FW Gallery – Documentation

Image Upload Problems

If images fail to upload or process incorrectly in FW Gallery, the cause is almost always one of a small number of server or configuration issues. Work through the checks below to identify and resolve the problem.

PHP Upload Limits Too Small

PHP enforces file size limits that can silently block large image uploads. Two settings must both be large enough to accommodate your files:

• upload_max_filesize — sets the maximum size of a single uploaded file.
• post_max_size — sets the maximum size of the entire POST request, which must be equal to or larger than upload_max_filesize.

These values are set in your server's php.ini file, or in some cases through your hosting control panel. If you do not have direct access to php.ini, contact your hosting provider and ask them to increase both values. A common working configuration is upload_max_filesize = 32M and post_max_size = 64M, though your exact needs will depend on your image sizes.

GD or Imagick Not Installed

FW Gallery requires a PHP image processing library to resize and handle uploaded images. Either GD or Imagick must be installed and enabled on your server. If neither is available, image processing will fail after upload.

To check which libraries are active, ask your hosting provider or review your server's PHP information page. If neither library is enabled, ask your host to activate GD (the more commonly available option) or Imagick.

Folder Permissions

FW Gallery stores uploaded images inside the images/fwsg/ folder within your Joomla installation. This folder and its subdirectories must be writable by the web server. If the permissions are too restrictive, uploads will fail or images will not appear after uploading.

To fix this, set the folder permissions to 755 using your FTP client or file manager in your hosting control panel. If your host uses a specific user/group configuration, 755 is the correct starting point — only widen to 775 or 777 as a last resort and only if your host confirms it is safe to do so.

File Type Not Allowed

Joomla restricts which file types can be uploaded through its media settings. If you are uploading a file format that is not on Joomla's allowed list, the upload will be blocked before FW Gallery even processes it.

To check and update the allowed file types:

1. Go to System > Global Configuration in the Joomla administrator.
2. Open the Media tab.
3. Review the Legal Extensions (File Types) and Legal Image Extensions fields.
4. Add any missing image formats such as jpg, jpeg, png, gif, or webp as needed.
5. Save the configuration.

Quick Checklist

• upload_max_filesize and post_max_size are set high enough in PHP configuration.
• GD or Imagick is installed and enabled on the server.
• The images/fwsg/ folder is writable by the web server.
• The file type being uploaded is listed in Joomla's allowed media extensions.

If uploads still fail after checking all of the above, enable Joomla's debug mode under Global Configuration > System and attempt the upload again to capture any error messages that may point to the specific cause.