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Guide

How to choose which gallery photos clients can download

Keep proofs visible, allow downloads from a Finals section, or change one photo at a time in FOCL Galleries.

Updated October 2026

Sometimes you want clients to see every photo but download only the finished images. FOCL Galleries lets you do that for a whole section or for individual photos. The same controls work in standalone and wedding galleries.

Let clients download Finals and view Proofs

  1. Create Proofs and Finals sections with Add Section in the Photos tab, then move your photos into them.
  2. Open Settings → Downloads and leave the gallery-wide Allow downloads switch on.
  3. Under Choose what clients can download, set Proofs to View only and Finals to Allow downloads.

Clients can see both sections. Their downloads and ZIPs include only the allowed photos.

Allow one proof to be downloaded

Open Pick which photos can be downloaded, find the photo, and click Allow downloads beside it. It saves automatically. No checkbox is needed.

An individual photo choice takes priority over its section. To have that photo use the section’s setting again, click Reset to section setting. Your saved photo controls open automatically the next time you visit Downloads.

To change a group, choose Change several photos, select the photos, then choose the setting you want.

What View only means

Clients can see and favorite the photo and can still order prints. They cannot download its file through the gallery. View-only photos are left out of ZIPs, including section downloads and shared sets.

Turning the gallery-wide Allow downloads switch off blocks all client downloads. An individual photo set to Allow downloads cannot override that switch.

These settings cannot take back a file someone already saved or prevent screenshots of a visible preview. If you change access after a ZIP has been prepared, its old link stops working and the client can request a fresh ZIP.

No wedding required

Choose Standalone gallery when you create a gallery, enter a client or session name, and add a date if you want one. Use it for portraits, families, events or weddings. You can connect a FOCL wedding later in Settings → General.

For the full instructions, see Control how clients download photos and Organize photos into sections.

Create a gallery for your next session

Portraits, families, events or weddings. Start with a client or session name.

Open FOCL Galleries

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