When it comes to sharing a bunch of files in regular life, you’ll probably think about sharing access to some folder in your Google Drive or in similar storage and providing the link to that folder.
Pics.io has moved a few steps forward and made this process as easy as it’s only possible. Now, to show your projects to clients and partners outside Pics.io, you’ll only have to click one button to create a shared collection.
This approach allows you to turn any collection within your library into a fully-fledged website in one click and customize it with your logo, contacts, consent window, search panel, etc.
Сreate and publish a shared collection (website)
Shared collections are created based on collections (folders) you have in Pics.io. Pics.io allows you to build a website from a single collection with assets inside and from a collection nesting several other collections inside.
To share a collection, you should do the following:
Decide on what assets or collections you’d like to share in the form of a website:
Here, you can choose an existing collection or create a new one and populate it with the right assets. Learn more about how to move/attach files and collections within your Pics.io library here.
Click the globe icon «Publish to web» in the bottom action toolbar or simply click the same globe icon next to the collection name (3rd option: click the three vertical dots below your avatar in the Details panel, then choose the «Publish to web» from the list.)
Once you are redirected to the shared collection’s settings menu, choose its visual template from the list. Depending on your preferences and needs, you can use different layouts to showcase your files. Please note, that if you want to create an interactive shared collection where other people could leave comments, you should choose the Proofing Template option.
Customize your shared collection the way you want: protect it with a password; map it to a custom domain; connect Google Analytics to track the visitors' activity, configure the actions visitors will be able to perform with published assets, etc. Learn more about customization here.
Click the live preview button to check how your shared collection looks before you publish it.
You can save the visual and customization settings in a separate preset for future use by clicking Save as a new preset at the top right corner under the customized template.
After finishing the setup of your shared collection and saving it in a preset (if needed), press the Publish button on the left to go live. You will get a corresponding notification in the bottom right corner with the button that leads to the created website.
Pro tip: create custom presets to streamline and automate website sharing in several clicks
📚 Learn more about how you can create custom website templates.
Once you have published a collection, the icon next to its name turns into a globe. In this way, you can easily see which of your collections are published on the web.
The whole list of collections shared in the form of a website is also available above the tree of collections. Starting from the Micro plan, you’re provided with an unlimited number of shared collections that can be used to distribute your content.
Here is a short video for illustrative purposes on how to create a shared collection:
Share assets from different locations
Group sharing is implemented via Pics.io websites, the same way as you share a collection. It allows you to select and share assets that reside in different collections and then technically, share them in the form of a Pics.io website.
There are several ways to share assets from different collections:
Perform a search query based on certain criteria and select desired assets that come up on the search result after it.
In the Keywords tab, click the needed keyword to display assets associated with it and select a bunch of assets to share.
Select assets from the root collection of your library to share.
After finding the most suitable option for you to locate the needed assets, please hover over the action toolbar and click a 'globe' icon to create a new collection that will be transformed into a Pics.io website with all the selected assets inside.
Once named, click Share and you will be redirected to the main settings of your newly created website.
Track changes on the website and access the analytics
The Analytics tab is the place where you can check some basic reports about the performance of your shared collection. Depending on your subscription plan, you’ll be provided with different-level reports. The tab is hidden until some stats are gathered from visitors' activity.
Website analytics has been improved and now you can observe how many times top assets have been downloaded on your website under the Top assets downloads. We've also made sure you can download extended stats in a CSV file to see more detailed information about all your assets published on the site.
Share website links with external visitors
Once you’ve created a website from a Pics.io collection, a pop-up message with the Visit website button will appear at the bottom right of your screen. Additionally, you will be sent an email containing the link to the shared collection with your images. This link can be shared with anybody in any preferred way. If you choose to restrict access to your shared collections with a password, make sure you share it with your collaborators as well.
You can also find the link to your shared collection by hovering the mouse cursor over the name of the collection and clicking the option «Copy website link to clipboard».
How can visitors interact with assets in my shared collections?
Usually, when sharing some content, we expect to get some feedback on it. Shared collections provide visitors of your page with several options for informing you about assets they like and ones they don’t.
In the process of configuring your shared collection, you can choose the actions your page visitors can take on your assets within the Customization tab. Currently, you can allow them to:
Search for files (available with the Proofing template only);
Download files:
Download all assets as an archive by clicking the corresponding button in the top navigation bar of your shared collection;
Download selected assets only: to do so, select necessary files (clicking on the checkbox on thumbnails/press Cmd(Ctrl) and click on thumbnails) and click on the Download button.
Download a single asset by opening a necessary asset in preview or hovering over its thumbnail and clicking the Download button in the top right corner.
See previous revisions;
Discuss assets by leaving comments and putting visual markers;
Edit files titles, descriptions;
See the warning about Restricted assets. P.S. The default warning message can be changed to a custom one in My Teams settings.
Use flags, ratings, and colors to single out the most liked files.
Click the eye to enable/disable the visibility of a field and tick the checkbox to enable/disable external users to act.
Comment control setting
To enhance control over collaboration, we have added a new setting Restrict access to internal comments (available when Comments → Show is enabled).
When disabled, both internal Pics.io user comments and external website user comments will be visible in the Activity panel.
When enabled, only external website user comments will be displayed in the Activity panel, hiding internal comments.
This ensures that only relevant external feedback is shared, streamlining collaboration with external clients and teammates (internal Pics.io users).
How can I update or delete an existing shared collection?
If you need to update a shared collection's content, all you need to do is to add/remove files to/from a corresponding source collection. The changes will be automatically added and published on your shared collection.
All the customization settings changed for the already published collection will be applied automatically to it.
When it comes to stopping sharing a collection, make sure you understand the difference between the delete and unpublish actions first. As any shared collection is formed of a particular collection in your Pics.io library, don’t delete that collection to stop sharing it. You will just need to unpublish it in the shared collection's settings in the following way:
mouse over your shared collection title;
click the globe icon, it will take you to the shared collection settings;
click the 'Unpublish' button.
If you need to publish the website again in the future, the original configurations will be lost and the new ones from the most recently published website will be applied to it.
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