What is the difference between a Joomla 2.

5 Plugin, Module, and

Component?
Written By: Brad Markle
Experience Level: Beginner
New users to Joomla 2.5 often ask, "What is the difference between a plugin, module, and component?" All
three are referred as extensions, as they extend the basic functionality of Joomla and add additional features. In
this tutorial we'll explain what sets apart plugins, modules, and components.

What is a Plugin?
When you think of a Joomla 2.5 plugin, think of it as an extension that changes something.

A real life example

A Joomla 2.5 example

In a previous tutorial we installed a Joomla

In a real life example, think of your website 2.5 social media plugin that adds facebook
as a car. A sub-woofer installed in a
and twitter buttons to the end of an article.
car changes the existing sound from your The plugin changes the article and adds the
stereo and adds more bass.
like buttons to the bottom.

( CHANGES sound in a car, adds bass )

What is a Module?
When you think of a Joomla 2.5 module, think of a box that you can place at various parts of your page. This
box doesn't change anything, instead it allows you to add something new.

A real life example

A Joomla 2.5 example

In a previous article we installed a Joomla 2.5

In a real life example, if your website is

module that shows latest articles written. We
thought of as a car (without a stereo), a new placed this "box" of content in the right
stereo in a car adds the addition of music
sidebar, but we can easily change the
and sound.
position so it shows anywhere else on the
page.

( ADDS FEATURES to a car, sound and

music )

What is a Component?
When you think of a Joomla 2.5 component, think of brand new functionality.

A real life example

Continuing with our car analogy, adding

wings to a car give it the new functionality
of flight. While cars generally drive on
wheels, the addition of flight adds brand
new functionality.

A Joomla 2.5 example

In a previous article, we installed a Joomla
2.5 forum component. With a standard
installation of Joomla, the main focus is
writing articles. The addition of a forum adds
brand new functionality to a Joomla site. The
forum can also have its own modules and
plugins. For example, it may include a
module that shows latest forum posts in your
sidebar. It may also include a plugin that
changes the default formatting to forum posts
to show gravatars.

( ADDS FUNCTIONALITY to a car, they

normally drive but with wings now can fly )

Getting your mind wrapped around plugins, modules, and components may be a bit difficult at first. The more
you work with them, the more the concept should make sense. They are all Joomla 2.5 extensions and add
more tools and functionality to your site. In the end, this easy way to improve your Joomla 2.5 website makes it
that much better of a Content Management System.

To view where module positions are configured within a template:

1. Log into your Joomla Dashboard
2. In the top menu, under Extensions click Template Manager
3. In the top right, click the Options button
4. Set Preview Module Positions to Enabled and then click Save & Close

5. Click the Templates tab

6. Next to the template you would like to view the structure of, click Preview

7. A new window will open and it will outline the structure of the template. It may be hard to see, but you should see areas
labeled similar to position-12 and position-7

How to move a Joomla 2.5 module to a different position

In our previous article, we explained how positions help define the layout of a Joomla 2.5 template. In this article, we'll show
you how to move a module to a different position on the page.
In this tutorial, we are going to move the "About Joomla!" menu to the footer of the page, to position-9.
In our continued effort to teach you the basics of Joomla extensions, we'll also show you how to only show modules on certain
pages, but that will be in our next tutorial.
To move a module to a different position:
Identify the name of the position you want to move your module to

To do this, refer to our article on Viewing Module Positions in Joomla 2.5. In this example, we will be moving the menu
to position-9
If you're not already, log into your Joomla Dashboard. Then, under Extensions in the top menu, click Module
Manager

Use the Filter feature to find the module you want to work with, and then click on the module's name

Next to the Position label, click Select position

Use the Filter feature to find the new position, and then click on the position's name

Save the changes by clicking the Save button in the top right
You have now move a module to a different position in your Joomla 2.5 website! Refresh you webpage and you should see the
change.

