# Order images before posting observation in mobile apps **URL:** \ **Category:** Feature Requests\ **Tags:** android-app, ios-classic-app\ **Created:** [August 20, 2019, 9:37pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/order-images-before-posting-observation-in-mobile-apps/5956 "2019-08-20T21:37:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![crellow](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/crellow/32/2265_2.png) [@crellow](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/crellow)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 9:37pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/order-images-before-posting-observation-in-mobile-apps/5956/1 "2019-08-20T21:37:11Z")
I’d love to have more explicit control over how images are ordered when you attach them to an observation on the mobile app (I use iOS). Here’s what it currently looks like when you go to select more than one image from your device’s photo library: ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/2X/c/c8dc6e3d86086e41d3a429b9a082bad56a0d3aff.jpeg) Obviously I’ve selected three images, but it doesn’t show me what order they’ll appear in the observation. Usually what happens is that the first image I tap on will become the first image in the observation, and so-on. That’s great, but I wonder if it’s more a side effect than an intended feature. I propose that the app be modified so that the ordering is more apparent (and controllable), such as how Instagram does things: ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/2X/9/9443cdbe255de2ccb501f2304ed067e7beec0453.jpeg) It’s important (to me) because I do like to order multiple images in an observation. Quite often if I’m submitting an observation of a plant, I’ll put a more charismatic close-up up front and an overview shot of the whole plant at the end, especially if there’s a lot of other clutter in the image. Right now if you make a mistake in the ordering, you’ve got to go and reorder the images on the desktop site after the fact, and that feature is a bit clunky. ---
**Author:** ![novapatch](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/novapatch/32/786_2.png) [@novapatch](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/novapatch)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:35am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/order-images-before-posting-observation-in-mobile-apps/5956/2 "2019-08-21T00:35:07Z")
I do like that proposed UI, but there is an existing way to do this before posting, which I use every time I have multiple photos. Once you get to this screen: ![bilde](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/2X/1/1b94c27a2cf96027fbd60668cb515ab6ec35457d.jpeg) Click on the little circle below the photo to move it to the front. If you want to control the full order of four photos, you have to click on them in this order: 4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st. ---
**Author:** ![crellow](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/crellow/32/2265_2.png) [@crellow](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/crellow)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 1:47am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/order-images-before-posting-observation-in-mobile-apps/5956/3 "2019-08-21T01:47:59Z")
Ah! Clearly I haven’t experimented with that functionality properly. Thanks for letting me know. ---
**Author:** ![tiwane](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/tiwane/32/54612_2.png) [@tiwane](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/tiwane)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 4:41am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/order-images-before-posting-observation-in-mobile-apps/5956/4 "2019-08-21T04:41:16Z")
The order in which you select the photos from your gallery should be the order in which they will be displayed in the observation. At least, it always has worked that way for me. That being said, numbers would be nice. ---
**Author:** ![upupa-epops](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/upupa-epops/32/1972_2.png) [@upupa-epops](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/upupa-epops)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 4:15pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/order-images-before-posting-observation-in-mobile-apps/5956/5 "2019-08-21T16:15:42Z")
I use the Android app but I’ve found this really inconsistent. Usually the first image in the observation is the last one I selected, but often not and all the rest seen just as random. Edit: I was using option 2 in @kueda’s list [here](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/look-for-location-in-more-than-1-picture/3679/12). When I use option 5 (sharing from the Gallery app) it orders them in the app in the same order that I select them. ---
**Author:** ![Star3](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/star3/32/73028_2.png) [@Star3](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/Star3)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 6:40pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/order-images-before-posting-observation-in-mobile-apps/5956/6 "2019-08-21T18:40:02Z")
Speaking of the android app: I’ve found if I change the order in the app, it changes both there and on the site. If I change the order of photos on the site, it doesn’t update to match in the app. If I have more than a few photos, I prefer to change order on the site, because I can freely swap them all around at once with the numbers. In the app, I have to play game of rotating “firsts” ---
**Author:** ![jdmore](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/jdmore/32/1116_2.png) [@jdmore](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/jdmore)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 6:53pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/order-images-before-posting-observation-in-mobile-apps/5956/7 "2019-08-21T18:53:02Z")
> [@Star3](#): > > If I change the order of photos on the site, it doesn’t update to match in the app. This may be a caching thing in the app. You might have to refresh or even log out/in first for changes from the web to propagate to the app. ---
**Author:** ![tiwane](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/tiwane/32/54612_2.png) [@tiwane](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/tiwane)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2019, 8:35pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/order-images-before-posting-observation-in-mobile-apps/5956/8 "2019-09-04T20:35:25Z")
> [@Star3](#): > > Speaking of the android app: I’ve found if I change the order in the app, it changes both there and on the site. > If I change the order of photos on the site, it doesn’t update to match in the app. This might be worth a bug report. Can you please provide a specific set of steps we can use to try and replicate? ---
**Author:** ![tiwane](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/tiwane/32/54612_2.png) [@tiwane](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/tiwane)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 6:41pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/order-images-before-posting-observation-in-mobile-apps/5956/9 "2019-09-05T18:41:42Z")
A post was split to a new topic: [Photo order info differs between Android app and website](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/photo-order-info-differs-between-android-app-and-website/6315) ---
**Author:** ![tiwane](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/tiwane/32/54612_2.png) [@tiwane](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/tiwane)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 5:27am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/order-images-before-posting-observation-in-mobile-apps/5956/10 "2020-08-07T05:27:43Z")