (Portfolio).