Before the module position change

After the module position change

Joomla 2.5 - Put a Module in an Article

Written By: Brad Markle
Experience Level: Beginner
In Joomla, modules are placed in positions, and those positions are defined by your template. If needed, you
can however put a Joomla 2.5 module in an article. In this tutorial, we're going to place the Search module in
one of our test articles.
This tutorial is just one of many tutorials we have on working with extensions in Joomla 2.5. For example, in our
last extension tutorial we showed you the steps on uninstalling extensions in Joomla 2.5.
To put a Joomla 2.5 module in an article:
Log into your Joomla 2.5 Dashboard
In the top menu, hover over Extensions and click Module Manager
Use the filter feature to find the module you want to put in an article, and then click the module
Type in a new position name (one that won't conflict with any positions used by your template). In our
example, we typed in in_article_search

Under Module Assignment, select the pages you want to assign the module to. Then click Save.
Open the article for edit you want to place the module in, and put in the following text:
{loadposition myposition}
Be sure to replace myposition with the position you created earlier. In our example, we typed in:
{loadposition in_article_search}

Save your article and then test your website. You should now see a module in a Joomla 2.5 article.

Note: In order for the steps above to work, the Content - Load plugin needs to be enabled. It should be enabled
by default, but if you have any trouble with placing a module in an article, make sure it is enabled.

How to display modules on your Joomla 2.5 homepage

Written By: Brad Markle
Experience Level: Beginner
In a previous article, we showed you how to move a Joomla 2.5 module to a different position. As we continueworking with
extensions in Joomla 2.5, the next thing we'll do is show you how to get modules to show up on your homepage.
To show a Joomla 2.5 module on your homepage:
Log into your Joomla dashboard
In the top menu, hover over Extensions and click Module Manager
Use the filter feature to find the module you would like to show on your homepage and then click the module's name

Next to position, choose which position on the homepage to show this module on
Under Menu Assignment, ensure Module Assignment is set to Only on the pages selected. Then click the Main
Menu Tab and then select Home

Please note that this is the most important step of displaying a module on your homepage!

Click Save and then test your website. You should now see this module on your homepage only.

Our homepage (where the module is shown)

A random article (where the module is not shown)

You now know how to show modules on your Joomla 2.5 homepage. In our next tutorial, we'll show you how to uninstall an
extension.

Writing Articles in Joomla 2.5 - Joomla 2.5 102:

Many of the pages in Joomla 2.5 are referred to as articles. For example, if you want to create an About Us type page, you need to
write an article. In the following tutorial, we'll explore writing articles in Joomla 2.5
Section 1:

How to write a new Article in Joomla 2.5

In this article, we'll show you the basics of writing a new article in Joomla.

Section 2:

Working with Article Categories in Joomla 2.5

In this tutorial, we'll give you an introduction to Joomla 2.5 categories, and we'll also guide you through creating a new
category.

Section 3:

How to Upload and Add Images into Joomla 2.5 Articles

In this tutorial, we will walk you through how to upload and add an image to a Joomla 2.5 article.

Section 4:

How to link to other articles within a Joomla 2.5 article

In this tutorial, we'll show you how to link to another article within a Joomla 2.5 article.

Section 5:

How to add a Read More link in Joomla 2.5 Articles

In this Joomla 2.5 tutorial we will walk you through the steps for adding a Read More link to one of your articles.
Adding a Read More link helps break up your articles into smaller pieces, which can make them fit better of featured
article pages.

Section 6:

How to unlock a locked article in Joomla 2.5

If an article is locked in Joomla 2.5, you will see a lock icon next to it and you will not be able to edit it. In this Joomla
2.5 tutorial, we'll walk you through the steps for unlocking an article.

Section 7:

Switching between the WYSIWYG and HTML editor in Joomla 2.5

In this Joomla 2.5 tutorial, we'll show you how to switch between the WYSIWYG editor and the HTML code editor
when editing an article.

Section 8:

Adding Copyright and other Special Characters to Joomla 2.5 articles

Adding special characters, such as the copyright and registered sign, is easy to do within the Joomla article editor. In
this Joomla 2.5 tutorial, we'll show you how.

