What Is the Gallery Shortcode feature?
The Gallery Shortcode feature adds a [cm_gallery] shortcode that displays all images from a specific media folder as a responsive gallery. The gallery updates dynamically when the folder contents change.
This is useful for:
- Portfolio galleries: Create a gallery from a “portfolio” folder
- Product images: Display all images from a “product-images” folder
- Event galleries: Show all photos from an event folder
- Documentation: Display all screenshots from a “docs” folder
Why You Need It
The default WordPress gallery shortcode requires manually selecting individual images:
- Manual selection: You must choose each image individually
- No dynamic updates: When new images are added, the gallery doesn’t update
- No folder support: The default gallery uses the post’s attached media, not a folder
The [cm_gallery] shortcode solves this by using folders instead of manual selection.
How to Use the Gallery Shortcode in WordPress
- Step 1
Navigate to Settings
Click into the Classic Monks plugin settings in your WordPress dashboard.
- Step 2
Go to the Interface Tab
Click on the Interface menu, then click the Folders subtab.
- Step 3
Enable Gallery Shortcode
Scroll to Gallery Shortcode and toggle on.
- Step 4
Save Changes
Click Save Changes.
- Step 5
Create a Folder and Add Images
Go to the Media Library, create a folder (e.g., “portfolio”), and drag images into it.
- Step 6
Use the Shortcode
Add the shortcode to any post, page, or widget:
[cm_gallery id="123"]Replace
123with the folder ID. To find the folder ID, hover over the folder name in the sidebar and look at the URL or tooltip.
- Step 7
Test
Visit the page on the frontend. The gallery should display all images from the folder in a responsive grid.
Configuration Options
| Option | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Gallery Shortcode | Master toggle. | Off |
The shortcode accepts these attributes:
id: The folder ID (required)columns: Number of columns (default: 3)size: Image size (default: “medium”, options: “thumbnail”, “medium”, “large”, “full”)link: Link behavior (default: “file”, options: “file”, “none”)orderby: Sort order (default: “menu_order”, options: “date”, “title”, “rand”)
Example:
[cm_gallery id="123" columns="4" size="thumbnail" orderby="date"]What Gets Affected
- The page content: the
[cm_gallery]shortcode is rendered as a responsive gallery - The folder contents: the gallery updates when files are added or removed
- The page load: additional CSS/JS may be loaded for the lightbox
What Does NOT Get Affected
- The folder: the gallery is read-only (doesn’t modify the folder)
- The original images: not affected
- The Media Library: not affected
- The page performance: minimal impact (the gallery is lazy-loaded)
Troubleshooting
5 problems and how to fix each one.
The gallery is not showing
Cause: The toggle is off, or the folder ID is wrong.
Fix: Verify the toggle is on. Check the folder ID (hover over the folder name in the sidebar). The folder must contain at least one image.
The gallery shows broken images
Cause: The image URLs are wrong, or the files have been deleted from the server.
Fix: Verify the images exist in the Media Library. Check the browser console for 404 errors on the image URLs.
The gallery is not responsive
Cause: A theme or plugin is overriding the gallery CSS.
Fix: Check the browser’s DevTools for the gallery container. Ensure the CSS is loading (look for cm-gallery in the page source).
The gallery is slow to load
Cause: The folder has many high-resolution images.
Fix: Use the size attribute to display smaller images (e.g., “thumbnail” instead of “large”). The gallery loads images lazily by default.
The gallery shows duplicate images
Cause: Multiple files have the same image (e.g., duplicates in the Media Library).
Fix: The gallery shows all files in the folder. Use the “Remove from all” option to remove duplicates, or use the folder download feature to back up and clean the folder.
