Joomla 3 has due out this week and has some great new features.
You probably already know about the most important feature: Joomla 3 will be the first major CMS to be completely mobile-friendly.
This week, we've found 8 of the smaller improvements that you might not notice at first, but that we think you'll find really useful.
The Key Points
Before we start, here's a reminder of the three key things you needs to know about Joomla 3:
- What is great about Joomla 3? Mobile. Joomla will be the first major, mobile CMS.
- Who is Joomla 3 for? Early adopters. You will be able to build sites with Joomla 3 as soon as it is launched. However, as with the first release of most software, there's no need to rush in and use the first version.
- I am on Joomla 2.5. What do I do? Stay right where you are. Joomla 2.5 is a wonderful version of Joomla and will be supported until 2014.
1: Sample Data Choices At Installation
Instead of a choice for sample data or no sample data, you can now choose different subsets of sample data. In addition to the actual data, there are some layout and module choices included in the samples.
The Blog sample data sets up the site automatically with a category called Blog and all the sample posts on the home page. If all you want to do is create a very simple blog, this is a great shortcut. It's easy to see how this could be expanded to allow template companies, extension developers and others to easily create great sample installs.
2: Common design features for the user interface
- The Save button is now highlighted and the whole set of action buttons has moved to the top-left rather than the top-right.
- Many settings have now been placed inside tabs.
- Yes / No buttons are color-coded with green and red.
- There's a left-hand side navigation on many screens.
3. Bulk Image Uploads
In Joomla 2.5 bulk uploads were possible via a Flash Uploader, but it didn't work for a lot of people. And besides, Flash is on it's way out.
Joomla 3 has a bulk image upload feature that works great and works by default:
4: The Disappearance of Pop-up Windows
OK, it's hard to take a screenshot of something that isn't there, but the Options button is a good example. There are many fewer pop-up windows in Joomla 3 than in previous versions.
Many options have been moved to tabs or can now be accessed via the left-hand side menus.
The disappearance of pop-up windows undoubtedly helps with making Joomla more mobile-friendly.
5: Unified Component Options
We mentioned that pop-up window for options had disappeared. What happens instead?
You now get sent to one single, unified options area for all your components. This makes setting up your site, and particularly permissions, much easier.
6: Drag and Drop
Re-ordering lists in Joomla has always been cumbersome. Now you can re-order items with drag and drop.
- Click the Order icon at the top of pages such as the Article Manager.
- You'll now see icons at the beginning of each row.
- Mouse over the icons to get the drag symbol.
- You can drag the item to any position on the line that you want.
7: Article Editing
- Using tabs for additional options allows more room for the article editor.
- No more cramped edit window.
- Image options are easier to read and more convenient.
8. Context Menus
Context menus have been added to lists for quick editing and configuration. You can modify items in lists via options that are directly next to them. No more wandering off to other parts of the screen to find a button.