Section 9:

Adding Subscript and Superscript to Joomla 2.5 articles

Setting text as either Superscript or Subscript in Joomla 2.5 is easy to do within the Joomla 2.5 editor, and we'll show
you how. Subscript is generally used in chemical formulas and superscript is often used in math equations.

Section 10:

Adding a Horizontal Line in a Joomla 2.5 article

The article editor in Joomla 2.5 includes an easy way to add a horizontal rule to any article.

Section 11:

Working with anchors in Joomla 2.5

Working with anchors is easy in Joomla 2.5, and is a great way to help users navigate long pages on your site. In this
tutorial, we'll walk you through the steps for creating and linking to an anchor in a Joomla 2.5 article.

Section 12:

How to indent an entire paragraph in Joomla 2.5

In this Joomla 2.5 tutorial we'll walk you through the simple steps needed to indent an entire paragraph.

Section 13:

How to indent the first line of a paragraph in Joomla 2.5

If you need to indent only the first line of a paragraph in a Joomla 2.5 article, you'll need to use css to do so. In this
tutorial, we'll walk you through how to indent only the first line.

Section 14:

How to full, left, right, and center justify text in Joomla 2.5
In this Joomla 2.5 article, we'll walk you through the steps for left, right, center, and full justifying text.

Section 15:

How to Strikethrough text in a Joomla 2.5 article

Striking through text is easy to do in the Joomla 2.5 article editor. In this short tutorial, we'll show you how to use
strikethough in Joomla.

Section 16:

How to bold, italicize, and underline text in Joomla 2.5

In this Joomla 2.5 tutorial, we'll show you how to do basic text formatting, such as making bold, italic, and underlined
text.

Section 17:

How to add bulleted and numbered lists in Joomla 2.5

In this tutorial for Joomla 2.5, we'll show you how to add bulleted and numbered lists to your articles.

Section 18:

How to use Page Break in Joomla 2.5

Adding Page Breaks to Joomla 2.5 articles helps to organize very long articles. Each Page Break you create will be
added to a table of contents for the article. We'll show you how to work with Page Breaks in this tutorial.

Section 19:

How to add an IFRAME to a Joomla 2.5 article

In this tutorial, we'll show you how to prevent iframes from being stripped from your articles. This will make it easier to
insert iframe code into Joomla 2.5 articles.
Section 20:

How to add javascript to Joomla 2.5 articles

Javascript / script tags are removed by Joomla when you save your articles. Review this tutorial to learn how to add
javascript to your Joomla pages.

Section 21:

How to embed a PDF in a Joomla 2.5 Article

We'll show you how you can use Google Docs to embed PDF files in a Joomla 2.5 article.

Section 22:

Joomla 2.5 Editor

Within Joomla 2.5 you can use various types of editors, such as WYSIWYG, HTML, and text editors. You can also
edit different things, from article text to PHP in template code.

Using the Joomla 2.5 Media Manager, you can upload and manage images, pdfs, and other files.

Section 1: How to upload a file using the Joomla 2.5 Media Manager
In this Joomla 2.5 tutorial, we'll show you how to upload and link to a PDF file within your site. This tutorial
is specific towards .pdf files, but will work with other files as well, such as .ppt .docx
Section 2: Joomla 2.5 Media Manager - Thumbnail vs. Detail View
When using the Joomla 2.5 Media Manager, you can browse through your files using either the Thumbnail
View or the Detail View. In this Joomla 2.5 article, we'll cover the differences between these two views.

Featured Articles and your Joomla 2.5 homepage - Joomla 2.5 105
Your Joomla 2.5 homepage is by default a Featured Articles menu item. In this course we'll cover Featured Article menu items and
all the ways you can configure them.

