Reading the FAQ is a good idea when trying to troubleshoot particular issues. However, it doesn't make the rest of the documentation obsolete - if you can't find an answer here, make sure to have read the entire documentation. Search the support board thoroughly before starting a new support request on the forum.
GD is a graphical library which enables PHP to do image manipulation. The library was originally developped by Thomas Boutell and is now maintained by Pierre-A. Joye under the umbrella of PHP.net. If you are running your own webservem you can download it at libgd.org. You will need to recompile PHP on (L)Unix systems, depending on your setup Apache as well. Most recent versions of PHP come with GD - go for a package. On most windows systems, you can just enable it in the php.ini file. If you are subscribing to a webhost: find out through your webhost if GD/GD2 support is available on your site. If not, ask your webhost if you can have it or find yourself another webhost. GD/GD2 are pretty much a standard feature at most webhosting services.
ImageMagick is another graphical library like GD/GD2 for image manipulation. If you are running your own webserver, you can download it at imagemagick.org. There are sources available for Unix, Linux, Mac and Windows executables, as well as binary packages for various server operating systems. You cannot install ImageMagick if you are subscribing to a webhost.
If you haven't installed Coppermine, yet, create a blank file named "info.php", put this code into it: <?php phpinfo(); ?>. Save the file and upload this file to your webserver, then run it in your browser (e.g. http://www.yourdomain.com/info.php). Look for a table like this:
| GD Support | enabled |
| GD Version | 1.6.2 or higher |
| FreeType Support | enabled |
| FreeType Linkage | with TTF library |
| JPG Support | enabled |
| PNG Support | enabled |
| WBMP Support | enabled |
GD2 is an updated version of GD1 and, as such, will create pictures with better quality (intermediate and thumbnails).
| Here's an example taken from w-nailer: about resizing (Original pic size: 1024 x 768 pixels): | |
 |  |
| GD 1.8.4: ImageCreate ImageCopyResized 128 x 96 pixels | GD 2.0.1: ImageCreateTrueColor ImageCopyResampled 128 x 96 pixels |
The main difference between GD 1 and GD 2 lies in the color depth: GD1 only supported a limited color depth of 256 colors per image. This lead to very poor quality.
GD 1.x 2.x are normally part of all standard PHP distributions under Windows
To check if you have it, go to the directory where you installed PHP, go to the "extensions" subdir and see if you have a file named "php_gd2.dll".
Ocassionally, you will also need to edit your php.ini file (located in windows directory normally) and remove the ";" that is at the beginning of the line:
extension=php_gd2.dll (at the end of the file). This will cause PHP to load the GD2 extension.
Whenever you make changes to php.ini, remember that you will need to restart your webserver before changes become effective.
ImageMagick it quite complicated to use under Windows
Greg
Side-note: the coppermine dev team does not recommend self-hosting. We are not trying to encourage you to run a webserver on your own if you don't know your way around. We left this paragraph in the FAQ section for reference. Please understand that we can not advise on webserver setup issues.
ImageMagick is quite complicated to set up on Windows. There are several things to be taken into account. The Coppermine support board is not the right place to ask for help on installing it, as it deals with Coppermine, not "How to set up a server" (most people on the Coppermine boards don't run their own webserver, but they have webspace by a webhost). Instead, try to find support boards on the internet that deal with this special topic.
The path to ImageMagick mustn't contain spaces or special characters. You have to make sure that the user the webserver runs under actually has the needed permissions to run the ImageMagick executables.
You can only install ImageMagic or GD if you're running your own server or if you have at least shell access to your webserver. If your site is being hosted by a webhost you can only contact your webhost and ask them to install it for you. If they refuse choose another webhost or use GD instead.
If you haven't installed Coppermine, yet, create a blank file named "info.php". Add the following code to it: <?php phpinfo(); ?>. Save the file and upload it to your webserver, then run it in your browser (e.g. http://www.yourdomain.com/info.php). The very first line should read "PHP Version X.Y.Z"
Please note: leaving info.php on your server could be a security risk; either delete it after use or move it into a password protected directory!
If you have already installed Coppermine, you will find a phpinfo file (phpinfo.php) within the coppermine folder. Log in to your Coppermine setup as the admin and simply point (type in the URL) your browser to http://yourdomain.tld/your_coppermine_folder/phpinfo.php or click on the phpinfo link in Coppermine's admin menu.
as stated in the install section:
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is used to exchange and manipulate files over a computer network. An FTP client may connect to an FTP server to manipulate files on that server.
There are two different transfer modes in FTP.
All images (.jpg, .gif, .png etc) should be uploaded as binary, all files that contain text (php, htm, css, js etc.) in ASCII mode. Most FTP clients have an "auto" mode that will use the proper mode for each file; if your FTP client has "Auto", use it. This mode is particularly usefull then installing Coppermine as the package contains a mixture of file type. If your client does not have an "Auto" mode then switch to "Binary". For more information consult the manual for your FTP client or read up the Wikipedia article on FTP.