Danny Nobbs, paralympic athlete and inspirational speaker. Latest Joomla version with integrated social network feeds and latest Twitter scrolls. 

Add an Article

New articles can be added using either the "Add Article" button or the Article Manager Screen in the Administrator back-end.
Log in to the Administrator back-end. Either:
Click on the "Add New Article" button in the main Control Panel to open the New Article screen or,
Click the Content → Article Manager → New Article menu item to go to the Article Manager. Then click the "New" toolbar button.

The New Article screen contains options for categorising and naming the article, editing content and selecting parameters.

• Enter a title in the Title field. This is used when the article title is displayed.
• Enter an alias in the Alias field. The alias is used to refer to the title and is important for the Search Engine Friendly Address features in Joomla!. If you do not enter anything, Joomla! will generate it for you.
• Select a Category using the drop down menus.
• Choose whether the article is published or not using the Published drop down menu.
• Choose whether the article will be displayed on the home page using the Featured drop down menu.
• Now enter your content using the editor in the New Article screen. You may also choose Parameters for the article. Click on each section to view the parameters and change the settings to suit your requirements.
• Click the Save toolbar button to save your article.

The "Save & Close" toolbar button will save your changes and return you to the Article Manager screen.
The "Save" button will save your changes but leave you in the Article Edit screen.
You should see a blue message: Successfully saved changes to Article: article_title.

Adding an image to an Article

Images are added to articles using the Editor Buttons below the content editor window in the Edit Article screen. Note: It is possible to insert images using the editor in Joomla!. However, this feature provides a simple way of inserting images stored in the images/stories directory of Joomla!
Open the Article for editing either by:
Click the Content > Article Manager menu item to go to the Article Manager, select the Article and click the "Edit" toolbar button.
Clicking the Add New Article button in the Control Panel.
(If logged in to the Front-end, you have appropriate permissions and are viewing the Article you wish to edit: Click the Edit toolbar button. Choose where you would like your image placed in the flow of the text by moving the cursor and click the Image editor button at the bottom of the screen)

• The Insert Image screen will open over the top of the Edit Article screen. Choose an image by clicking on it.
• You may also move directory by clicking on the folder icons.
• Use the drop down Directory field to quickly select a directory and click the Up button to go up a directory level.
• Set the image properties as required:
• Image Description: This becomes the alt attribute for the image, an important feature for accessibility and compliance with web standards.
• Image Title: Used for the optional caption and also becomes the title attribute in HTML.
• Align: Sets the image alignment. If left blank the align attribute is not set.
• Caption: Enables the caption which displays the Image Title below the image.
• Click the Insert button to insert the image. The Insert Image screen will close and the image will be displayed in the editor.
• Click the Cancel button to leave the Insert Image screen.
• Uploading images using the Insert Image screen
• You may also upload new images using the Upload section of the Insert Image screen.
• Click the Browse button to open a file browser.
• Select the image files you wish to upload. Click Open in the file browser to confirm the selection. Note: The file browser style and layout depends on the browser and operating system you are using.
• To remove selected files before uploading click the red icon next to the listed files.
• If you are uploading multiple files in batches you can clear the list of completed files by clicking the Clear Completed button.
• The selected file(s) appear as a list at the bottom of the Insert Image screen. Click Start Upload to begin uploading files.
• When the upload is complete a green tick will appear next to the file.
• You may now select and insert the uploaded image as before.
• Always save any changes.

Uploading images using the Media Manager

The simplest way to add images is to upload them from your computer using the Media Manager. First, of course, you have to download the image onto your computer and be able to find it. Then, from the Control Panel (back-end administrative interface) navigate to Content -> Media Manager. On the left is a directory tree, with the root directory "Media". This corresponds to the default "images" directory, yoursite/joomla/images. Pick a subdirectory where you want the image located, or else do nothing to upload the image to the default images directory.
At the bottom of the page is a typical Upload box. Click "Browse" to locate the image on your computer, then "Upload" to upload the file to the server.

Remember to save any changes to your items.

Inserting a link to another website into an Article

A link to another website (hyperlink) may be inserted in an Article as follows:
Open the Article for editing either by:
Click the Content > Article Manager menu item to go to the Article Manager, select the Article and click the Edit toolbar button.
Click the Add New Article button in the Control Panel.
(If logged in to the Front-end, you have appropriate permissions and are viewing the Article you wish to edit: Click the Edit toolbar button).