Section 1: How to change your Joomla 2.5 homepage

In this Joomla 2.5 tutorial, we'll show you how to set which of your pages will be your home
page.
Section 2: Joomla 2.5 Menu Items - Featured Articles
Your Joomla 2.5 front page is by default a featured articles page. You can create other featured
article pages as well, and we'll show you how in this Joomla 2.5 tutorial.
Section 3: Joomla 2.5 Front Page Settings for Featured Articles
In this Joomla 2.5 tutorial we will outline the several settings that are used for displaying your
Featured Articles on your front page.
Section 4: Joomla 2.5 Featured Articles - Page Display Options
In this Joomla 2.5 tutorial, we'll walk you through the available Page Display Options for featured
article menu items. These settings control your page title, the page header, and also the custom
css class that you're able to set.
Section 5: Joomla 2.5 Featured Articles - RSS Integration Options
When configuring a Joomla 2.5 featured articles page, the integration options you can change
control the rss options for the page. In this tutorial, we'll show you the various settings you can
change under integration options for featured articles.
Section 6: Joomla 2.5 Featured Articles - Link Type Options
In this Joomla 2.5 tutorial, we'll show you what each of the Link Type Options does for Featured
Articles menu items. Link Type Options allow you to set a title to your link, add a custom css

class, and even show an icon next to your link.

Section 7: Joomla 2.5 Featured Articles - Metadata Options
In this tutorial, we'll walk you through the available Metadata Options you can edit for Joomla 2.5
featured articles menu items. These settings specifically allow you to customize meta
description and keyword settings, follow and index settings for robots, and also allows you to set
if the menu item link should be written using https or http.
Section 8: Changing the order of Featured Articles on your Joomla 2.5 Front Page
Featured Articles show on your Joomla 2.5 front page, and in this article we'll outline how you
can change their ordering.
Section 9: How to Feature an Article on the Joomla 2.5 Front Page
To display an article on your Joomla 2.5 front page, you need to set the article as a Featured
Article. Featured Articles in Joomla 2.5 are the articles that show on your front page.

Create and Configuring Joomla 2.5 Menus - Joomla 2.5 106

Joomla 2.5 Menus are a major building block within your site. Not only do they help you create basic menus, most menu items
actually create separate pages altogether.

Section 1:

An Introduction to Joomla 2.5 Menus

Joomla 2.5 menus create the basic navigation structure of your website. In this article we'll give
you a brief introduction to Joomla menus.

Section 2:

How to create a new Menu and Menu Module in Joomla 2.5

In this tutorial, we'll walk you through the basic steps of creating a new Joomla 2.5 menu and
menu module.

Section 3:

Joomla 2.5 Menu Items - Category List vs. Category Blog

In this article, we'll show you the differences between a Joomla 2.5 Category List and Category
Blog menu item.

Section 4:

Joomla 2.5 List All Categories - Categories Options

When setting up a Joomla 2.5 List All Categories menu item, there are quite a few categories
options you can configure. We'll discuss each of these settings in this Joomla 2.5 tutorial.

Section 5:

Creating a Horizontal menu in Joomla 2.5

Using css, you can easily create horizontal menus in Joomla 2.5

Section 6:

Joomla 2.5 Menu Items - List All Categories

In this Joomla 2.5 tutorial, we'll show you how to create a List All Categories menu item.

Section 7:

Forcing Joomla 2.5 menu items to open in a new window

In this Joomla 2.5 tutorial, we'll walk you through the steps for configuring menu items to open
either in new window or new tab.

Section 8:

Why in Joomla 2.5 is there a star next to a menu item?

What does the star mean in the Joomla 2.5 Menus dropdown? We'll answer that question for

you in this Joomla 2.5 tutorial.

Section 9:

How to link to an Article in a Joomla 2.5 Menu

In this tutorial, we'll show you how to add a menu item to a Joomla 2.5 menu that links to an
article.

Section 10: How to link to a Category in a Joomla 2.5 Menu

In this tutorial, we'll show you how to link to a Joomla 2.5 category using a menu.

Installing and Changing Templates in Joomla 2.5 - Joomla 2.5 107

Templates in Joomla 2.5 are used to control your website's look and feel. From colors to font sizes, from border styles to
background images, it's all controlled by templates. In the following tutorials, we'll show you how to install and manage your Joomla
2.5 site templates.

