Joomla! 1.5 Multimedia

Build media-rich Joomla! web sites by learning to embed and display Multimedia content Build a livelier Joomla! site by adding videos, audios, images and more to your web content Install, configure, and use popular Multimedia Extensions Make your web site collaborate with external resources such as Twitter, YouTube, Google, and Flickr with the help of Joomla! extensions Follow a step-by-step tutorial to create a feature-packed media-rich Joomla! site

(For more resources on Joomla!, see here.)

Using another folder name for images in Joomla!
Tip: If you do decide to use another folder name for your media directory, it is important to leave the current /images directory on the server as this can often be used by other components.

Organizing your content
Tip: The organization of your website media content is of utmost importance. Just like with your Joomla! Articles, the correct structure of your files can save you time and frustration down the line when you want to easily find an image or media file.

Creating a new directory using Joomla! Media Manager
Tip: While creating a new directory using Joomla! Media Manager, a forward slash is already pre-populated, so you only need to enter the name of the directory and nothing else.

Uploading and downloading files
Tip: FTP programs offer you the most flexibility in managing your website files, but it is important to take care when using FTP programs. By connecting to your directory structure on the web server, you are navigating amongst core Joomla! files. You can download a file in a similar manner, or you might need to double-click on the file to start downloading it.

Uploading a new file with Joomla! Media Manager
Tip: To upload a new file, make sure you are residing in the correct remote directory for upload. Browse to a file on your computer and simply drag this file over into your web browser.

Location of the Joomla! Template CSS files
Tip: The Joomla! Template CSS file is usually located in the following directory /templates/yourtemplate/css/template.css. If you are using a pre-built Joomla! Template, you may see multiple CSS files inside the CSS directory. It is important to note that the names of these CSS files may differ between Joomla! Templates, but the template.css file is the standard naming convention for the main CSS file.

Adding an image using the Joomla! Article Image button
Tip: Images can be easily added to new and existing Joomla! Articles (and Modules) by using the Image button, which is an extended editor plugin that is configured to be turned on with new Joomla! installations.

Adjusting your Joomla! template images
Tip: The images for a Joomla! Template are generally located in the <Your Joomla Home Folder>/templates/<yourtemplate>/images directory. If you would like to adjust certain images in your template, the easiest way to do this is by viewing the template in your site browser and then making the necessary adjustments to the images.

Audio in Joomla! Articles
Tip: It is good practice to make a blank .html file and upload it to your new audio directory. This will help stop anyone from being able to directly view all of the files inside your new audio directory. If you cannot create a new .html file, copy an existing Joomla! .html file that resides in the images directory.

Backup of site database
Tip: Before installing any third-party code into your Joomla! website, make sure you take a backup of your site database and file set before installing extensions.

Dealing with complex HTML code
Tip: Make sure you don't have your WYSIWYG editor turned on in your Joomla! Articles when entering complex HTML code into your Joomla! Articles.

Joomla! Plugin tags
Tip: It is worth noting that Joomla! Plugin tags work with and without the WYSIWYG editor turned on.

Video podcast for Joomla!
Tip: Creating a video podcast for Joomla! will allow you to display and promote your site or products to many users. Due to the nature of a podcast, they do not even have to be on your website to view the video podcasts, if produced correctly.

Multimedia enhancements with Shadowbox
Tip: Shadowbox is a multi-use media plugin for your Joomla! website, so it may be all that you need for your multimedia requirements. The extension can be downloaded at http://extensions.joomla.org by searching for "Shadow".

Inserting custom code into your Joomla! Articles
Tip: When starting to insert custom code into your Joomla! Articles, it is important to turn off WYSIWYG editors for your user account. This is because these editors cannot always process the custom HTML code. If the code is not recognized by the editor when loading in the content, it will remove the code altogether. The editor settings can be adjusted in the Global Configuration, or on a user basis via the User Manager.

Extension titles in Joomla! Extension Directory (JED) listings
Tip: Due to lengthy URLs and the possibility that Joomla! Extension Directory (JED) listings could change at any time, search terms for the following extensions have been included, rather than direct links to the extensions. Performing a search on the JED for the related terms will help you find these extensions easily.
The letters after the extension titles denote the following:

• M = Module
• C = Component
• P = Plugin
• L = Language
• T = Template

Publishing your Twitter tweets in your Joomla! site
Tip: The JTweet extension is a module that publishes your Twitter tweets in your Joomla! site. The jTweet module now requires the JB Library plugin in order to work. The JB Library plugin loads the jQuery library automatically into the head of your template. The jQuery library is required for the jTweet module.

Mobilebot for Joomla 1.5
Tip: Mobilebot 1.0 for Joomla! 1.5.x can detect visitors using mobile devices and change the Joomla! Template automatically.

If you install an extension and do not use it, then remove it.
Tip: Besides keeping your Joomla! site organized and uncluttered, it is best to remove code/files/folders from your server that are not being used. Leaving older code lying around can create security vulnerabilities.

Keep Joomla! up-to-date.
Tip: Joomla! releases are made available for a reason and it is important to stay up-to-date with the software. With a well-structured design to the framework, there are now very few reasons to go near the core codework. Upgrading is usually an easy process, compared to some other web platforms. Remember to take a backup of your site files before performing any upgrade work, and to take regular backups whenever you can.

Content parameters
Tip: The Article Manager in Joomla! contains a "Global Parameter" setting that sets the default options for your Joomla! Articles. You can override these within each article, but it is good practice to set these globally first, so you don't have to go back and adjust them later on.

HTTP status errors
Tip: Joomla! uses the /templates/system/error.php file to handle several HTTP status errors, including "403 Forbidden", "404 Not Found", and "500 Internal Server" errors.

Uninstalling Extensions for Joomla! 1.5
Tip: Extensions for Joomla! 1.5 can be uninstalled easily by clicking on the Manage menu item on the Extension Manager page.

Summary

In this article we highlighted some of the tips and tricks which can be of great use while working with Joomla! Multimedia.

Further resources on this subject:

• Joomla! 1.5 Top Extensions Cookbook [Book]
• Joomla! Social Networking with JomSocial [Book]
• Joomla! 1.5 JavaScript jQuery [Book]