Thiết kế web với joomla 1.6(5).x part 62 ppsx

575 CHAPTER Extending Your Site IN THIS CHAPTER Finding extensions Working with the Extension Manager Finding the right extension for the job O ne of the strengths of the Joomla! system is the ready availability of a large number of extensions. You can find a Joomla! extension for just about any purpose you can imagine. An extension can be something as simple as a plugin that improves your search, to something as complex as a complete ecommerce catalog manage- ment and shopping cart functionality. Extensions can simply enhance exist- ing functionality or add completely new functionality; they can also be purely aesthetic in the case of templates. This chapter covers how to find extensions and how to install and uninstall them. This chapter also takes a look at some of the most popular extensions. Finding Extensions Joomla! extensions can be found in a number of locations, from the develop- ers’ web sites to various extension directories. Two officially maintained directories are JoomlaCode and the Joomla! Extensions Directory. The Joomla! Extensions Directory is shown in Figure 22.1. The JoomlaCode site serves as a code repository and distribution point for non-commercial extensions. The site hosts over 2,000 extensions, organized into categories and sub-categories that can be browsed or searched. JoomlaCode does not include reviews or ratings and can be tough to use. The structure of the site makes it a challenge to find things, unless you already know what you are looking for! Part IV: Customizing and Extending the System 576 FIGURE 22.1 The official Joomla! Extensions Directory web site. Note the directory tree at the bottom of the page. Chapter 22: Extending Your Site 577 Part IV: Customizing and Extending the System 578 Note The Joomla! Extensions Directory is located at http://extensions.joomla.org . The most popular and easiest to use source of Joomla! extensions is the Joomla! Extensions Directory. The site lists nearly 4,500 extensions that can be downloaded and installed on your Joomla! site. The Joomla! Extensions Directory was purpose-built by the Joomla! team to provide a browsable directory of extensions. Each extension is classified and described. Information includes user reviews and ratings as well as indications of download volume and popularity, as shown in Figure 22.2. The additional information and feedback provided with the listings is invaluable, given the large number of options you face. All the extensions on the Joomla! Extensions Directory are released under the open source GPL license. The majority of the extensions are free of charge, although some are commercial. The listings in the extensions directory identify the developer or company behind the extension and provide links to the developer’s web site and to support and documentation resources, if any. The Joomla! Extensions Directory is organized like most directories, with a tree of categories and subcategories that can be browsed topically. You can also browse the extensions based on ratings, views, and popularity, or you can view the newest or most reviewed extensions. Additionally, the site includes both a basic and an advanced search functionality at the top right of each page. The advanced search is particularly useful because it allows you to filter by version compatibility. Caution Make sure that you download only extensions that are compatible with your version of Joomla! Extensions written for Joomla! 1.0 are typically not compatible with Joomla! 1.5. The versions they are compatible with are shown in the heading of each extension. Note that unlike JoomlaCode, the Joomla! Extensions Directory does not host any of the down- loads. Therefore, when you click to download an extension, you are taken to a different site. Sometimes, the downloads are hosted on JoomlaCode, but many other times the files are hosted on the developer’s Web site. Note also that some developers may require you to register on their site before you can download the Extension files. Chapter 22: Extending Your Site 579 FIGURE 22.2 A typical listing on the Joomla! Extensions Directory. Part IV: Customizing and Extending the System 580 FIGURE 22.2 (continued) Chapter 22: Extending Your Site 581 Both JoomlaCode and the Joomla! Extensions Directory contain a wide variety of components, mod- ules, plugins, toos, l and language packs; however, neither of the official sites includes templates for your Joomla! site. As a direct result of this omission, a large number of template providers have jumped in to fill the gap. Following is a list of some of the more popular template sites. The list includes both commercial and noncommercial templates, but you should note that many of the sites that offer free templates typically expect promotional exposure on your site by means of links back to their web sites on the template. Dream Template www.dreamTemplate.org Dream template provides more than 4,000 web designs. They provide designs only, not ready to use Joomla! templates, so you will have to do the conversion work yourself before you can use them in Joomla! Prices vary widely, depending largely on whether you want exclusive rights to the design. Open Source Web Design www.oswd.org This site is home to over 2,000 web designs, all free of charge. They provide designs only, not ready to use Joomla! templates. Although many designs are here and it is all free of charge, site activity has been very low over the last couple of years and the catalog is starting to look rather dated. Template Monster www.Templatemonster.com With a catalog of over 12,000 designs, Template Monster is perhaps the largest of the commercial tem- plate providers. Template Monster includes more than 200 ready-to-use Joomla! templates. Prices vary widely, depending largely on whether you want exclusive rights to the design. Rocket Themes www.rockettheme.com This group specializes in ready to use Joomla! and phpBB templates. The number of designs is more limited, but the templates themselves are some of the most flexible and functional Joomla! templates in the market. They have recently introduced templates tailored for the VirtueMart e-commerce system for Joomla! Finding Joomla! templates Part IV: Customizing and Extending the System 582 Working with the Extension Manager Extensions are managed through the admin system, by way of the Extension Manager. The manager enables you to install, uninstall, enable, and disable all the extensions on your site. Introducing the Extension Installer In Joomla! 1.5.x, access the Extension Installer by going to the Extensions menu and selecting the option Install/Uninstall. The Extensions Installer interface loads in your browser, as shown in Figure 22.3. FIGURE 22.3 The Joomla! 