Information by Hummerbie.com

JCE Editor for Joomla

Sun, 27 May 2007 10:13:44 +0000

This is the Editor that gets the Editors Pick at Joomla.org

Last time I installed this Editor was version 1.0.3 now we are at version 1.1.0
So lets see how this performs.
Installation is more work then the JoomlFCK and involves a component, a mambot en depending on what you want to do several plugins.

Standard screen to edit is pretty good, overval impressions is also nice.

Inserting images?

In the previous version you needed to install a plugin to manage your images, this is now build into the editor itself.

There is even an option to upload an image and you can write the "Alt"and "Title" for the image.

So next test, code insertion:
Always a good test to see if the editor keeps its hands of the coding that is typed manually.

As you can see, the Adsense code, wich is JavaScript, is left alone. Nice work.

Then why am I back at JoomlaFCK, well because the Source Code from FCK is cleaner than the one JCE produces.
And for Search Engine Optimized sites you always look at those Tiny little things that gives you the edge over you competition....

Joomla! Items on this website

Sun, 27 May 2007 20:32:53 +0000

Maybe this is of intrest for You, its a complete list of the extra Joomla Components, Modules and Plugins used on this website.

Most of them will get there own page withe the description on why and how they are used:

Components

sh404Sef
Joomap
IrcMaxell Page Cache
JoomlaXplorer
SM2 DB HealthCheck
RD Glossary
DS Syndicate

Modules

Related Items XTD

Plugins

JoomlaFCK
RD Next and prev Links
RD Read More
SM2 Bot Session
Related Items Bot

Hacks and Other Extras

SEF patch from Joomlatwork
Statcounter
Google Analytics

WordPress Items and Plugins used in the Blog

Sun, 27 May 2007 21:15:03 +0000

In case you haven't see it, this site is accamponied by a WordPress Blog:
http://blog.hummerbie.com

Here is a list of Plugins and Other stuff used on that Blog

SEO Plugins

SEO Title Tag Plugin
All-in-One-SEO-Pack
Google Sitemap Generator
Related Items

Other Plugins

Askimet
Slimstat XTD
Subscribe to Comments
WordPress FeedSmith
WP-Cache

How to Simply Capture a Screen Shot

Mon, 28 May 2007 09:26:08 +0000

You could use the standard windows functionality using the Shift+PrtSc keys to capture your screen.and than start pasting and cutting away in you Graphics Program..

But what if there was an easy way to just take that part of the screen you want?

Choose and Capture your own selections

There is a much easier way to just select the part of the screen you want, save it in a .jpg or other file format and save it with the name you provide.

A program that just needs you to hit the "PrtSc" key to show a different mouse cursor and lets you select the part of the screen you need to capture.

It then shows you what you selected part of the scree and asks you where to save the image and how you want to name the file.

And you want if for Free....

Here it is....

Gadwin Printscreen download it via the page and install the program.

Then Run it and set you preferences accordingly ot your needs.

My favorites settings are slightly different form the one in the screen.

Configuration for Optimal use

Preferences
You might want to have the program running in the background so you can use it right away, so you have to set the option "Run at Windows startup".

Disable the Splah, you don't need a reminder that its running...

Source
In the Source settings select the "Rectangler Area" option
As an option you might want to have the Mouse Cursor show in the screen to point to a special section, but if you don't want that, disable it here.

I always leave it on, and move the mouse out of the capture section of the scree.

Destination
This is where you set the standard location for you Screenshot images.
And where you can set some options on where the capture should be send, like to the Clipboard, to a Printer, to E-mail and/or to File...

If you need to take a lot of screenshots after another, you might use the automatic nummer assingment option.

Image
The only option you should use is the File type.. please change this from BMP to JPG, otherwise you have very large files, and you don't want that..

Why take screenshots?

Most of the time you can use screenshots to write show the images in articles you write, for a report or even a website

But you can now easily take a snapshot of that erro you get and send it to you helpdesk.

