A Video on Understanding Joomla Versions

Joomla 2.5There are three versions of Joomla available at the moment.

  • 3 is the latest new version.
  • 2.5 is the current, popular version.
  • 1.5 is the older, reliable version.

With three versions around, we decided to make one simple, straightforward video that would explain how Joomla versions work and which one you should use. Here's that video:

Read more: A Video on Understanding Joomla Versions

8 Joomla 3 Improvements You Probably Missed

Joomla 3 Mobile

Joomla 3 has due out this week and has some great new features. 

You probably already know about the most important feature: Joomla 3 will be the first major CMS to be completely mobile-friendly.

This week, we've found 8 of the smaller improvements that you might not notice at first, but that we think you'll find really useful.

Read more: 8 Joomla 3 Improvements You Probably Missed

Migrate Joomla 1.5 to 2.5 with SP Upgrade

With the stable nature of Joomla 2.5 and the arrival of Joomla 3, the Joomla project will phase out support for Joomla 1.5. 

In this tutorial, we're going to show you how to migrate from 1.5 to 2.5 by using the SP Upgrade extension.

Read more: Migrate Joomla 1.5 to 2.5 with SP Upgrade

How to Use Joomla's Kunena Forum

kunena logoKunena Forum is a discussion forum for Joomla sites.

Kunena is flexible, well maintained and easy to use. As a result, Kunena is currently the most popular extension on the Joomla Extensions Directory.

In this tutorial we'll show you to how to install, configure and use Kunena.

Read more: How to Use Joomla's Kunena Forum

SP Upgrade Part 2

Step 11. Template - Using a different template

tutuploadsmedia_1347496495160.png

The actual content has been moved, and we've chosen the Beez2 template for the demonstration.

You don't see any of the modules. The old template, rhuk_milkyway, had completely different module positions than the new beez2 template.
Go to the module manager and reposition all the modules.

Below we'll touch on the process involved in making everything show on a new template.

Step 12: Template - finding alternate module positions

tutuploadsmedia_1347650655925.png

You can get instructions on finding the module position view from this tutorial: https://www.ostraining.com/blog/joomla/how-to-find-the-module-postions-in-a-joomla-16-template/

tutuploadsmedia_1347650791479.png

Find the site module positions by using https://yourdomain.com/?tp=1 This function is automatic in Joomla 1.5 and you won't need to go to the admin to enable it. Just go directly to the url.

Step 13: Template - Reassign modules to new positions.

tutuploadsmedia_1347497213077.png

The Module Manager in the source site shows you that they are mostly in the "left" position. On the Beez2 template that would correspond to position-7, so we'll have to manually go through the modules and reposition them for the new template. Not a problem if you have an updated version of the same template. All the positions will be the same, so you won't need to go through this step.

This is an illustration of what you may need to if you're forced to change templates.

Step 14: Template - Adjust module positions on the destination site.

tutuploadsmedia_1347497534939.png

You will need to open each module and change it's position if you are using a different template with different positions.

While you are doing this, scroll down on the configuration page, check the menu assignments and the basic options as well to make sure everything is the way you want it. Menu assignments won't necessarily be transferred.

tutuploadsmedia_1347498078488.png

Positions may not correspond exactly. You might have to make arbitrary decisions on what "right "or "user2" or "user4" would translate to best. The "top" position in the new template isn't designed to display the same as the source template. So even though the position is the same name, you might need to consider changing the contents of "top" to another position.

You can use https://yourdomain.com/?tp=1 to see what positions you have available and make comparable choices. If you don't know how to do that, we have a tutorial which will show you exactly how to reveal the module positions on a Joomla 2.5 template.

