I'm trying to create a node type to which the user can attach multiple images. When the user is first presented with the Submit form, I want them to see a fixed number of image input fields. See the diagram below which has three such fields. (The number of images per node would be a set on the settings page.)
When the user clicks the 'Browse...' button, the standard file selection dialog box opens. When they select a file and the dialog box closes, I would like the image to immediately be uploaded. In the diagram, 'tn' means thumbnail and this would initially be an empty graphic. After the file uploades, I'd like that to be replaced with a thumbnail derived from their uploaded image.
And, I want various information to be associated with each image. In the example, this would be the make and model of cars. I'd store this information in its own table: the image location, the description, the make, the model, etc.
I've tried to put something like this together by modifying the upload module in 4.6, but it has a few undesirable features. For one, the user has to press the 'Attach' button and that refreshes the page. Even in 4.7 with jsupload.js, they still need to press that button. And, the upload module doesn't allow the same exact image to be associated with a node twice. And, you need to add a new image one at a time. In 4.7, the upload module is also even more difficult to understand than in 4.6.