How to Correctly Duplicate a Joomla Template

joomla-duplicate-templateOne of the mistakes I see often by new Joomla users is modifying a core Joomla template and using it directly.

The problems occur when updating Joomla and all their changes are lost in the process.

The solution is to create a copy of the template and modify the copy instead. This will preserve your changes when you update Joomla.

Read more: How to Correctly Duplicate a Joomla Template

OSShow - a Simple Joomla Slideshow Module

OSShow LogoThis week, we have another nice little extension for you: OSShow.

OSShow is a lightweight slideshow module.

The OSShow Module will scan a folder on the server and flip through all the images. Using the Weblinks component, you can also add a name, description and URL for each of the images.

We made the slideshow easy so you can focus on managing your content instead of configuring it.

Read more: OSShow - a Simple Joomla Slideshow Module

Import HTML Sites into Joomla with HTML2Articles

html2articles logoOne of our OSTraining members had a very old HTML site.

They wanted to import that old site into Joomla and were wondering how to do it.

HTML2Articles is a very good solution for this. It will take your old HTML files and import them as Joomla articles.

Here's how HTML2Articles works:

Read more: Import HTML Sites into Joomla with HTML2Articles

A Beginner Guide to Joomla CCK's

joomla-cckThe acronym "CCK" comes from Drupal and stands for "Content Construction Kit".

A CCK allows you to expand the information you add to your site, beyond simply a title and body field.

In this presentation, Jon Neubauer introduces you to all of the popular Joomla CCK solutions. Jon looks at K2, ZOO and Seblod.

If your website has complex content requirements, you'll want to watch Jon's talk:

Read more: A Beginner Guide to Joomla CCK's

Joomla Website Security by Tony Perez

joomla-security-perezSucuri is one of the biggest names in website security, keeping many thousands of Joomla and WordPress sites safe.

Tony Perez is the co-founder and CEO of Sucuri. He gave this talk on Joomla security at Joomla Day Atlanta.

Tony starts by explaining that between 85% and 90% of hosting companies are infected at some point. Tony talks about all the different ways that a website and server can be compromised.

Read more: Joomla Website Security by Tony Perez

OSPositions - Always Show Joomla Module Positions

OSPositionsOSPositions is a simple Joomla plugin that keeps adding tp=1 in your URL so you can view your template's module positions on all pages.

Now you can navigate through your site and see where your module positions are.

This is a dream come true for people building sites that use many modules.

Here's how to use OSPositions ...

Read more: OSPositions - Always Show Joomla Module Positions

OSUrl - Find the Real URL of a Joomla Page

OSURL

Joomla, along with all dynamic websites, has at least two version of each URL.

There is the Search-Engine Friendly (SEF) version which contain keywords that are useful and easy to remember. There are also the "original" version of the URL that is longer and harder to remember.

However, sometimes developers and site-builder do need to know the original URL. We've just released a module called OSurl that will help you to do just that. 

OSURL will display the original Joomla URL for any page you visit.

Read more: OSUrl - Find the Real URL of a Joomla Page

Joomla in the Enterprise with Sears

joomla and searsCory Webb used to run a Joomla design shop, but since last year he's been working for Sears.

His role at Sears is to manage an internal Joomla website for over 1000 Sears associates.

In this video, Cory talks about the server architecture, workflows and user authentication methods used to power this Joomla site.

Some of the tools he talks about include Jenkins CI server, GitHub, JomSocial, Easyblog, and AcyMailing. Cory discusses how a lot of these tools can be used in non-enterprise websites.

Read more: Joomla in the Enterprise with Sears

A Joomla Core Developer Introduces You to Joomla 3.3

joomla 3.3Over the next few weeks we're going to be publishing videos of some great presentations from Joomla Day Atlanta.

The event featured some really excellent Joomla and PHP presentations.

This week we showcase Michael Babker from the Joomla core team. His presentation was called "Looking at Joomla! 3.3" and he talks about what's new in the latest version of Joomla.

Micheal makes a major announcement at the 14 minute mark, so be sure not to miss that.

Read more: A Joomla Core Developer Introduces You to Joomla 3.3

Display Tweets in Joomla with SP Tweets

X / TwitterWe often get questions from OSTraining members wondering how to show tweets on their site.

X / Twitter doesn't make it particularly easy to do this. Certainly there are no YouTube-style embed codes for multiple tweets.

For Joomla sites, we recommend the SP Tweet extension to make the process easier.

In this tutorial, we'll show you how use SP Tweet to automatically display your tweets inside a module.

Read more: Display Tweets in Joomla with SP Tweets