• Locate and highlight the text or image you want to use as the link.
• Click the Insert/edit link editor toolbar button. The Insert/edit link screen opens.
• There are 4 tabs in the Insert/edit link screen. The main parameters that should be are set are in the General tab.
• Link URL: The full URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the target website, e.g. http://www.battleva.co.uk
• Target: Defines how the link will open. This is used as the target attribute in HTML.
• Title: A name for the link. This is used as the title attribute in HTML and is necessary to ensure accessibility.
• Class: Choose a style class for the link if required. This is used as the class attribute in HTML.
• Click the Insert button to create the link. The Insert/edit link screen will close and the link will be displayed in the article text.
• Unless there are specific CSS styles in place the default style is underlined blue text.
• Clicking the Cancel button closes the screen without inserting a link.
• Always save any changes.

Delete an Article

Go to "Content" - "Article Manager" along tool bar.
Check the box next to the articles you want to delete.
Then click "Trash" button. If you want to make sure that the Article is completely gone from the system (so no further roll back is available), go to Content > Article Trash and delete it from there (this action is not accessible to users with Manager's privileges).

Create a Category

Go to "Content" – "Category Manager" - "Add New Category"
Enter Title and Description and image, if required.
Select any "Parent Category", if applicable and ensure "Published" is on yes.
Click "Save & Close" to save the entry.

"Akeeba Backup"

(If you have a monthly maintenance agreement with us, this will be done as part of the service so you do not need to do this).
It is important for security and your own peace of mind that regular backups of your website are taken and stored locally (off the web) in case of malware, system crashes or any other unforeseen circumstances. It is recommended to do a backup prior to any changes and at least monthly.

To take a backup:

• Go to "Components" (along top bar) and select "Akeeba Backup.
• Click on the button called "Backup Now". In the comment box write a description, such as "Tuesday Backup " or "Prechange Backup" or something along those lines.
• Click "Backup Now". DO NOT BROWSE AWAY FROM THIS PAGE WHILE BACKUP IS RUNNING.

If, during the backup, you get an "Ajax Error", just start the backup process again. This can be due to traffic on the web.
When the backup is complete, click on "Administer Backup Files", under "Manage and Download" on the right hand side against the backup you have just done click "Part 00". Click "OK" at the warning message, then "Save" the file to your local computer. This has now created a .jpa file on your computer which is a complete backup of your website. Copy file onto a CD/DVD for save storage.

JOOMLA GUIDANCE NOTES

K2 Items

ARTICLES are called "Items" and are found under "Components" – "K2" – "Items"
Go to "Components" tab, select "K2" – "Items". This lists all the articles currently in that section. To unpublish an item click on the green tick.
To add a new K2 article:

Click "New" (the yellow plus sign along the top bar).
Insert a title, select the category, then add a short description in the content section using the editor.

To add a main image to the item

(NB. All images must ideally be sized to 600 Pixels first otherwise they are too largeClick on "Image" above the editor . Under "Item Image" click "Browse" and locate the image on your computer. Select the chosen image. Click "Save" (top of page).

To add an image within the text box.

Locate cursor to where the image should be inserted. Click "Image" at the bottom of the text box. Scroll to the bottom of the popup. Next to "Upload file", click "Browse" and select the image. Then click "Start Upload". This inserts the image into the text area.
To save the item, click "Save and Close".

K2 - Add a Category
Select "Components" – "K2" – "Categories"
Click "New"
"Title" – put in the name
Select the "Parent category"
"Inherit parameter options..." – select "General"
Add an image (as per above)
Add a short description (if desired). Click "Save and close" .

K 2 - Add a Main Menu Item
Go to "Menus" along top bar
"Main Menu" – "Add new Menu Item"
Under "Type" select "K2 categories"
"Menu Title" – fill in name
"Menu location" – leave on "Main Menu"
"Parent item" – choose the desired position you want this item located
Click the blue "Advanced Options" tab – top of page under "Select categories" box, choose the category, e.g. "General".
Click "Save & Close" top of page.