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How to add media using rtMedia Plugin?
Managing media on a community site takes more than drag-and-drop uploads. Members expect albums, privacy controls, and clean integration with activity feeds. WordPress offers several plugins for this, and rtMedia has been one of the most popular choices for BuddyPress-powered communities. This guide covers what rtMedia does, how to configure it, and what to consider if you are starting a new site today.
What is the rtMedia plugin
rtMedia is a media management plugin for WordPress, BuddyPress, and bbPress. It handles photo, video, and audio uploads with a responsive uploader and player built around a mobile-first approach. The plugin can run with or without BuddyPress active, which gives it flexibility across different site configurations.
What rtMedia adds to BuddyPress
rtMedia extends BuddyPress with media features that work independently of whether BuddyPress activity is enabled:
- Adds a Media tab to BuddyPress profiles and groups.
- Lets users attach media to activity status updates.
- Creates activity entries on upload and syncs comments with WordPress comments.
- Supports likes and comments on media even when BuddyPress activity is turned off.
Features
The free rtMedia plugin adds these features to a community site:
- Upload and manage media - gives users multiple ways to add and manage files.
2. Create albums - enables media albums for audio, video, and images with optional privacy settings.
3. Lightbox and Masonry - presents media in pop-up lightboxes and auto-arranging grid feeds.
4. Like buttons - adds likes for any media item, accessible from within lightboxes or the gallery.
5. Media privacy - supports global or user-defined privacy levels per item.
6. Custom shortcodes - lets you embed a gallery or uploader anywhere on the site.
How to add Media with rtMedia
Getting rtMedia set up is straightforward. Install and activate the plugin from the WordPress plugin directory, then go to its settings page. You will find seven configuration sections on the left side of the settings screen.
rtMedia gives users several ways to add media to the site. Uploads appear in the BuddyPress activity stream.
- Go to your dashboard, navigate to Plugins, click Add New, then install and activate rtMedia.
- After activating, open the plugin’s settings page.
3. The settings page shows seven sections in the left sidebar:
- Display
- BuddyPress
- Types
- Media Sizes
- Privacy
- Custom CSS
- Other settings
Here is what each section controls.
(a) Display Settings
The Display tab controls how media appears on the site.
Single media view
This setting enables or disables user comments on all media posts.
Media likes
Toggles the like feature for media.
List Media View
Controls the lightbox effect on all media. The number of media per page value sets how many thumbnails load at once.
Masonry View
Enables the cascading grid layout powered by the Masonry JavaScript library.
Direct Upload
When enabled, files begin uploading the moment they are selected. When disabled, they wait for the user to click “Start Upload.”
(b) BuddyPress
The BuddyPress tab appears only if BuddyPress is installed on the site.
Enable media in profile - generates a Media tab on every user profile.
Enable media in group - creates a Media tab on every BuddyPress group.
Allow upload from activity stream - controls whether members can upload directly into the activity feed. Paired with the count setting, admins can manage clutter in the activity stream.
Enable media likes - when a user likes or comments on a media item, the owner receives a notification via Enable media notification.
Create activity for media comments - likes and comments on media can also generate entries in the BuddyPress activity feed.
Comment media - allows users to upload media in the comment section of an existing upload.
Album Settings
Organize media into albums - adds an Albums sub-tab to the Media tab on each user profile. Members can use albums to categorize their uploads.
Show album description - displays the album’s description on the front end of the site.
(c) Types
The Types section controls which media formats members can upload across the site. You can independently allow or restrict photos, videos, and audio clips.
(d) Media Sizes
Media Sizes lets admins control how files are presented to users.
Photo
Images are displayed in three pre-set sizes: Thumbnail, Medium, and Large.
Video
The ActivityPlayer setting specifies the display width and height when a video is played from the activity feed.
Music
Audio files can play in both the activity feed and single view. The width of the player in each context is set with the ActivityPlayer and SinglePlayer fields.
Featured
Admins can set a custom height and width in pixels and enable cropping for featured media.
Image quality
rtMedia can compress JPG files on upload, which helps with storage and reduces load on media-heavy pages.
(e) Privacy
Privacy settings let you define who can view each media item. rtMedia supports site-wide defaults and user-level overrides, so members can control visibility on their own uploads.
(f) Custom CSS Settings
rtMedia accepts custom CSS to adjust elements you can target with selectors. This is useful for tweaking color schemes, button styles, and typography to match your theme.
(g) Other settings
Admin Settings
Setting the Admin bar menu integration to on adds rtMedia to the WordPress Admin bar.
API Settings
The Enable JSON API setting turns on the rtMedia JSON API.
Miscellaneous
Helps improve plugin compatibility in future releases.
Footer link
When enabled, adds an rtMedia attribution link to the site footer.
With settings configured, here is how members actually upload media:
- Members can use the Upload button on the Media tab of their BuddyPress profile.
2. The Attach Media button appears when a user is posting on a site-wide activity page, user activity page, or a BuddyPress group page.
3. The uploader also supports drag and drop.
4. Edit and delete media - Members can remove media from their activity feed, the lightbox, or their profile gallery. The edit menu lets them update the title, description, privacy level, and album from either the lightbox or the gallery view.
Your site is now ready to accept media uploads through rtMedia.
The modern alternative: WPMediaVerse
If you are starting a new community site and weighing your media plugin options, WPMediaVerse is worth a close look. It is free, actively developed, and built specifically for social media communities on WordPress and BuddyPress.
WPMediaVerse covers the same foundational use case as rtMedia and adds features that members have come to expect from social platforms:
- Albums with granular privacy controls - members organize uploads and set visibility per album or per item.
- Reactions - goes beyond a simple like button with multiple reaction types on media.
- AI-powered content moderation - automatically flags or holds uploads that violate community guidelines, reducing the manual review load on admins.
- One-click rtMedia migration - existing rtMedia sites can import their media library and settings directly, without rebuilding anything by hand.
The migration path makes this practical for sites already running rtMedia. You do not have to rebuild your community’s media history to switch - WPMediaVerse imports what rtMedia has stored and picks up from there.
You can get the plugin or try it on a live demo:
Conclusion
This guide covered the full rtMedia settings panel and the main upload paths so you can get it configured without hunting through documentation. rtMedia is a solid, well-documented choice for existing BuddyPress sites that need stable media management. If you are building something new and want reactions, AI moderation, and a migration path already built in, take a look at WPMediaVerse - it is the more actively developed option and the one we would point new builds toward.
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