Take a look at the site so far.

tutuploadsj25upgrade1.png
  1. Newsflash looks bad.
  2. Latest News Module and Popular module are stacked instead of side by side and titles don't show.
  3. Polls module is missing
  4. Advertisement is images instead of text links.
  5. Logo is missing

Article teasers are a bit long. The typography and spacing is a bit different, but that's what you'd expect from different templates. These kinds of problems need to be dealt with by modifying your style sheets and modifying the individual articles that don't display well in the new template

Let's start at the top with Newsflash.

tutuploadsmedia_1347653949620.png

On the old template Newsflash in the "top" position.
In the new template it's assigned to position-0. Making this fit here means adding a module position or complicated CSS changes. I've decided to just leave it out.. You could try to put it in another position.

Step 15. Template - Check all module configuration and page assignments

tutuploadsmedia_1347577148169.png

Fix the Advertisement module.
Go to Extensions > Module Manager.
Open the options for the module you want.
Review all the settings.

In this case, the category selection in the Basic Options was not transferred.
Change that to Text Ads.

Make sure the modules are enabled, published and assigned to the correct pages.

tutuploadsmedia_1347647319316.png

Check Menu Assignments.
If you look at the source site you'll see that this module only appears on the home page. But in the transfer On all pages was selected. So go through your module options if something isn't the same.

Do the same thing for the Popular and Latest News modules. Unfortunately, These modules just don't look right in the positions I originally chose. It would take some complicated template and CSS changes, which is just way beyond the scope of this tutorial. The easy answer - move them to a position where they fit better. I moved them both to position-5 where they look good in tabs.

tutuploadsmedia_1347816609818.png

Just continue to check all your pages and make adjustments.
Be sure to click all menu items to check for possible alias changes or any Page Not Found errors.

Now let's deal with any problems you might have had with transferring data from third party extensions in the source site to the destination. I included RocQuickcart here as a demonstration.

If you have extensions that you uploaded go to the extension and check the data. In this case you can see that the sample data was loaded when I installed the component, but there are no products except the samples.

tutuploadsmedia_1347817943031.png

Go to Components > SP UPgrade > Database Transfer

tutuploadsmedia_1347818107364.png

Scroll down and find the -- quickcart database table.

tutuploadsmedia_1347818173653.png

Click Choose.

tutuploadsmedia_1347818300610.png

Choose the data by clicking the checkbox.
You can choose all by clicking the box in the title bar, or you can scroll down and click just the data you want to transfer.
Click the Choose Icon when you're done.

You will be returned to the previous page and you'll see your choices.

tutuploadsmedia_1347818446996.png

Confirm that the item is checked.
You will see the Item ID's of the what you chose in the field.
Go back to the top of the page and click the Transfer icon.

tutuploadsmedia_1347818611797.png

Return to the component and check your product list. You will see that your products have been transferred.

From here it's a process of checking all the details and making changes if needed. With what you've learned here, you should be able to deal with any problems that might come up.

Step 16: Go live with the new site.

tutuploadsmedia_1347820208746.png

The steps are simple.
1. Empty the main Joomla directory. Completely move or remove all the existing files.
2. Copy all the new files from the J25 insulation to the main directory.

I'll demonstrate using the cPanel file manager.

tutuploadsmedia_1347820364733.png

Go to cPanel and open the file manager. Navigate to your main Joomla folder.
Create a new directory to move the files to. I named mine SAVEORIGINAL. (tip: Remember that file and folder names onLinux-type servers are case sensitive)

Use the move icon on your file manager toolbar or the drag and drop method and move all the files and folders to the SAVEORIGINAL directory.
Note that I am not moviing my original destination directories. (j25, J252 and J253 - i did the migration three times).
You can't move a directory into itself, so un-select the SAVEORIGINAL folder.

You're host may have a different manager, so the look might be different, but the steps are the same.

Move the files instead of deleting them. That way you have a backup and can move them back if anything goes wrong.

Your directories will look like this after the move.

tutuploadsmedia_1347820957637.png

Open the folder that contains your migrated Joomla 2.5 installation.
Copy all the files to your main directory. In this case I will copy the entire contents of J25 to the public_html directory.

tutuploadsmedia_1347821325614.png

Copy instead of move.

The built in advantage to copying instead of moving is that you will have preserved the original. If anything happens you can always copy it again.

