Overview
Two Gallery features turn it from a photo archive into a working tool: Categories, colored labels that say what a photo shows, and subscriptions, which decide which photos you hear about. This article covers designing a Category set, applying Categories, how subscriptions notify you, and filter combinations for cross-cutting reviews.
For the Gallery basics — the list view, the filters and the detailed view — see Use the Gallery to review images.
At a glance |
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Who can do this | Create Categories: Super Users or a Role with Organization › Administrate. Apply them: Gallery › Categorize Gallery. |
Where | Gallery; Categories: Configuration › Files › File Categories |
Works on | Backend (web); notifications in the Mobile app |
Availability | All organizations |
💡 Why this matters: Categories say what a photo is, such as best practice, incident evidence or training material. Subscriptions say which photos you want to follow. Together they let a team build reusable photo sets and keep track of the images that matter.
Design a Category set
Categories are shared across your organization. A good set is a small vocabulary the whole team learns and uses the same way:
Few, strong distinctions: 5–10 Categories is usually enough. With 30, people stop tagging.
Action over description: Needs follow-up drives action; Photo of slide doesn't.
Don't overlap: keep top-level meanings distinct, such as evidence, training and marketing.
Colors that match meaning: green for best practice, red for incidents. People read the color bar before the name.
Create Categories
Go to Configuration › Files › File Categories and click Create new category. Enter a Name and Color (both required) and an optional Description. This needs Super User or Organization › Administrate. Deleting a Category removes it from every image that has it.
Apply a Category to an image
1. Open the image
In the Gallery, click the image tile to open the detailed view.
2. Click Configure Categories
In the Activities panel, under Categories, click Configure Categories. You need Gallery › Categorize Gallery.
3. Choose the Categories
Select one or more Categories. Each shows as a colored bar on the image tile, and the image's history records Added the categories:. Everyone who can see the image sees its Categories.
Follow images with subscriptions
A subscription tells Mobaro to notify you when someone comments on an image or changes its Categories. You're subscribed automatically to images you add and images you comment on. To follow any other image, click Subscribe in its Activities panel; click Unsubscribe to stop. An eye icon on a tile shows you're subscribed.
These notifications are push notifications in the Mobaro app, and they also appear under Notifications in the Backend. They follow your notification settings: Comment on images where subscribed and Categories updated for images where subscribed. See Organizational and personal notification settings.
⚠️ Heads-up: There's no Notification Rule for Gallery activity, and you can't subscribe to a whole Category, a Checklist or new photos. Subscriptions are per image, and nobody is notified when a new photo arrives.
Filter combinations worth knowing
Checklists + Page + Question: select one Checklist, then a Page and Question, to see every photo taken for that question across Locations and time.
Time range + Locations + Category: for trends, such as every Needs follow-up photo at the water park this quarter.
Users + Origin + Time range: set Origin to From Camera to see the photos one person took live this week.
Schedules + Status: one Schedule's photos, narrowed to answers with a Red status.
Worked examples
Example 1: build a "what good looks like" set
A trainer wants reference photos of a properly cleaned slide entry for new hires. They create a Category Reference: cleanliness, filter the Gallery to the cleaning Checklist and the water park Locations, and apply the Category to the clearest examples. New hires then filter by Category to see the set.
Example 2: investigate a recurring issue
A team suspects a ride's queue gates keep getting damaged. They filter by Locations (the ride), Time range (last 30 days) and Source set to From Assignments, then apply a Recurring: gate damage Category to relevant photos. The Category filter then gives a photo set for the maintenance review.
Example 3: follow a critical check
A safety lead wants to keep an eye on the brake check photos. Each morning they filter the Gallery to the brake check Checklist and today's Time range, and click Subscribe on the photos to follow. With Comment on images where subscribed turned on for push, they're notified when the team comments on those photos.
Best practices
Start with about 5 Categories, watch how they're used for a month, then add only what's missing.
Don't create a Category for every new topic. Review the set every quarter and remove what isn't used.
Don't use a Category where a filter already works: to find restraint check photos, filter by that Checklist.
Don't use Categories as private bookmarks. Everyone sees them; use subscriptions to follow images yourself.
For audits, filter Origin to From Camera, since photos from storage weren't necessarily taken at the time of the work.
Frequently asked questions
Can I set up folders for the pictures in the Gallery?
No. Use Categories instead: create them under Configuration › Files › File Categories, apply them to images, and filter the Gallery by Category. An image can have several Categories.
Can I get notified about every new photo in a Category?
No. There's no Notification Rule for the Gallery, and subscriptions are per image. Filter the Gallery by that Category to review new photos.
What does subscribing to an image do?
You get a push notification when someone comments on the image or changes its Categories, if those notification settings are on. You're subscribed automatically to images you add or comment on.
I'm subscribed to an image but get no notifications. Why?
Check that Comment on images where subscribed and Categories updated for images where subscribed are on for push in your notification settings, and that notifications are allowed for the Mobaro app on your device.
Who can create and apply Categories?
Creating them needs Super User or Organization › Administrate. Applying them to images needs Gallery › Categorize Gallery.