Joomla! Documentation™

Why don't all of my menu items show up in the module assignment lists?

Modules are assigned to specific pages using a list of menu links that is visible when you edit the module in the module manager (on the right of the page). In older versions of Joomla! this list does NOT include menu links of the type "URL." This is an anomoly from the history of the development of Joomla! carried over from Mambo. Although you can use the url type for any link, including internal joomla links, the original idea was that these would be used for links to external sites which would not display joomla! modules. Some Joomla! component extensions use url links (rather than component links with parameters) as a simple way to access specific views of the components.

In Joomla! 1.0.12 and later this issue was partially addressed by allowing modules to be assigned to URL links that did not include ItemId. Therefore, one way to address this issue is to make sure that your site is running the current version of Joomla! and that url links that are internal to your site do not include ItemId values.

How do I redirect users after a successful login?

After logging into the Administration backend, go the module manager. A list of all the modules installed on your site will appear. Edit the one that says "Login Form" under Module Name ("mod_login" under the Type column).

1.0.x

Under Parameters, enter the URL of page where you want to redirect successful logins to where it says "Login Redirection URL."

1.5

Select the redirection page from the list of menu links offered. Make sure that the link is to a published item.

Note: The same procedure is used for redirecting users on successful logout except you enter the page where you want to redirect successful logouts to where it says "Logout Redirection URL."

What do the types of links for menus mean?

1.0

When you create a new link on a menu you need to select from a number of different types of links. Which type you select depends on what you are linking to and how you want it to appear. The following types exist:

Content

These types allow you to link to a section, a category or individual content items, static content and archives. Sections and categories can be linked either blog style or list/table style. In addition there is a link type that allows submission to specific content sections.

Miscellaneous

Separator/placeholder allows you to insert a non active link.

Wrapper creates an Iframe which displays an external page within your Joomla! site.

Submit

Submit--Content allows you to link to a form to submit content to specific sections.

Components

Component links allow you to link to components you have installed or that are preinstalled in Joomla!. In some instances components will allow you to set parameters to define the display in more detail. There are also some predefined links to components that are included with Joomla! by default, such as weblinks and contacts.

Links

Links include specific kinds of links, most of which are also included under other headings. URL link is a generic link that allows you to link any specific url, either internal to Joomla! or externally.

1.5

Articles

This gives you access to content.

You can then choose from section, category, archive, articles, front page.

Within section, category and archive you can choose list or blog layouts.

Blog Layout

Blog layout will show a listing of all Articles of the selected blog type (Section or Category) in the mainbody position of your template.

List Layout

Table layout will simply give you a tabular list of all the titles in that particular Section or Category.

Wrapper

Wrappers allow you to place stand alone applications and Third Party Web sites inside your Joomla! site. The content within a Wrapper appears within the primary content area defined by the "mainbody" tag and allows you to display their content as a part of your own site. A Wrapper will place an IFRAME into the content Section of your Web site and wrap your standard template navigation around it so it appears in the same way an Article would.

Each Component

Each component will have its own link. Some may require you to make additional choices of options.

External Link

Lets you link to an external site

Separator

This lets you make a text or image only (non linkable) menu item.

Alias

Lets you make a link matching an existing menu item. This avoids the problem of having multiple urls pointing to the same content.

How do I get rid of "This Category is Currently Empty"?

1.0

When you make a content category table link to an empty category, by default a "This Category is Currently Empty" message will display (or the equivalent in another language). You can eliminate or modify this message by editing your language file.

In /language/english.php change line 113 from

Code:

  DEFINE('_EMPTY_CATEGORY','This Category is currently empty');

to

Code:

  DEFINE('_EMPTY_CATEGORY',); 

You can also change the text in the menu link to weblinks.

How do I add a link to a menu?

To add a new item to an exisiting menu, you must log in to the administrative interface (back end) of Joomla!

Go to the menu manager (Menu>>Menu Manager).

Find the menu you wish to add to and click on the icon in the Menu Items column.

This will give a list of existing menu items.

To create a new item, click on the New icon.

1.0.x

Select the type of link you want.

Click on the continue icon.

Fill in or select the appropriate information and parameters.

Save.

Note: For some component links you need to edit the new link in order to apply parameters.

compat_15_native.png

1.5

Select the menu item you want from the list displayed.

Continue making selections until you have reached the end of the choice tree for your menu link type.

What is php defined( '_VALID_MOS' ) or die( 'Restricted access' ) or defined('_JEXEC') or die('Restricted access')?

1.0 Most php files within Joomla! 1.0.xbegin with the following statement:

     defined( '_VALID_MOS' ) or die( 'Restricted access' )

This statement checks to see if the file is being called from within a Joomla! session. This protects your site by making it more difficult for a cracker/hacker to damage your site.

However, this line should NOT be included in your main index.php file, since this is the program that starts the Joomla! session.

1.5

Most php files within Joomla! 1.5 begin with the following statement:

    defined('_JEXEC') or die('Restricted access');

This statement checks to see if the file is being called from within a Joomla! session. This protects your site by making it more difficult for a cracker/hacker to damage your site.

However, this line should NOT be included in your main index.php file, since this is the program that starts the Joomla! session.

How do I stop users from being able to register?

Go to your site >> global configuration and change "allow user registration" to no.