The Image Gallery field in Dapple is a Form Builder field that embeds a set of images directly in your submission form for applicants to browse. Add it like any other field, upload your images, and choose whether applicants see them as a swipeable Carousel or a Grid of thumbnails — either way, clicking an image opens it full-size and lets applicants toggle through the rest. It's useful anywhere a gallery communicates better than a single picture: your venue or organisation, previous winners, a residency space, example work, or eligibility guidance.
Why use an Image Gallery field?
A standard Image field only holds one picture. Image Gallery lets you show several images together in one place, which suits anything a single photo can't fully explain:
Showcasing your organisation or venue — multiple angles of a gallery space, theatre, or office.
Displaying previous winners or selected work, so applicants can see the standard you're looking for.
Photographing a residency or studio space — the room, equipment, and surroundings applicants would be working in.
Sharing exhibition or event photos from a previous edition of the same call.
Providing example submissions or reference imagery alongside your guidelines.
Introducing your judging panel or team with individual photos.
Illustrating step-by-step instructions, such as how to package or ship physical work.
Anywhere you'd otherwise add several separate Image fields down the form, Image Gallery keeps them together in one field applicants can browse in sequence.
How do you add an Image Gallery field to your form?
Open the Form Builder for your project.
Drag Image Gallery from the field panel onto your form, in the section where you want it to appear.
On the General tab, give the field a Title and an optional Description.
Switch to the Gallery tab to upload your images and set the display style (see below).
Click Save changes.
How do you choose between Carousel and Grid display, and what size should images be?
The Display as setting on the Gallery tab controls the layout applicants see first. Match your images to the recommended size for the style you choose, so they don't get cropped or stretched:
Display as | What applicants see | Recommended dimensions |
Carousel (swipe through slides) | One image at a time, swiped or clicked through in sequence | 1280 x 720px (16:9) |
Grid (thumbnails) | Several images at once, laid out in columns | 1080 x 1080px (1:1) |
If you choose Grid, the Columns setting controls how many images sit side by side: Auto (responsive), 2 columns, 3 columns, or 4 columns. Carousel suits a sequence you want applicants to move through in order — a step-by-step example or a venue walk-through. Grid suits a set of images applicants are likely to compare side by side, such as past winning entries.
For dimension guidance on the rest of your form — header, background, and embedded images — see What are the Best Image Dimensions for Dapple Submission Forms. The same file-size guidance applies to gallery images too — aim for under 500KB per image where you can, and compress before uploading.
What happens when an applicant clicks a gallery image?
In both display styles, clicking or tapping any image opens it full-size in an expanded view. From there, applicants can toggle through every image in the gallery without closing the expanded view. Carousel and Grid only change how the gallery first appears on the form — either way, applicants get a full-size, swipeable view once they click in.
How do you manage the images in a gallery?
The Images list on the Gallery tab holds every image in the field. For each one, you can:
Reorder images by dragging the handle on the left of each row. The first image becomes the gallery's lead photo — the one shown first, before an applicant interacts with the gallery.
Add Alt text — a short description of the image, read aloud by screen readers. Add this for every image; it's what makes the gallery accessible to applicants using assistive technology.
Add an optional Caption, shown to applicants alongside the image — useful for labelling what they're looking at, e.g. "Our main studio space" or "Winning entry, 2025".
Remove an image with the trash icon on its row.
Click Save changes once your images and display settings are set. To remove the whole field from the form, use the trash icon next to Save changes rather than deleting individual images one by one.
