I wanted to be able to just upload images into directories and link PHP pages to those directories which would create thumb images and links without intervention. I didn't want to have to create 2 separate images upload 2 separate directories, nor did I want to have to run the PHP script every time I uploaded pictures in order to get the thumb images. For that matter, photoshop has a great "automation" feature that will create thumbnails that is less lossy than PHP GD.
Basically, I wanted to drag, drop, and forget about it, but as you stated, I don't think that this is possible.
