Joomla! 1.5 Cookbook

Over 60 quick and direct recipes to help you overcome common Joomla! queries. Find quick solutions to common Joomla! problems Part of Packt's Cookbook series: Each recipe is a carefully organized sequence of instructions to complete the task as efficiently as possible Look at recipes that cover the portions of Joomla! 1.6 that are brand new Over 60 practical recipes covering a range of site management and core Joomla! activities

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

Introduction

Joomla! is known as a 'framework' and it is extendable, or in other words, can be added to, with small programs known as 'extensions'. A specific class of those is known as modules and components.

Modules are small applets. They present information on the site to the user. They can be used in a variety of positions and are typically very simple to use and configure.

Components are full-fledged applications and are much more complex. They can only (usually) be displayed within the main area of the page. The typical component requires a menu item to link to it.

Each adds to Joomla! some functionality or allows better interaction with users.

In this article, we'll explore the installation and assignment of components.

Installing and managing components

Starting with Joomla! 1.5.0, the installer became "Universal" - or more easily said, you go to the same place to install your extensions, templates, plugins, and so forth. Each of the add-on programs are managed from different menus, but installed from the same place.

There is, like most things in Joomla!, more than one way to do something. Installation is no different.

Each 'extension' usually starts with a special prefix that helps you identify what it is. Here are two examples from some third-party developers.

• com_securelive.zip: Installs SECUREJOOMLA which is a third-party security component for Joomla!
• mod_corephp_weather: Installs the quick and elegant local weather information for your users with the 'corePHP' Weather Module.

Getting ready

As we're going to be going through a couple of examples, I have downloaded a couple of different programs. You'll need to have on hand a component to install. We'll be installing Agora Forum. You can download a copy of it at no charge from http://www.jvitals.com.

How to do it...

Installing a component.

1. Login to your Administrator Console.
2. Click Extensions | Install/Uninstall.

   

   Once you are in here you'll have a few options to choose from:

   

   There are three methods to install, in this section we'll focus on the first method. We'll examine the other two in a moment.

3. Click Browse... and find the file. Typically, your browser will have a default location such as Download in the Documents directory. This will vary by operating system and browser.
4. Click Upload File & Install.

   

   In this case, I have uploaded com_agora_3.0.13.zip, which contains the full Agora Forum. Upon a successful Upload File & Install you'll see this.

   

   This indicates it has been installed.

   But what about this?
   This indicates you have already installed the extension. You'll need to remove it or delete from the database. See Troubleshooting for more information.

   From here you can manage your component and interact with it. To do so, from the Administrator Console, click Components, and find the component in question.