Cory Webb's How to Joomla!

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.

I just read about the Joomla! CSS Guide over at Joomla.org. It is a new website that spells out all of the CSS classes and id's used in the core Joomla! HTML output. This is a great resource for template designers. Check it out.

Here's a useful little trick if you want to try out and debug a new template on your site while your visitors still see the live template. Simply add "index.php?jos_change_template=new_template_name" to your domain name.

Examples:

• Click here to view HowToJoomla with the SolarFlare template.
• Click here to go back to the HowToJoomla template.
• Click here to view Joomla.org with the SolarFlare template.
• Click here to go back to the Joomla.org template.

I recently worked on a project in which I needed to display the page's title outside of the bounds of the "mosMainBody" command in my template. Before this project, I never even thought about doing that, much less how to do it. Well, I'm happy to report that not only did I figure out how to do it, but I am going to pass it on to you. Here's how you do it.

You've installed Joomla!, installed all of the components, modules, and mambots you need, and you've created your content and menus. Now you want to create a custom look for your Joomla! site, but you don't know how to create a template. This article will step through the creation of a very basic template in Joomla! Hopefully, by the end of this article, you will have a basic understanding of what goes into a Joomla! template. (Note: This information only applies to Joomla! 1.0.X. It does not apply to version 1.5.)

At the Joomla! help site, there is a great article explaining the various functions to be used in a Joomla! template. It gives an explanation of the parameters involved in the mosLoadModules function, which often cause confusion for new template developers. You can either read that article, or if you don't feel like leaving this page, you can continue reading this article, which will explain the same concepts.

When you create a menu with the Joomla! menu manager, a corresponding menu module is automatically created. In the resulting menu module, you will have 3 options for how to display your menu with the "menu style" parameter. The 3 choices offered are vertical, horizontal, and flat list. In this list, there are 2 ways to create a horizontal menu: the right way, and the not-so-right way. In this article, I will explain both ways, and try to persuade you that the right way is the right way. I'll start with the not-so-right way.

Here is a trick for making your module positions viewable only by unregistered visitors.

There are some powerful programming objects in the Joomla! API that are available to template designers. One such object is the user object, which is accessible with the php variable $my.