Home Webpage Help
Wednesday, February 22 2012
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There are great resources online for Joomla 1.5

Here is a link to some video tutorials in Hungarian.

English links for 1.5:



How to Recover the Admin Password
If you forget your main, admin password this is how to get into the site:


How to Edit Code on Your Site
Here is a great tutorial on how to add a Paypal button or any time you need to have access to the code. This idea is really helpful if you are adding video code. You can turn off the editor inside the article also.


How to Install or Change a Module
This is a great tutorial on the Module Manager. Be aware, while you are watching the video, you will probably want to add a "Custom Module". This allows you to put in text and photos into a module position.


Installing an Extension


How to Add an Article


How to Change Allowing User Registration
For my clients your set up already does not allow user registration, unless you specifically requested that feature. If you want to change that though, and have now decide you want to allow people to register for your website, just follow this tutorial and click the "Yes" button on Allow User Registration.



Frequently Asked Questions:

  • Whey I try to insert a google map or calendar from the front end, it disappears.
The answer is here . But try this part first: on the backend go to Content/Parameters/Filtering Options/ and in Filter Groups select "Registered" then check "Blacklist" then click save and try it again.
(Advanced explanation: when trying to insert an iframe, or saving a page with an iframe on it, in Joomla 1.5.8 to 1.5.14 the iframe disappears upon saving the page. This only happens during a front end edit. Changing the filtering options will elminiate this problem.)

  • When trying to login on the front-end nothing happens. I just get returned to the main page.
Use ftp or joomlaXplorer (ninja Xplorer in 1.5) to go to your main folder for your website (top level) and click to edit the configuration.php file. Find the reference to your website.
If it says http://vac.golgota.hu change that to http://www.vac.golgota.hu.
That will solve the problem.

If you are not comfortable with doing that, if you are having a problem like above, let me know and i will fix it for you.

  • I want to add pictures using the Simple Image Gallery, how do i do that in 1.0?
On the backend go to Mambots/Site Mambots/Simple Image Gallery there you will find the instructions on how to do this.

"If you want to create a gallery from subfolders inside images/stories/, simple add them like this: . In other words, write the path to your target folder without any slashes at the beginning or the end of your path (it's added automagically!)."

You create the folders and upload the pictures by using ftp or Media Manager or JoomlaXplorer.

  • I want to add some special code to our webpage and the joomla page keeps taking out or messing up the code.
There is an extension called html plugin that you can use to put code into a module area. You can't put it in the mainbody area (without the use of another extension). After you install it go to the module and click on it. Then paste in the code you want to use.

  • My site got hacked, now what?
If your Joomla 1.5 site got hacked check this link.
You will probably need to reupload your index.php file from a fresh install and ensure your file permissions are 644 and folder permissions are 755.

Here is a tool for diagnosing the damage and getting help on the forum.

How to upgrade your joomla install:
If you don't have cPanel or you feel more comfortable using an FTP client, then you can simply extract the Joomla 1.5 patch package to your computer and then upload the extracted files to your Joomla folder using your favorite FTP client.

How to run chron job that will tell you if someone modifies your template
Watch this video and use this code: find \public_html -mtime -1
Then check your raw access and ftp logs for any POST commands (but they may have been deleted)


Here are some VirtueMart shopping cart set up tips. Version 1.1.4



(below are resources for Joomla 1.0 installs, which is what most of the Hungarian and Polish websites are)
This page is for the Hungarian and Polish ccs that we have set up Joomla webpages for.

Here is my basic video tutorial showing you have to make changes to your website. It shows you:
How to edit the text on your website,
How to add or change pictures
How to add your mp3 Bible studies
Part One and Part Two
or you can just watch parts of the above How to Add Links to Your Webpage How to Add or Edit Pictures on Your Webpage How to add Bible Study mp3s to Your Webpage

To do the following things you need to log into the "backend" of your website. To do so, go to http://the complete name of your site/administrator and log in with the same user and password you use on the front end. (example: http://pecs.golgota.hu/administrator)
How to Add a Page to Your Website
How to Change the Order of Your New Page on the Menu
How to Create a Submenu Item (a link that shows on the menu after you click one of the other menu links)


If you have problems viewing these files, right click on them and choose "save target as" and save them to your computer, then view them there. After the video starts to play, double click on the screen to view it full size.
There are more video tutorials at the bottom of this page


These are the excellent tutorials written by the guys at www.calvaryweb.com:

Here you will find help on how to do most things you need to do

read those tutorials, they are very good. Just find the tutorial on the above link for what you are trying to do, it should help you out.