Don't actually delete anything until you are absolutely sure you're done.

Your public_html directory should look like this.

tutuploadsmedia_1347821516644.png

Visit your page. Do a final check of all links and images.

You're done!

tutuploadsmedia_1347821654650.png

JSN PowerAdmin Adds Drag-and-Drop and Visual Editing to Joomla

JS PowerAdmin

In recent weeks, we've written much about the admin area improvements in Joomla 3.

Admin area improvements are also available in Joomla 2.5, thanks to JSN PowerAdmin.

JSN PowerAdmin is an extension which adds several extra features to your Joomla admin. These include:

  • Improvements to the admin menu
  • Searching in the admin area
  • Drag-and-drop functionality for menus and modules
  • Visual editing for page layouts

Read more: JSN PowerAdmin Adds Drag-and-Drop and Visual Editing to Joomla

Get Your Phones and Test Our Joomla 3 Demo

Joomla 3Joomla 3 will be launched at the end of September.

Last week we wrote about the Top 10 Reasons to Love Joomla 3.

This week, we wanted to give everyone a live demo.

We have created a Joomla 3 demo site with a publically accessible admin area, so that you can play around with Joomla 3 to your heart's content.  

Be sure to test the new user interface in the admin area.

Also, be sure to test both the visitor and the admin area on your mobile phone. Joomla 3 will be the first major, mobile CMS.

Read more: Get Your Phones and Test Our Joomla 3 Demo

The Top 10 Reasons to Love Joomla 3

Joomla 3Joomla! 3 is scheduled for launch at the end of September.

In my mind, it is the best thing to happen for Joomla since the launch of the Extensions Directory or the release of Joomla 1.5.

Yes, Joomla 3 is taking Joomla mobile, but there are many other improvements for users and developers.

Here are the top 10 reasons we think you'll love Joomla 3.

The Key Points

If you know nothing about Joomla 3 yet, here are the 3 key points:

  • What is great about Joomla 3? Mobile. Joomla will be the first major, mobile CMS.
  • Who is Joomla 3 for? Early adopters. You will be able to build sites with Joomla 3 as soon as it is launched. However, as with the first release of most software, there's no need to rush in and use the first version.
  • I am on Joomla 2.5. What do I do? You can stay right where you are for now. Joomla 2.5 is a wonderful version of Joomla and will be supported until 2014.

1) The First, Major Mobile CMS

This is the version that will bring Joomla up-to-speed with the mobile revolution that is taking over the web.

It's predicted that, as soon next year, more people will be online via their phone than a desktop. The mobile version of your site may soon be more important than the desktop version.

Joomla 3 is using Bootstrap to make sure that the visitor and administrator areas are mobile-friendly.

Joomla will become the first major content management system to be 100% mobile-friendly by default.

2) 10 Second Installations

The installation process for Joomla 3 is much quicker and better designed. There are now only three steps in the process. Some people report being able to finish the installation screens in less then 10 seconds.

tutuploadsmedia_1344702612114.png

Here are how the installation screens look:

tutuploadsmedia_1344702596845.png

Here's a short video of the installation in action:

 

3) Improved Administration Area

When you go to login to your new Joomla site, you'll notice the new dark-blue color scheme for the first time:

tutuploadsmedia_1345273127796.png

Login and you'll see that the main admin screen has been overhauled.

The dashboard is entirely made up of modules so you can customize it to your needs.

tutuploadsmedia_1345273491063.png

Here are the six main areas of the Joomla 3 dashboard:

  1. Menu bar: This is largely unchanged from Joomla 2.5
  2. Extra links: These have been radically simplified. Many were moved to area #6 in the footer.
  3. Sub menu: These provide important sub-menu links for the current page that you're on.
  4. Dashboard modules: These are modules and can easily be replaced, depending on your sites needs.
  5. Quick icons: In Joomla 2.5 these took up the entire central area of the dashboard. They're now neatly organized on the right-hand side.
  6. Footer links: Many of the links from area #2 are now down here.
tutuploadsmedia_1345274127156.png

4) Mobile-Friendly Admin Area

The Joomla 3 administrator area is now fully mobile-friendly. Here's what the main dashboard area looks like on an iPhone

tutuploadsmedia_1345273621151.png

Here's the Artlcle Manager in the mobile view:

tutuploadsmedia_1345273699232.png

Here's the toolbar that you'll see when editing something:

tutuploadsmedia_1345273796785.png

5) Revamped Article Screen

One of the most common complaints were heard with Joomla 2.5 was that the article writing screen was far too small.

