The code modification has been implemented, and the result is that the row of images appears centered in the filmstrip...thank you Mr. Andre.
There is an odd animation/rendering effect occurring on the left side of the filmstrip as the left box (containing the left.png arrow) <td width="50%" class="prev_strip"></td>
(from the <$template_film_strip> ) is rendered in various browsers...it appears as if the prev_strip box is being rendered in a sweep from left to right every time the left or right arrows are clicked, but this could be browser related...I'm not sure, and now that the images are centered in the filmstrip, if this oddity is an odd side effect of having the images centered in the filmstrip, we may just have to accept it.
Because this might be a separate issue, I want to be able to call the centering of the images of the filmstrip issue "resolved" and close out the original post, but there may be additional information (or not) about this new? filmstrip issue based on what the Coppermine folks say...
We continue to experience unpredictable rendering of the leftmost and rightmost thumbnails (half / partial thumbnails) in the filmstrip as the filmstrip is "scrolled" left and right, but at the moment, this is considered acceptable and somewhat pleasing, but I think it might be even more pleasing if the configured number of thumbnails displayed as whole thumbnails.
Please understand that we selected Coppermine after reviewing more than thirty other gallery packages, we deeply appreciate the sheer number of hours and work and dedication that have gone into this feature-rich and very capable gallery.
We are grateful that there exists not just support for Coppermine, but personalized support for what are probably minor and intricate issues. Although it has been an adventurous learning curve to configure and customize our Coppermine installation for our particular needs, we very much look forward to the ultimate satisfaction on launch day of having chosen Coppermine as our gallery solution.
I'll wait for a response to this post to see if there is more information before marking the images centered in filmstrip topic as "Topic Solv-ed"