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Joomla User Manual

Manual Index

Adding a Module

Introduction

Modules are small extensions used for special purposes. Sometimes they are related to other content items. For example, a Menu module is required to display Menu Items used to navigate the Site. Sometimes they are not related to any other content at all. Module content is usually displayed in boxes above, beside or below the main page content. Also, modules may be displayed on some pages but not others and to some people but not others.

The Site Modules List

It is worth looking at the Modules (Site) list. Select Content → Site Modules from the Administrator menu. You will see the Breadcrumbs, Main Menu and Login Form modules listed. The column headings are:

  • Checkbox Select or Deselect all visible items in the list.
  • Order Symbol After selection, used to drag modules up or down to change their order in their assigned positions.
  • Status Published or Unpublished controls whether a module will be seen at all.
  • Title Select a Title link to edit the module.
  • Position This is the position defined in the template. The obvious positions are breadcrumbs and sidebar-right. There are many more.
  • Type The type of module is given because it may not be obvious from the Title.
  • Pages An indicator of the pages on which a module will be displayed. It may be All, On Selected Pages, All except Selected Pages or No Pages.
  • Access Public means everyone. But this may be restricted by User Group, for example Super User.
  • ID An identification number allocated by Joomla.

Add a New Module

A good module to practice with is the Custom module. It is used to display arbitrary content such as a message or announcement.

  • Select the New button in the Tool bar. This opens a list of available Site modules.
  • Select the Custom module. This opens the module in the Edit form.
  • Enter a Title, for example Announcement.
  • Enter the Module text, for example This site is closing for a software update at 20:00 on Friday.
  • Select a Position from the drop-down list. In this case it could be sidebar-right along with the other modules.
  • Set a Finish Publishing date. This is optional but an obvious thing to do to make the module disappear after the event announced has passed.
  • Save & Close Reload the Site and see the result. Is it in the order you want? If not:
    • In the Modules list select the Order Symbol in the column headings.
    • Hover on the grab handle symbol for the new module and then select and drag it up or down to the required position. Note that selecting a column head symbol toggles the order so select as required and drag as required.

If you want another Custom module with another message go ahead and create a New Custom module. You can have as many as you like with different titles.