You can really save a lot of time with this tool if you are writing a manual for a webtsite maintenance handbook, or a software program.

Well, I guess you have some idea's of you own on how you want to use it.

So go ahead and Download Gadwin Printscreen Utility

Hummerbie - Internet Ideas and Thoughts

Mon, 28 May 2007 10:12:59 +0000

This website is here to bring you my thoughts and Ideas about the Internet the way I like to use it.

Too me its one big information source writen by all kinds of knowledgable people that want to share there knowledges.

I guess its now time for me to start sharing the knowledge I gained in the last twenty years I have been on the Internet with you.

Yes, its been about that long since I first worked with Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and the Mosaic Internet Browser...

I hope you will enjoy reading the articles on this website and subscribe to my RSS Feed.

The feed is set up to bring you the latest articles from the Freeware, Open Source and General Information categories of this website.

Topics an this site rance from Open Source, Freeware and SEO to Content Management Systems and Bloggin software like Joomla!, Drupal and WordPress to personal intrest like recreation and reading

Joomla Core stable 1.0.12

Mon, 28 May 2007 13:42:14 +0000

if you want to setup a Joomla based website your best choice is always the latest stable version.

At this moment that would be version 1.0.12.

Why a Stable version?

You want your website to be visites by people who can find your website and can access it without any problems.

This is the mean reason to use the stable version, if you want to use the 1.5 beta, please use it on your own PC for testing.

Where to get it and what does it cost?

You can download the latest version form the Joomla website.

And the costs... its Free Open Source Software which means is does cost anything accept for Download time, installation and configuration hours...
But that is priceless sinc you will learn how to build you own great website.

But which version to choise?

I now, the download link brings you to a long list of version:

But its not that hard to find the right one:
For new installation you have to download Joomla_1.0.12-Stable_Full_Package.zip or the files with the tar.gz or tar.bz2 extensions.

For windows users I suggest you use the .zip file.

If you allready have a Joomla website, but a previous version, you are better off upgrading your website.
There are a lot of security bugs solved in version 1.0.12.

First look at your current version and then select you upgrade version.
Lets say you have version 1.0.9 then you would need the upgrade package:
Joomla_1.0.9_to_1.0.12-Stable-Patch_Package.zip.
See how simple you can find your own upgrade pakage?

So download the files and get working...

Manage your websites in one place in Domain Log Book

Tue, 29 May 2007 20:02:13 +0000

In January of 2007 I wrote on my Blog a post about "Keepings Tabs on Your domain and Others"

The site I wrote about is www.domainlogbook.com and is Free for you to use, just register and start adding your websites, or those of your clients... and main competitors maybe... oh, that's'an Evil thought...

The Domain Log Book Information

But what do you get if you use this service, that is the important part!

Domainlogbook keeps track of your websites and give you the following information after you added your domain:

Expiration date of your domain
Google Rank
Alexa Rank
Compete rank

Besides that you can also see the latest update date, and if you want to get the Whois data with one click.

You can sort the different tables to quickly see which sites have the highest page rank, or the best Alexa score.

And if you want to sort the domain differently, or filter the results, put some tags on the domains, like customer site, or Blogs... you get the picture once you start using it.

It is really a great free online tool to Manage your Domains for Free..
So get going and register for free at www.domainlogbook.com

Keyword Suggestiong Tool

Sat, 23 Jun 2007 14:59:22 +0000

Here is nice tool of Digitalpoints to get some Keyword suggestions:

Setting Up a Blog with Joomla

Sat, 23 Jun 2007 17:42:29 +0000

First thing you need to do if you want to start you Blog on Joomla is to create the "Infrastructure" for you Blog Posts.

This means that you have to create the structure in Joomla that will give you the right structure so you can easily work you post into your Blog.

1. Create a seperate Joomla Section that will hold the categories for your Blog, you will need this later on if you are going to look at comment components.
Do NOT call it "Blog", but rather something like "Topic Blog".

