Joomla! 1.5 Templates Cookbook

By Richard Carter

Joomla! 1.5 Templates Cookbook contains step-by-step instructions for Joomla! users to customize their Joomla! templates. The book is designed so that you can refer to it chapter by chapter, or you can look at the list of recipes and read those that interest you in no particular order. This book is written for Joomla! developers who want to improve the look and feel of their Joomla! sites. Readers are expected to have knowledge of CSS and (X)HTML. Although it will be helpful, no prior knowledge of Joomla! theming is expected.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Packt Publishing
• Release date: Jul 5, 2010
• ISBN: 9781849511254

Richard Carter

Richard Carter, MFA, is Co-Founder & Director of the Community Shakespeare Company for young actors. His award-winning plays have been produced from Seattle to London. His verse adaptations of classic literature motivate and enchant actors and audiences, pre-school through adult. Richard lives with his family on an island in Washington State.

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Table of Contents

Joomla! 1.5 Templates Cookbook

Credits

About the Author

About the Reviewers

Preface

What this book covers

What you need for this book

Who this book is for

Conventions

Reader feedback

Customer support

Errata

Piracy

Questions

1. Joomla! Theming Basics

Introduction

Finding the current default template

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Locating Joomla! templates in your website's hierarchy

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Understanding Joomla! templates

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Changing your template's color variation

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Making the templates\rhuk_milkyway\params.ini file writable

See also

Adding a color variation

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Changing your template's logo

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Selecting the default Joomla! template

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Editing the HTML template in the administration panel

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Editing CSS in the administration panel

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

2. Custom Joomla! Templates

Introduction

Installing a Joomla! template

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Checking referenced files exist

Reassigning content permissions

Installing via FTP

See also

Understanding Joomla! template positions

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

Does your URL already contain parameters?

There's more...

See also

Understanding jdoc statements

Getting ready

How to do it...

Component jdoc statements

Head jdoc statements

How it works...

There's more...

Installation jdoc statement

Message jdoc statement

jdoc statements and the style attribute

See also

Understanding the templateDetails.xml file

Getting ready

How to do it...

Author information

Positions

Parameters

Closing the XML file

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Styling for component.php

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Adding a custom favicon to your template

Getting ready...

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

If your favicon does not display...

See also

Styling Joomla! error messages

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Styling Joomla! error pages

Getting ready...

How to do it...

How it works…

There's more…

See also

3. Theming the Details

Introduction

Styling the search module

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Styling the search component

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Using template overrides in your Joomla! template

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Customizing the breadcrumb

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Styling pagination

Getting ready

How to do it...

Producing more semantic markup for pagination

How it works...

See also

Linking back to the top of your page

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Adding a random background image to your Joomla! template

Getting ready

Setting relevant permissions for installing the module

How to do it...

See also

4. Custom Page Templates

Introduction

Understanding Module Chrome in Joomla!

Getting ready

How to do it...

There's more...

See also

Customizing the error page in Joomla!

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Creating a custom site offline page

Getting ready

How to do it...

There's more...

See also

5. Styling Joomla! for Print

Introduction

Starting your print stylesheet

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Adding a print stylesheet to Joomla!

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Typography for your Joomla! print stylesheet

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Styling the layout of your Joomla! template for print

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Styling content for print

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Styling links for print

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Preventing common bugs in print style

Getting ready

How to do it...

See also

6. Joomla! Admin Templates

Introduction

Understanding Joomla! administrator templates

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Installing a Joomla! administrator template

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Changing the administrator template

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Changing the logo in an administrator template

Getting ready

How to do it...

See also

Changing the colors in the administration panel

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Securing the administrator URL

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Changing the icons on the Joomla! administrator dashboard

Getting ready

How to do it...

Joomla! administrator template icon graphics

How it works...

There's more...

See also

7. Social Media and Joomla!

Introduction

Integrating Twitter with Joomla!

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Integrating AddThis social bookmarking tool with your Joomla! template

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Embedding YouTube and other videos in your Joomla! website

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Configuring the DisQus Comments extension for Joomla!

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Integrating Facebook into your Joomla! website

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

8. Styling Joomla! for Mobiles

Introduction

Adding an iPhone icon

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Precomposed iPhone icon

Custom path for your iPhone icon

iPhone icon extension

See also

Designing stylesheets for mobile devices

Getting ready

How to do it...

Screen width

Limited support

There's more...

See also

Specifying a separate stylesheet for mobile browsers

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Creating a mobile stylesheet

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Hiding images that are too large for mobile screens

See also

Installing the MobileJoomla! extension

Getting ready

How to do it...

Configuring the MobileJoomla! component

How it works...

There's more...

Further options

See also

9. Joomla! and JavaScript

Introduction

Including a JavaScript file in your Joomla! template

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Tips and tricks for minimizing page load time when using JavaScript

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Moving

See also

Maximizing backward compatibility with JavaScript

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Providing Internet Explorer 6 with transparent PNG support in your Joomla! template

Getting ready

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Installing the jQuery JavaScript library in Joomla!

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

jQuery from Google—an alternative

See also

Creating an image slideshow with JavaScript in Joomla!

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

10. Miscellaneous Joomla! Templating

Introduction

Comparing your template across different browsers

Getting ready

BrowserCam

BrowserShots

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Validating your template's (X)HTML

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Validating your template's CSS

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Using conditional stylesheets in Joomla!

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Examples of conditional comments for versions of Internet Explorer

See also

Fixing the double-margin bug (in Internet Explorer) in Joomla!

Getting ready

How to do it...

Fixing the double-margin bug

How it works...

See also

Installing Google Analytics

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

Google Analytics module for Joomla!

See also

A. Joomla! Output Overrides

Introduction

Customizing Joomla!'s home page with module output override

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Customizing Joomla! articles with component template overrides

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

See also

Creating a new module style (chrome) in Joomla!

Getting ready

How to do it...

How it works...

There's more...

See also

Index

Joomla! 1.5 Templates Cookbook

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Joomla! 1.5 Templates Cookbook

Copyright © 2010 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.

Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

First published: July 2010

Production Reference: 1290610

Published by Packt Publishing Ltd. 32 Lincoln Road Olton Birmingham, B27 6PA, UK.

ISBN 978-1-849511-24-7

www.packtpub.com

Cover Image by Javier Barria (<[e-mail]>)

Credits

Author

Richard Carter

Reviewers

Jose Argudo Blanco

Ryan Bishop

Peter Martin

Oleg Nesterov

Acquisition Editor

Sarah Cullington

Development Editor

Swapna Verlekar

Technical Editor

Namita Sahni

Indexer

Hemangini Bari

Editorial Team Leader

Akshara Aware

Project Team Leader

Lata Basantani

Project Coordinator

Jovita Pinto

Proofreader

Aaron Nash

Production Coordinator

Aparna Bhagat

Cover Work

Aparna Bhagat

About the Author

Richard Carter started as a freelance web designer in Leicestershire, England. He founded his current business, Peacock Carter, in 2006. Currently, he is the senior frontend web developer and a managing director of Peacock Carter Ltd—a web design agency based in the North East of England with specialist knowledge in open source software for business and organizations