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Add Plugin Functions to Joomla
Written by Administrator   
Sunday, 04 February 2007
Add modules, mambots, components and other functions to Joomla to enhance it's value.
Adding functionality to Joomla is easy.

Decide what you want to add. This will either be a 'component' , a module or a mambot. A component is something that usually displays content in the center of the page (like how the center is arranged or displayed ). A module displays content along the sidebars or wherever you install it in the html code ( such as ad display along the side ). A mambot is a small function that intercepts content and changes it before it is displayed ( such as editors ).


Decide what you want to add, then on your site, log into administrator. Go to menu Installers -> Components to upload and install a compoent from your own computer. You have to download the component from some website to your computer first, of course.

So, what do you choose first?

Always get a better editor and then go find all sorts of things at
Joomla Extensions.
and at
The Joomla Forum

Here is a list of the things I install first.
  • JoomlaFCK Edior. with many more at the Extensions site.
  • JoomlaXplorer - an essential tool for site development.
  • HTML Module - allows you to stuff ad code anywhere on the site.
  • AdSense Module - to make money with ads, not just Google.
  • MJFrontpage - allows you to put permanent content or images onto the front page instead of all the blog posts/articles.
To get these things installed, you download the zip from the source website. Such as the Joomla Extensions website or the developer's site. Don't unzip it. Then go to your site Administration page and use menu Installers to go to Components or Modules or Mambots depending on what you want to install. Usually, the name of the file has a mod_ in front of it or it says Module. Or com_ for a component. Sometimes you have to read the documentation to decide which of the three is being used.

Say you have downloaded the editor joomlaFCk. That file is bot_JoomlaFCK120.zip , so they consider it to be a mambot due to the bot_ prefix.
So open Installers-> mambots. The first line says "Upload Package File" so hit "browse" and use that open file dialog to go find your copy of the bot_JoomlaFCK120.zip. Then hit "Upload File and Install" and within a few seconds it should annouce success. You have a new editor. You should be able to find it in the list below.

Configure the editor. Got to menu Mambots -> Site Mambots and see the list of installed bots. Click on JoomlaFCK and you can change the Function on the right from Compact to Advanced. Change the height of the edit boxes from 450 to 600. Change width from 480 to 520. Save it.

Now we must configure the editor to be used. Go to User Manager. Select the user you wish to use this new editor. Usually that is you. Edit that user. On the right you see a Parameter "Use Editor". Select the JoomlaFCK from the list. Now test it out by going to Home then to Add New Content. You should see a much larger array of editor buttons above each edit field.

In a similar way, most modles require you to install them and then go find out how to modify their values to actually make them work. Usually they can be found in the menu lists under Components, modules or mambot.


The Joomla Xplorer module is a special tool that you will use from time to time. It is good to have available. It is a file examination and permission change tool sort of like an FTP program but there is a big difference that explains why you need this in addition to a FTP program. When you use FTP to upload a file to your site, the file is owned by your login username. NOT by the public. So if you want to delete or change permissions on such a file, and you come into the site by the FTP program , then you can change it. But joomla or someone using a web browser is considered to be the general public and is named 'nobody' or '99' or some other nonsensical name that means an outsider who should be controlled and not allowed to do much while they are on site.

On the other hand if you use Joomla to upload and install a module, that module is owned by 'nobody' and if the permissions are set to only allow the owner to write or delete the file then you can't delete/change it from the FTP program. It is frustrating at times.

The solution is to have JoomlaXplorer available to change the permissions on a 'nobody' file so that anyone can write or delete it, then the FTP program can remove it or replace it with an updated version. Then Xplorer sets the permissions back to dissallow writing. But if you did not have JoomlaXplorer, you would be unable to upload a new file with the FTP program.

There are hundreds of plugins to use, most of them for free. It takes time to read and comprehend what they can do. Then you need to test them on a site that is not used by the public. Another good reason to install Joomla on some of these lower domains and get some value out of a domain name that you decided not to use on a real site.
 
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