Image Resizeredit page on GitHub

ImageResizer - Standalone Installation or Without ASP.NET

Standalone Installation

Many users opt to install ImageResizer in standalone mode (on a separate application or server).

Using ImageResizer in standalone mode and embedded mode is nearly identical - the URL API is usable from anywhere, and you can use an IIS Virtual Folder to make images accessible at the same virtual paths (for local images), or use one of the datastore plugins to connect to any file storage service.

How to use the Image Resizer without ASP.NET

It's just as easy. If you want to use the COM interface, read this page. If you're using the URL API (a better choice), continue with this article.

You do have to be running a .NET capable webserver like Windows+IIS, *nix+apache+mono, or *nix+ngix+mono. If you are not, remember you can set up a separate port or subdomain dedicated to images, separate from your application, using IIS. Or, use a separate Windows server to handle imagery.

You can set up a standalone ImageResizer site using any installation method.

Package Manager Console

The Package Manage Console can be opened in Visual Studio through `Tools`>`Library Package Manager`>`Package Manager Console`

PM> Install-Package ImageResizer.MvcWebConfig
PM> Install-Package ImageResizer.Plugins.DiskCache
PM> Install-Package ImageResizer.Plugins.PrettyGifs
PM> Install-Package ImageResizer.Plugins.SimpleFilters

NuGet GUI (Visual Studio)

  1. Right-click on your project and click "Manage NuGet Packages".
  2. Select "NuGet Offical Package Source"
  3. Search for "Imazen", using the search bar at the top right
  4. Select "ImageResizer Web.config Installation (with MVC support)" and choose Install
  5. Repeat for each desired plugin

View available packages on NuGet

More details about NuGet installation

  1. Add ImageResizer.dll, ImageResizer.Mvc.dll, ImageResizer.Plugins.DiskCache.dll, and any other plugin dlls you wish to use to the /bin folder of the website. If you're using Visual Studio, right click your project and choose "Add Reference" for each of these files instead.

  2. Modify or create the /Web.Config file for your site. Make sure all these elements are added correctly (You may wish to make a backup of Web.config first).

     <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
 <configuration>
   <configSections>
     <section name="resizer" type="ImageResizer.ResizerSection,ImageResizer"  requirePermission="false"  />
   </configSections>

   <resizer>
     <!-- Unless you (a) use Integrated mode, or (b) map all reqeusts to ASP.NET, 
          you'll need to add .ashx to your image URLs: image.jpg.ashx?width=200&height=20 -->
     <pipeline fakeExtensions=".ashx" />

     <plugins>
       <add name="MvcRoutingShim" />
       <add name="DiskCache" />
       <!-- <add name="PrettyGifs" /> -->
       <!-- <add name="SimpleFilters" /> -->
       <!-- <add name="S3Reader" /> -->
     </plugins>  
   </resizer>

   <system.web>
     <httpModules>
       <!-- This is for IIS5, IIS6, and IIS7 Classic, and Cassini/VS Web Server-->
       <add name="ImageResizingModule" type="ImageResizer.InterceptModule"/>
     </httpModules>
   </system.web>

   <system.webServer>
     <validation validateIntegratedModeConfiguration="false"/>
     <modules>
       <!-- This is for IIS7+ Integrated mode -->
       <add name="ImageResizingModule" type="ImageResizer.InterceptModule"/>
     </modules>
   </system.webServer>
 </configuration>

  3. Start your web site, then visit /resizer.debug.ashx to verify you've done everything correctly. If you ever encounter issues, simply revisit that page to access the self-diagnostics. If you need help, just ask!

  4. Ready to go live? Get the Performance Edition, which includes disk caching and several other invaluable plugins.

  1. If Web.config already exists in the target website or application, use the Manual Installation Method.
  2. Copy the contents of the Samples\BasicIISSite\ folder of the download into the new website.
  3. Browse to the web site and type '/resizer.debug.ashx' directly after the domain or IP address. You should get a page of diagnostic information if everything is working. If you need help, just ask!
  4. Copy ImageResizer.Plugins.DiskCache.dll from \dlls\release\ in the download to \bin in the target application, and un-comment the DiskCache line in Web.config. Repeat for all desired plugins.