Reason for not naming the section and category it "Blog" is simply the fact that some SEF components use the "Blog" name in the URL for a Blog based menu link...

2. Create the categories that will hold your blog topics, here is the same restriction not to name it "Blog".

The Google Pack what should you Install and what not

Sat, 07 Jul 2007 19:08:51 +0000

You probably have see the adverts from Google to install their Google Pack.
If not, here is one..

There are several programs contained in the Google Pack, that may also differ from Country to Country, here is the USA Version.

But should you install all these applications? No, Definitely not..

Which Programs to Reconsider?

There are two programs that you might try out, but probably will de-install very soon if you have a computer that is low on CPU, memory and disk space..

How to put Statcounter into Joomla

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 09:50:25 +0000

As you might well know, Statcounter is a Free service to track visitors on your website.

Simply Sign up at www.statcounter.com and start tracking your visitor numbers, referrals and much more.
This way you can also see if your Search Engine Optimization efforts ara paying off..

But there is one Tiny little problem in getting Statcounter running in your Joomla website.. the tracking code is in Java-script which breaks if you use the TinyMCE or even the JCE editor..

How to get the Statcounter Code into Joomla

It is not that hard as you might think, so here is how to do it.

You can do this via the User Manager

Now with the Editors out of the way, you can create an new module to hold the Statcounter Code.

Why and How to use a Module for Statcounter

The main reason for using a Module instead of editing core files, or Templates files is that a module is not Update or Template dependent.

That means if you change template, the Statcounter still works..
If you get an Joomla Update, the Statcounter also will keep working.

Create a new Module

In your administration panel choose Modules and go to site modules

Now create a new Module

Fill in the parameters, and don't forget the Publish option.

Make sure you get a copy of the Statcounter installation code now:

Got to your Statcounter account and follow the normal procedure to obtain the code.

At the end of the procedure you should have a field with the code you can copy.

This code you need to paste into the new module content section:

Save the module and position it where you see fit, just another nice option of the Module functionality...

Here is my final result...

As you might see, the module has automatically taken over any module layout related settings to fit the template.

How to work with hidden counter

Some people like to have there counter hidden, oké that is also doable.

Make sure you got the code from Statcounter with the option hidden and paste that into the module, just as explained above.

But now, set the Module parameter "Show Title" to "No" , but keep it Published !!
Now if you look at your site, you will see No counter on the page, but it should be in the Source code.

Check if everything works and you get visitor counts on your Statcounter Reports.
Make sure you Block your own visits :-) by using a Blocking Cookie or IP address Blocking in your Settings..

Now forget all about this work and enjoy your Statcounter reports...

P.s. Don't forget to set the WYSIWYG editor to On again, but once turned on, do not !! edit the module, or it will break....

Understanding the Joomla Content Structure

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 19:22:27 +0000

Some people have a hard time understanding the Structure that is used in Joomla to organize the Content.

But it is not that hard to understand if you look at it from a different angle.

Joomla is a Content Management System that in the core can be compared with a Study book.


	Joomla Sections The section part of Joomla can be look at as the main parts of a Book. Like for example an Atlas, the Section are the Continents.

Joomla Categories

The categories in Joomla can be classified as the Chapters of a Book

In the Atlas example, these are the country's in each of the continents.

Joomla Content Item

The Joomla Content items are the pages in a book, each containing information to make a Chapter.

In the Atlas example, these could be pages that describe the Geological ans Social economics of a Country.

Putting it all in Perspective

If you look at the structure of this site, you will see how its build...
First there are sections about Joomla, WordPress and Drupal.

The Joomla Section is split up into categories as:

Joomla General
Joomla Modules
Joomla Themes
Joomla Components
Mambots and Plugins
Joomla Search Engine Optimization

One example of a content Item is this page, which is in the category "Joomla General"

Keep this structure in mind if you are going to build your website in Joomla.
Make Sure you have drawn the structure on paper before building it in Joomla, it will save you a lot of headache afterwards...