Here is how to use your Datso Photo Gallery tool:

On the back end example: http://esztergom.golgota.hu/administrator :

Go to Components/Datso Gallery
and choose either Normal Upload or Batch Upload
Normal Upload - upload one picture a time (all go to the same place)
Batch Upload - if you zip a folder of pictures you can upload them all at the same time
(batch upload instructions: Browse to zipped folder of pictures, choose Category, have to make that first, then add title, description and author if wanted. Click Upload.)
Note: pictures should be 1024 or 800 wide, not bigger. Use this tool to resize all your pictures before you zip them (only works for WindowsXP)
To zip a folder of pictures, right click in the window that contains the pictures you resized, then hit "New" and choose "Compressed Zipped Folder". Then drag all the pictures into that folder.


After pictures are uploaded go to Modules/Site Modules
(if you want to use the random thumbnail images shown on your page somewhere. If you do not want to use this feature skip the Module configuration)

Click on DatsoGallery Ultimate
and set position, page, number of pictures, etc. (Image Filter grays the picture and then clears it when you mouse over the picture)

Click on DatsoGallery Random Thumbnail
and set postion, page, number of pictures, etc.

These will not show up yet because first you have to go to:

Components/DatsoGallery and
hit Catagories and create a catagory name,
you can make it a subcatagory by choosing "Parent Category"
Leave that blank if you want it to be a main category.
Choose Save

then in Category Manager click on the red X for the category you just created under "Published"
and go back to
Components/Datso Gallery/Pictures and choose "Sort by Category" and pick the category you just created.

Then click "New"
Then down on the bottom, click on "List of Originals" and choose the first picture you want to add to this catagory.
Select the same image in "list of Mediums" and "list of thumbs"
Fill in Title, choose category, and type in Description if you want one, then hit Save
this returns you to the Images Manager,
Hit "new" again and repeat the process,
Be sure to click the red X under "published" in "Images Manager"

To add a link for a Photo Gallery using this tool go to the menu you want to add it to and click on Component to add DatsoGallery to the menu.

Settings are under Components/DatsoGallery/Configuration

Lightbox works, need to set Public download option to yes so people can get the full size image.

You can get language files from datso.fr. (middle link on top bar, status bar says downloads)then need to be installed in www/components/com_datsgallery/language
The Content-Elements-for-Joom!Fish.zip file has the instructions and tells you where to put the files in it to work with Joomfish.
It works very well too.



Video tutorials:


There are great video screenshot tutorials at http://www.sangriastudios.com/


This tutorial shows you how to place things (other than text or pictures) on your webpage. It explains where you can put thing, how to place them there, how to choose which page to put them on, and how to choose the order they appear
http://www.sangriastudios.com/videos/joomla_modules_tutorial.wmv
It is a great tutorial, it must be viewed at full size on your computer.

This tutorial is shorter and shows basics of modules
http://www.joomlatutorials.com/joomla_tutorials/joomla_1.0_tutorials/joomla_administrator/module_manager/details.html

This tutorial shows you how to add items to your menus. It uses a slightly different websystem so it looks a little different but all the settings are in the same place. The tutorial is performed on a custom menu, that is why it has a name that does not match the ones on your webpage. It also shows how to reorder items on your menu.
http://www.sangriastudios.com/videos/addinglinks.wmv
Be sure to view it full size on your computer

In depth full video tutorials:
http://www.beautyindesign.com/tutorial/basic_joomla_administration.php
http://clubtvk.com/content/view/33/51/ this one is faster moving but harder to see.
Long but very detailed.


To set up the mail function go to global configuration and:
Mailer: PHP mail function
Mail From: admin@your_site.com
From Name: Your Name Here
Sendmail Path: shouldn't need to worry about this using the PHP mail funtion...
SMTP Auth: No
SMTP User: leave blank....
SMTP Pass: leave blank....
SMTP Host: leave blank....

That will usually work. But if not try:
Mailer: SMTP
Mail From: and make the ending domain the same as your's (for the golgota guys, it should be ending with @golgota.hu)


Image Thumbnail Viewer

If you would like a larger sized picture to pop-up when your viewer clicks on a smaller sized version of the picture, here is a very good mambot for this: http://www.anetus.com/content/view/19/27/
There are excellent notes on the site. Basically you write in [mosthumbviewer: images/stories/pic.jpg, images/stories/thumb.jpg, A title of a picture, right] (except with curly brackets)
The first image is the one you want to popup when the person clicks on the smaller image.

Here is the folder where the css is stored /...bots/content/mosthumbviewer/thumbnailviewer.css (where you would change the colors and borders)
but I cannot find how to put border on picture, without looping it around the caption.
This may not work on all templates.


Here are some PayPal examples showing many different ways you can use PayPal to take donations to help your ministry.