1.5.x Extension Installer interface. The toolbar at the top of the Extension Manager provides access to only one icon, the Help icon, which you can click to view the online Help files related to this screen. Chapter 22: Extending Your Site 583 Six links are below the toolbar: l Install shows you the Install screen. l Components shows you the components installed on your system. l Modules shows you the modules installed on your system. l Plugins shows you the plugins installed on your system. l Languages shows you the language packs installed on your system. l Templates shows you the templates installed on your system. Joomla! 1.6 The Extension Manager has been revised and simplified in Joomla! 1.6. The changes begin with the Extensions menu. Gone is the option Install/Uninstall, replaced with the more descriptive term Extension Manager. Clicking on the Extension Manager takes you to the Extension Installer dialogue. The dialogue in Joomla! 1.6 serves exactly the same purpose as it did in 1.5. Note that the links below the toolbar have been simplified from six links to five links. The new links are Install, Update, Manage, Discover, and Warnings. Going over the Extension Packages dialogue In Joomla! 1.5.x, each type of extension is the subject of a different interface, as shown in Figure 22.4. The toolbar at the top of the Extension Manager provides quick access to the following functions: l Uninstall: Select one or more extensions from the list, then click this icon to uninstall it. l Help: Click to access the online Help files related to the active screen. Below the toolbar are the same six links as on the Install screen. Below the links and above the list of templates you will note the system-generated reminder mes- sage that only certain templates can be removed; those that are necessary for the system to function cannot be uninstalled. Part IV: Customizing and Extending the System 584 FIGURE 22.4 The Joomla! 1.5.x Extension Packages interface, showing the templates; this screen is typical of all the individual extension packages in Joomla! 1.5.x. The main content area of the screen contains a list of all the templates in your Joomla! site. The columns provided are: l #: An indexing number assigned by Joomla! This cannot be changed. l Checkbox (no label): Click in a checkbox to select a template; this is needed if you want to use several of the toolbar options, referenced in the preceding section. l Template: This field displays the full name of the template. l Client: Indicates whether the template is intended for the front-end site or the back-end admin system. l Version: The Version number of the template. This is set by the template developer and cannot be changed. l Date: The Creation Date of the template. This is set by the template developer and cannot be changed. l Author: The name of the Author of the template. This is set by the template developer and cannot be changed. l Compatibility: Indicates which version of Joomla! the template was built for. [...]... local computer 2 Unarchive the files locally 3 Log into your server by FTP or via your web host file manager 585 Part IV: Customizing and Extending the System 4 Move the extension directory and files up to your server, noting the location A safe place to put this is the tmp folder 5 Log in to the admin system of your Joomla! site 6 Access the Extensions Installer dialogue by clicking on the option Install/Uninstall... here all expand upon Joomla! ’s default Content Management functionality The list includes both extensions to enhance existing articles as well as several powerful tools for changing the nature of the articles and the article-editing functionality AllVideos Reloaded http://joomlacode.org/gf/project/allvideos15/ This component enables the embedding and displaying of videos on your web site The component... prompt for confirmation 6 Click OK The menu closes, and the system will uninstall the Extension If successful, you will see a confirmation message 586 Chapter 22: Extending Your Site Joomla! 1.6 Uninstalling an extension in Joomla! 1.6 is slightly different, due to a change in labels and controls The Uninstall icon is now located on the Manage dialogue, inside the Extension Manager In all other regards,... extensions that are a good starting point for addressing common needs Note that I am not endorsing one particular extension over another, but rather simply listing resources to help you get started The list includes both commercial and noncommercial extensions Note also that this list was created for Joomla! 1.5.x and that you must always be certain that the extensions you download and install on your... situations where you can access the archive file directly on another server and do not need to download it to your local machine first You can use this, for example, to install archives directly from the JoomlaCode web site To install a new extension from a URL, follow these steps: 1 Locate the extension’s archive file on the remote computer, noting the URL 2 Log in to the admin system 3 Access the Extensions... labeled Install URL 5 Click the Install button The system attempts to install the extension and if successful, you will see a confirmation message Uninstalling extensions To uninstall an extension in Joomla! 1.5.x, follow these steps: 1 Log in to the admin system 2 Access the Extensions Installer dialogue by clicking on the option Install/Uninstall under the Extensions Menu The Extensions Installer... also typically wipe out any data on the extension from the database If you want to use the extension again, you must reinstall it Finding the Right Extension for the Job Perhaps one of the most daunting parts of using extensions is finding the right tool for the job Thousands of extensions are available and sometimes you are faced with multiple options that appear to achieve your goals Although there... article-editing functionality AllVideos Reloaded http://joomlacode.org/gf/project/allvideos15/ This component enables the embedding and displaying of videos on your web site The component comes in multiple parts: a content plugin, an editor plugin, a system plugin, and a module Once installed, you can display video files either inside of articles or inside module positions, or as a pop-up window inside a . Extending the System 578 Note The Joomla! Extensions Directory is located at http://extensions .joomla. org . The most popular and easiest to use source of Joomla! extensions is the Joomla! Extensions. for Joomla! 1. 0 are typically not compatible with Joomla! 1. 5. The versions they are compatible with are shown in the heading of each extension. Note that unlike JoomlaCode, the Joomla! Extensions. from the develop- ers’ web sites to various extension directories. Two officially maintained directories are JoomlaCode and the Joomla! Extensions Directory. The Joomla! Extensions Directory is