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System Information

Description

The System Information page provides information about the host server environment. There are five different tab panels: System Information, PHP Settings, Configuration File, Folder Permissions, and PHP Information. Each panel provides detailed information about that aspect of the site. It is helpful when troubleshooting setup problems.

  • Note that none of these settings can be changed from these panels. This must be done in different locations throughout the Joomla! installation, depending on the specific setting.
  • Some settings can be changed from the Global Configuration page. Others depend on the host server configuration and cannot be changed from inside Joomla!.

Common Elements

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

How to access

  • Select System → Information Panel → System Information from the Administrator menu.

Screenshot

home dashboard

Form Tabs

System Information Tab

  • PHP Built on Provides details of the principle operating system which the webserver that Joomla is running on.
  • Database Type Provides the type of the database being used by the installation of Joomla.
  • Database Version Provides the current version of the MySQL database being used by the installation of Joomla.
  • Database Collation How the MySQL database is structured for the information used by Joomla!.
  • Database Connection Collation The character set and collation of the database.
  • PHP Version Provides the current version of PHP server side script that is being used for this installation of Joomla.
  • Web Server Provides the current type and version of webserver which the installation of Joomla! is running on.
  • Web Server to PHP Interface The script that permits interaction between the web server (in most cases, Apache) and the PHP scripting language.
  • Joomla! Version Provides the current version of Joomla!. It is recommended that it is always up-to-date and using the current stable release.
  • User AgentThe summary of the current user's local machine's operating system and browser information which is used to create an unique session ID for access and functionality within the Joomla! website.

PHP Settings Tab

home dashboard

This screen shows PHP Settings information. If any of these is highlighted as incorrect they should be corrected.

  • Safe Mode Recommended setting: OFF
  • Open basedir Recommended setting: Site dependent
  • Display Errors Recommended setting: OFF
  • Short Open Tags Recommended setting: ON
  • File Uploads Recommended setting: ON
  • Magic Quotes Recommended setting: OFF
  • Register Globals Recommended setting: OFF
  • Output Buffering Recommended setting: OFF
  • Session Save Path Recommended setting: Site dependent
  • Session Auto Start Recommended setting: 0
  • XML Enabled Recommended setting: YES
  • Zlib Enabled Recommended setting: YES
  • Native ZIP Enabled Recommended setting: YES
  • Disabled Functions Recommended setting: Site dependent
  • Multibyte String (mbstring) Enabled Recommended setting: YES
  • Iconv Available Recommended setting: YES
  • Maximum Input Variables Recommended setting: 2500

Configuration File Tab

home dashboard

This tab shows the contents of the current Joomla! configuration.php file which is stored in the path-to-joomla-root directory. This file is created for you automatically when you first install Joomla! and where most changes of the Global Configuration section of Joomla! are recorded. Please note that none of the settings can be changed from this page. Use Global Configuration to see more information about these settings and to make changes.

Folder Permissions Tab

home dashboard

This tab shows a list of the directories that the web server should have write access to. Please note that all directories listed on this page should say Writable. If not, you may need to change the permissions to be able to install and use Joomla! successfully. The configuration.php file is included and shown as Unwritable.

PHP Information Tab

home dashboard

This tab displays the configuration settings of the PHP server side scripting language that Joomla! uses, together with all of the associated system information that goes towards the creation of the web server. It is the output of an integrated php.info script built into Joomla!.

PHP is installed, and runs on the server (hence the server side above), and therefore all the settings are made on the server. The visitor to the web site does not need to have anything special running on their local machine in order to view or use any of the extra functionality that PHP gives to the web site.

All the settings that are ever likely to be needed are displayed here. Any changes that are required would be made within the php.ini and other configuration files on the web server.

How much control a web site owner has over this information depends on whether they own the server or if the server host is flexible in their customer approach.

It is a good practice to know the limitations of a particular server installation. This screens output is used to find detailed information about how PHP is implemented on the server.

For full details on the information contained within the PHP Info tab visit: http://php.net/phpinfo.

Tips

  • If you are having problems installing extensions, uploading files, or changing configuration options, check the Directory Permissions tab to make sure you have permission to write to files on your web server. The Status of the directories should be Writable. If not, you may be unable to upload or edit files in these directories.
  • When you are seeking help with setup problems, for example in a Joomla! web forum, it is very helpful to post specific information about your Joomla! installation. This page is an easy way to find all of this information in one place. Better still - use the Forum Post Assistant documented at the top of individual Joomla Forum pages, such as the General Questions forum.