Use Existing galleries on 7.1 with Classic Gallery block
This post is a follow-up to our introduction of the Classic Gallery Block plugin, guiding you through adding the “Use Existing Gallery” option for Squarespace 7.1 sections—a feature previously exclusive to Squarespace 7.0.
Why Use Existing Galleries in Squarespace 7.1?
If you are familiar with 7.0 Gallery pages and Use Existing Gallery option of 7.0 Gallery blocks, you might be disappointed to find this functionality missing in Squarespace 7.1. According to Squarespace support:
“It’s not possible to use the Use Existing Gallery option in version 7.1. This option is only for gallery pages, which are only available in version 7.0.”
For users considering upgrading from 7.0 to 7.1, this limitation can be a dealbreaker. But with the latest updates to the Classic Gallery block, the "Existing Gallery" functionality is back!
Gallery Methods in Squarespace
Gallery blocks on Squarespace are working on 2 methods transient and existing
Transient Gallery: this contains the images and videos that you inserted into the block in Content > Upload Media tab and can not be shared between pages.
7.1 Gallery sections also a transient Gallery, we can take advantage of this finding for create our Gallery page in 7.1 below…Existing Gallery: in this method, the gallery media is linked from a Gallery pages, so you can have multiple Gallery blocks with the same content but with different layout. The Gallery pages can be found in Content > Use Existing Gallery tab, however this method is not available on 7.1, you will see a blank screen in the page selection, this is due to Gallery pages are not supported in 7.1 template.
So, to replicate a Gallery page on 7.1 template, you need to create a transient Gallery block or Gallery section on a blank page.
Step-by-step tutorial
How to Replicate Gallery Pages in Squarespace 7.1
To make this process even simpler, we’ve created a detailed video walkthrough:
Since Squarespace 7.1 doesn’t natively support Gallery pages, here’s a simple workaround using the Classic Gallery Block plugin:
Step 1: Create a Transient gallery
Create a blank regular page in your Squarespace site.
Insert a Gallery Block or Gallery Section to the page.
Add your images and videos to the block.
Tip: A single Gallery can hold up to 250 items.
Step 2: Organize Your Gallery Pages
For larger sites, consider creating a dropdown or folder in your site navigation named Classic Gallery Pages to store your Gallery pages.
This makes it easier for the plugin to locate your galleries. By default the code will scan all regular pages to look for a transient gallery, for website which has many pages, it can be a slow process, so to make it organized and easier for the code to look for galleries, I created a reserved name for dropdown/folder, so if you create a dropdown named Classic Gallery Pages and put your Gallery pages there, the code will only look for pages within that dropdown.
Step 3: Enable and Use Existing Galleries
Install and activate the Classic Gallery Block plugin.
Insert a new Gallery Block into your section.
Switch to the Use Existing Gallery tab in the block settings.
Select the Gallery page you created from the dropdown list.
Pro tip: Follow this post if you want to convert your gallery section into an existing gallery.
Disclaimer
This script uses unpublicized API from Squarespace, so use it with your own risks
It is required Squarespace Business plan or higher to install the script, if you are Personal plan, checkout out this post.
Bonus
Do you want to display different Gallery block layouts on desktop and mobile? Enabling Existing Gallery option and using Block Visibility from Spark plugin can help you save tons of clicks upload images and video on both blocks.