There were too many options on the page and the actual editor area was tiny. In Joomla 3, the article screen is given almost the full width of the page:

tutuploadsmedia_1345274671760.png

The article screen also allows us to see several other usability improvement in Joomla 3

First, tabs. In Joomla 2.5 the extra options were scatted all over the screen. Now almost all of the extra options are now organized into tabs across the top the screen:

tutuploadsmedia_1345281277035.png

Second, the right-hand column. No longer cluttered with 1001 options, only the most important are placed in the right-hand column:

tutuploadsmedia_1345281368637.png

6) Drag-and-Drop

You can enable drag-and-drop sorting in almost any screen. First, choose to sort by Ordering:

tutuploadsmedia_1345281526409.png

Then you'll be able to drag-and-drop all of the items on the page:

tutuploadsmedia_1345281552312.png

Here's a short video of the drag-and-drop in action:

7) Unified Configuration

With Joomla 2.5, it was hard to update the site's configuration options. You needed to visit each part of the site individually to configure it. Now with Joomla 3 there is a single, unified configuration screen:

tutuploadsmedia_1344703886120.png

This should make it much faster to complete tasks such as setting up permissions. You can click through the permissions screens far more quickly on Joomla 3 than you ever could with Joomla 2.5:

tutuploadsmedia_1344703987873.png

8) Quicker Choices

Work is still going on with this improvement, but the plan is to allow people to search and select much more quickly. The example below is assigning a module to certain pages. If you type in the name of the menu link, Joomla will automatically show you the choices that match.

tutuploadsmedia_1345282794618.png

Here's an example of searching for a position to place a module in:

tutuploadsmedia_1345283162777.png

9) Mobile-Friendly Front-end Template

There is a new front-end template for Joomla called Protostar. The design is fully reponsive:

tutuploadsmedia_1345283281736.png

One nice extra touch is that all the module positions are logically labeled. In Joomla 2.5, the naming conventions were a mess and users struggled to work out the differences between position-10, position-11 and more. Now you'll see labels like these:

  • Navigation [position-1]
  • Top center [position-3]
  • Right [position-7]

10) Your Choice of Updates

Joomla 3 will be a available as a one-click update option from Joomla 2.5, but it won't be offered by default yet. As with the first release of most software, there's no need to rush in and update immediately.

Joomla 3 will not be offered as an update option until next year when Joomla 3.5 is released. Even then, people will have the choice of whether to update or not. Here's the Joomla 2.5 update options screen:

tutuploadsmedia_1344704446870.png

Find Out More About Joomla 3

Simple Image Gallery for Simple Joomla Photos

simple image gallerySimple Image Gallery does exactly what it says on the tin.

Simple Image Gallery (SIG Plus) makes it simple to create a photo gallery on your Joomla site in just minutes.

It also has more advanced features that allow you to create more sophisticated galleries with just a little more effort. This makes Simple Image Gallery a good all-around image management and display tool for almost any Joomla website.

Read more: Simple Image Gallery for Simple Joomla Photos

eXtplorer Adds File Managment Directly to Joomla

extplorerDo you need to upload files or change permissions on your Joomla files? Are you stuck because you don't have easy access to your files? eXtplorer is the solution.

eXtplorer provides file management from inside the Joomla administrator area. It's a Joomla version of the open source file manager also called eXtplorer.

This tutorial is a short introduction to eXtplorer to show you how easy it is to use.

Read more: eXtplorer Adds File Managment Directly to Joomla