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Manual Index

Modules

Description

Modules are lightweight and flexible extensions used to render snippets of information in boxes arranged around a component on a page. A well-known example is the Login module. Modules are assigned per menu item, so you can decide to show or hide a module depending on which page the user is currently viewing.

Some modules are linked to components. For example, the Latest News module links to the content component to display links to the newest articles. Modules do not need to be linked to components. They don't even need to be linked to anything and can be just static HTML or text.

There can be multiple instances of the same module. For example, you may use one instance of the Random Image module for some pages and another instance for other pages, each using a different image folder to select images from.

The Modules (Site) and Modules (Administrator) lists show the currently installed modules in each interface and provide access to add new modules or edit existing modules.

Common Elements

Some elements of this page are covered in separate Help articles:

To see lists of installed modules and available modules select one of the following:

How to access

  • Select Content → Site Modules from the Administrator menu. Or...
  • Select Content → Administrator Modules from the Administrator menu.

List Filters

  • Site or Administrator Selects either Site or Administrator modules.

Column Headers

This is a short list of the headings unique to modules lists.

  • Position The position on the page where this module is displayed.
  • Type The system name of the Module.
  • Pages The Menu Items where this Module will be displayed. This item is not present in Administrator module lists.
    • All Displayed on all pages
    • None Displayed on no pages
    • Selected Displayed only on the pages selected
    • All except selected Displayed on all pages except those selected
  • Access The viewing Access level for this module.
  • Language Modules language, default is All. This item is not present in Administrator module lists.

Module Positions

To view module positions in a live site go to System  → Templates and select the Options button in the Toolbar. Set Preview Module Positions to enabled and Save. This setting is good for both site and administrator templates. Then add ?tp=1 to the end of a url that does not already contain a query string or &tp=1 to the end of a url that does already contain a query string. The page will show all available module positions, even those to which no modules have been assigned. Positions are shown also in the Module edit form.

Tips

  • Joomla websites require at least one Menu module.
  • Other Module Types (for example Banners) are optional.
  • Some Modules are linked to components. For example, each Menu Module is related to one Menu.
  • Other Modules (for example Breadcrumbs) do not depend on any other content.
  • Multiple occurrences of a Module are allowed and common.