Section 1: How to install a new Joomla 2.5 template

In this tutorial, we'll show you how to install a Joomla 2.5 template that you've downloaded from
the web.
Section 2: How to change your Joomla 2.5 Site Template
In this article, we'll walk you through the steps to take to change your Joomla 2.5 Site template.
Section 3: How to edit a Joomla 2.5 template
In this Joomla 2.5 tutorial, we'll show you how to use Joomla's built in template editor to make
changes to your templates.
Section 4: How to Delete a Template in Joomla 2.5
In this Joomla 2.5 tutorial, we'll show you the proper steps for deleting a template. If you receive
the error - cannot delete last style of a template - you're doing it wrong.
Section 5: Changing the template used for specific menu items in Joomla 2.5
In this Joomla 2.5 tutorial we'll show you how to assign a template to one unique page in your
website.
Working with Users in Joomla 2.5 - Joomla 2.5 108
Joomla 2.5 includes by default a user management system. This makes it easy for users to register and manage their own
accounts.

Section 1: Allowing registered users only access in Joomla 2.5

In this article, we'll show you how to setup Joomla 2.5 so that you can prevent the public from
viewing certain pages in your site. After you follow these steps, only registered users will be able
to view the pages that you specify.
Section 2: Changing the Please login first text in Joomla 2.5
When a public users tries to visit a registered users only page in Joomla 2.5, they will see a
message stating Please login first. In this Joomla 2.5 tutorial, we'll show you how to change that
Please login first text to anything you'd like.
Section 3: How to disable user registration in Joomla 2.5

If your Joomla 2.5 website is not community driven, in this article we'll show you how to prevent
new users from registering.
Section 4: How to create a new Joomla 2.5 Administrator
In this article, we'll walk you through the steps for creating a new Joomla 2.5 admin user.
Section 5: Prevent New Account activation email sent to Joomla 2.5 Administrator
You can easily disable notification emails to administrators in Joomla 2.5 after new users
register for an account.
Section 6: Prevent passwords in Joomla 2.5 new user account activation emails
Be default, Joomla 2.5 is configured to send passwords through email. Using the Language
Override tool, you can strip these emails of any passwords they include.
Section 7: How to reset a Joomla 2.5 user password directly in the database
If you've forgotten a Joomla 2.5 user's password, you can easily reset it using phpMyAdmin or
any other MySQL client. This will work for both standard Joomla 2.5 users and administrators.
Section 8: How to change a Joomla 2.5 user's email address
If you need to manually update a Joomla 2.5 user's email address, you can use the User
Manager to do so.
Section 9: How to Add a New Note for a Joomla 2.5 user
In this article, we'll walk you through the steps for creating a new note for a Joomla 2.5 users.
Notes allow you to keep track of user activity and makes it easy to share information among
other administrators.
Working with languages in Joomla 2.5 - Joomla 2.5 203
A Joomla 2.5 website does not have to be in English. You can run your site not only in a different language, but you can run various
languages from the same Joomla 2.5 installation.

Section 1: How to change the Site Language in Joomla 2.5

In this article, we'll show you how to install a new Joomla 2.5 Language Pack and change the
language of your website.
Section 2: How to use the Joomla 2.5 Language Overrides Tool
In this tutorial, we'll show you how you can use the Joomla 2.5 Language Override tool to
change the text of common words and phrases used in Joomla.

Joomla 2.5 Polls - Joomla 2.5 205

If you're looking for a polling component for your website, you can use AcePolls. In the following tutorials, we'll walk you through the
basics of installing and using AcePolls.

