HowToJoomla

How to embed a YouTube video into an article in Joomla! 1.5

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:32:53 +0100

There are actually several ways to go about embedding a YouTube video into an article in Joomla! 1.5, but I have built a plugin that makes it dead simple. You can download the plugin here (component/option,com_docman/task,doc_details/gid,5/Itemid,26/). Here's how it works: Step 1: Download the plugin. (component/option,com_docman/task,doc_details/gid,5/Itemid,26/) Step 2: Install it. Step 3: Enable (publish) it. Step 4: Go to YouTube.com (http://www.youtube.com) and find a video that you want to embed. Step 5: Copy the URL for that video from your browser bar. Step 6: Paste the URL into your content item. Repeat steps 4-6 for as many videos as you wish...

How to use the GeSHi plugin/mambot

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:39:51 +0100

Joomla! comes with a plugin/mambot called GeSHi that comes in quite handy if you have a site like HowToJoomla.net in which you share code snippets with your readers. I recently tried to use GeSHi on a Joomla! 1.5 site, and I found that it works differently in Joomla! 1.5 than it does in Joomla! 1.0. Read on to see how to use it in both.

How to view just your component in Joomla! 1.5

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:30:27 +0100

Here is a neat little trick I picked up last Friday at the Joomla! 1.5 bootcamp in Austin led by Johan Janssens (http://www.joomlatools.org/). In Joomla! 1.5, if you simply want to display your component without any modules and without your template styles, all you have to do is add "?tmpl=component" or " tmpl=component" to the end of the URL, depending on whether or not there are already other parameters on the end of the URL. For example, if you just want to view the component on the home page of the new community.joomla.org (http://community.joomla.org) site, you simply add "?tmpl=component" to the URL...

How to Learn from a Joomla! lead developer

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:03:04 +0100

OK, I admit it. This isn't exactly a "How-To" article, but I wanted to draw everyone's attention to an upcoming event in Austin, TX that I will be attending. It is called "Joomla! 1.5 Bootcamp (http://bootcampaustin.eventbrite.com/)," and it will be held on Friday, July 18 from 8am to 4pm CST (GMT -6) at the Doubletree Hotel Austin. I want to strongly encourage anyone who can make it to come to this event. The keynote speaker/teacher for this event will be none other than Johan Janssens, one of the lead developers of Joomla! The event is being put on by Chris...

How to Display Your Page Title in Your Template - Joomla! 1.5

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:09:58 +0100

In October 2006, I wrote a how-to for displaying your page title within your Joomla! 1.0 template (content/view/25/6/). Since the release of Joomla! 1.5, I have gotten many requests for an article explaining how to do this in Joomla! 1.5. Here is how you do it...

How to determine which page you are on from within a Joomla! 1.5 template

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:19:35 +0100

One thing I often need to do while developing a template is change certain parts of the template depending on which page I am on. For example, let's say I am developing a template for a site that runs Virtuemart, and I want to have 3 columns on every non-Virtuemart page, and 2 columns on every Virteumart page. A solution that I often like to use is to make the column "collapsable" when the value of "option" is "com_virtuemart". When "option" is equal to "com_virtuemart", that simply means that the Virtuemart component is loaded.

Blank Joomla! 1.5 Template

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 22:57:20 +0100

Today I created a blank template for Joomla! 1.5. My main purpose for creating the template was to give myself a basis for creating future templates, since it contains the basic necessary files for creating a template. This template loads the component and the "debug" module position. There are no CSS styles in the template.css file, but the file is referenced in the index.php file. The template is released under the GPL, so feel free to use it however you want in accordance with the GPL. Click here to download the template. (http://www.howtojoomla.net/component/option,com_docman/task,doc_download/gid,4/Itemid,26/)

New Blog

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 23:03:35 +0100

I just wanted to let everyone know that I will no longer be writing "Blog" posts here at HowToJoomla.net. I will continue writing tips, tricks tutorials here as often as I can, but all blog posts will be written over at my new blog, http://blog.corywebb.com/ (http://blog.corywebb.com/). The main reason for this is that I want to keep HowToJoomla a place for tutorials, and I feel like my blog posts here are distracting from that purpose. I will also no longer be writing blog posts at JoomlaForm.com (http://www.joomlaform.com) in favor of blogging at my new blog. So, if you...

Joomla! 1.5 Template Contest - Time to vote!

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 20:30:41 +0100

Back in September, I gave you my first impressions (content/view/72/29/) of the templates in the Joomla! 1.5 template contest (http://www.joomla.org/content/view/3798/1/). Rob Schley announced today (http://forum.joomla.org/index.php/topic,248681.0.html) that it is time to vote for the winner, and I am pleased to see that three of my top 5 choices made the top 5. After reviewing the top 5 candidates, I have decided to throw my support behind RedEvo_Aphelion (http://forum.joomla.org/index.php/topic,215067.0.html). If you get a chance, head over and vote (http://forum.joomla.org/index.php/topic,248681.0.html) for your favorite template. The winning template will be included with the core distribution of Joomla! 1.5. Good luck to all 5 candidates!

Joomla CSS Guide is back, but it's no longer free

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 11:22:00 +0100

I mentioned Joomla! CSS Guide (content/view/55/2/) several months ago as a great resource for Joomla template designers because it offered a comprehensive list of all the core CSS classes and ID's output from Joomla and its core components. I went to the site a few months ago to find that the site was off line. I got an e-mail this morning from the founder of Joomla! CSS Guide (http://www.joomlacssguide.com) letting me know that the site is back online, so I went to check it out. Unfortunately, the CSS guide is no longer free. Visitors to the site now must purchase a...