Symbiostock provides are two methods of adding media files:

  • Uploading media using FTP.
  • Uploading media through your internet browser.

It is recommended you use FTP for adding most of your media files, especially if you are adding multiple files. FTP is the faster, more efficient method of uploading your media files. Also, at times due to basic WordPress timeouts, if you try to upload a large file (>8MB) it is possible that the web uploader will fail to properly save your new image.

How to Upload Media Using FTP:
This guide proceeds assuming you have a web-host with FTP access and that you are familiar with using FTP.

  1. Go to your Symbiostock > Upload Media page to find out where your upload location is.
  2. Log into your server using your FTP credentials and navigate to the upload directory as shown on the Upload Media page. Make sure you are logging into the correct server and are navigating to the exact location as per the information provided in WordPress.
  3. Upload your image files using your favorite FTP client. We recommend Filezilla.
  4. The automatic scheduler will parse your media and add it to to your Symbiostock > Media tab.

How to Upload Media Through Your Browser:

  1. Log into your WordPress dashboard and go to Symbiostock > Upload Media.
  2. Click the ‘Choose Files’ button and select the file(s) that you want upload.
  3. Click the ‘Publish’ button.

The speed at which your files are uploaded will vary depending on the speed of your internet connection, how many files you are uploading and the size of the file(s). Once uploaded, the files will go in queue to be parsed by your server’s scheduled maintenance process. Once parsing is complete the new media files will show up in the Symbiostock > Media section. The processor will wait at least a minute before processing any new files.

Media that is processed will automatically have all their thumbnails created, watermarked, and licenses applied as per your license filters. If you have auto-publishing enabled, they will also go live, in which case once an image is uploaded, it will go on for sale automatically without any intervention.

Failed Files

Any files that fail to be processed by Symbiostock will be left in the upload directory with the ‘_ss_failed_’ prefix attached. Files will usually fail because they are an incorrect file type or are corrupted. Examine failed files to determine the cause.

Vectors

When uploading a vector, if you upload an associated JPEG file with the ‘.jpg’ extension along with it that has the exact same name (ie ‘flower.eps’ and ‘flower.jpg’), Symbiostock will automatically associate that JPEG and add it as the alternate JPEG for that vector. This means it will be used for all thumbnailing and customer raster downloads. As well, if you have ‘use alternate JPEG metadata’ enabled in your Symbiostock Settings, Symbiostock will use the metadata from the alternate JPEG to populate your original vector product’s information, such as title, description, keywords, GPS etc. This allows vector artists to, like photographers, do all their prep work before hand and just upload media for a one-step solution to getting all their stuff online and ready for sale.

If you do not have an alternate JPEG, Symbiostock will create a thumbnail using the vector (Imagick required). Sometimes, the color rendition of the resulting thumbnail will not match the original EPS perfectly, and it is generally recommended that vector artists always try to include an alternate JPEG with their vectors. We have noticed a definite increase in sales for Symbiostock vector artists that do this.