Section 1: Joomla 2.5 Polls - Installing AcePolls

In you'd like a poll on your Joomla 2.5 site, you can use the AcePolls extension to set this up. In
this tutorial, we will walk you through the steps for installing AcePolls.
Section 2: How to create a new Joomla 2.5 AcePolls poll
After installing AcePolls in Joomla 2.5, your next step is to create a new Poll. We'll guide you
through the necessary steps in this tutorial.
Section 3: How to create a Joomla 2.5 poll module
After creating a new AcePolls poll in Joomla 2.5, create a module for the poll in order to display
the poll on your website.
Section 4: Linking to a listing of your AcePolls in Joomla 2.5
You can create a page in Joomla 2.5 that lists all of your acepolls polls. This menu item is
referred to as a List of Polls, and we'll show you how to setup this menu item in this tutorial.
Section 5: How to insert an acepolls poll into a Joomla 2.5 article
Using the load position feature in Joomla 2.5, you can easily add an acepolls poll within any
article.
Setting up a Joomla 2.5 Photo Gallery using Phoca Gallery - Joomla 2.5 213
Section 1: How to install Phoca Gallery for Joomla 2.5

In this first tutorial of our Phoca Gallery series, we will show you how to install the Phoca Gallery
photo gallery component for Joomla 2.5
Section 2: How to create an image category in Phoca Gallery
Before adding our first images to Phoca Gallery, we will first create a new image category.
Section 3: Uploading an image to Phoca Gallery
In this Phoca Gallery tutorial, we'll show you how to upload and add images.
Section 4: Link to a listing of your Phoca Gallery Image Categories
In this tutorial, we will show you how to create a link to your Phoca Gallery categories.
Section 5: How to remove Powered By Phoca Gallery in Joomla 2.5
In this Phoca Gallery, we'll show you how to remove the Powered By Phoca Gallery message in
your galleries.
Joomla 2.5 Slideshow - Joomla 2.5 218
Unite Nivo Slider is a free component and module for Joomla 2.5 (there is a paid version too) that you can use to show slideshows
in your Joomla 2.5 website. In the next few tutorials, we'll show you how to install the extension, create slideshows, and how to
show the slideshows on your pages (such as your homepage).

Section 1: How to install Unite Nivo Slider for Joomla 2.5

Our first step in setting up a slideshow for Joomla 2.5 is to install the Unite Nivo Slider

Component and Module.

Section 2: How to create a new Slider in Unite Nivo Slider for Joomla 2.5
After installing Unite Nivo Slider for Joomla 2.5, our next step in the slideshow creation process
is to create a new Slider. Sliders are the parent element that contain all of the slides within a
slideshow.
Section 3: How to add new slides to a Unite Nivo Slider in Joomla 2.5
After creating a new Slider within Unite Nivo Slider, our next step is to add images (slides) to this
new slideshow.
Section 4: Inserting a slideshow on your Joomla 2.5 Homepage
Now that we've created a Unite Nivo Slider with slides, our next step is to show this slideshow
on our Joomla 2.5 homepage.
Joomla 2.5 User Profile Plugin - Joomla 2.5 217
Section 1: How to enable the Joomla 2.5 User Profile plugin

In this tutorial, we'll show you how to enable the Joomla 2.5 user profile plugin.
Section 2: Viewing User Profiles in Joomla 2.5
Learn more about Joomla 2.5 User Profiles by first seeing what the user sees as their profile.
Section 3: Understanding the Joomla 2.5 User Profile Plugin's Basic Options
Within the Joomla 2.5 User Profile Plugin's settings, we'll explain the difference between Fields
for registration and administrator user forms AND Profile fields for profile edit form.
Section 4: How to create a User Profile menu item in Joomla 2.5
Using the Joomla 2.5 menu manager, you can create a new menu item that points to the User
Profile page, which will allow users to view and edit their user profile.
Section 5: Adding Custom User Profile Fields in Joomla 2.5 - Step 1/3 - Copy the Plugin
The first step in creating custom user profile fields is to copy the current user profile plugin. This
will help ensure you don't lose your changes if a Joomla 2.5 update overwrites the files.
Section 6: Adding Custom User Profile Fields in Joomla 2.5 - Step 2/3 - The Front End Form
Our next step in adding custom user profile fields in Joomla 2.5 is to edit the front end form and
ask the user to enter the new information.
Section 7: Adding Custom User Profile Fields in Joomla 2.5 - Step 3/3 - Plugin Parameters
The final step in adding new fields to the Joomla 2.5 user profile plugin is to allow site
administrators to toggle whether the new field is required or not.
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