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To make sure your template is setup correctly, please make sure you read through the template guide thoroughly. We have made the template as customisable as possible and all our css is fully commented.
Before You Start:
Once you have successfully downloaded your template, you will need to extract the zip archive to your local computer, using a free archive utility like 7zip (PC) or MacZip (Mac),
extract the contents on the zip (named something along the lines of "ExtractMe-TemplateName.zip" onto your computer.
First of all, lets start by explaining whats included in your download and how we have structured the files.
In the main folder that you have just extracted to, you should have the following folders:
- Template (This includes the color template zip file that you would use to install only the template)
- Source Files (These are the Fireworks source files that we designed the template in. If you dont have a copy of Fireworks, you can always download a trial version from the Macromedia site here.)
Step 1.) Installing just the Template.
- Go to "Installers > Template Site"
- Browse for the template zip file in the Template folder.
- Click "Upload File and Install".
- Click "Continue..."
- In the Template Manager, select the new template's radio box and click on the "Default" button (top right).
The template will now be successfully installed, so you can proceed to Step Two to setup your modules...
Step 2.) Setting the module options.
We have setup the entire template to pretty much work "out the box", so there isn't much you need to do. Below is an image showing all the module positions:
- Top Showcase Setup:
- Option 1: Using the Random Image
In your modules administration, open up the random image module, set its position to User6 and its pages to all. Specify your image type (we use optimised jpg) and your image folder (from your site root: e.g. images/random).
Lastly specify your width and height of your images (idealy as on the demo site we use width 535px and height 180px) and add a suffix of "-showcase" to the random module. Remember to also make sure that the module is published. Please check the tips at the bottom of this guide for other options for this module...
- NB! Make sure that the option on line 14 - enable fpss is set to 0 in the index.php
- Option 2: Using the Frontpage Slide Show Component (from JoomlaWorks.gr).
Ideally, we would recommend using the awesome FPSS component / module from JoomlaWorks, as it brings that extra edge to the template (apart from the nice effects using MooFX, it is also 100% xhtml and css). Full setup instructions are provided when installing the module/component, but further information can be found on the JoomlaWorks.gr website.
- NB! Make sure that the option on line 14 - enable fpss is set to 1 in the index.php
Setting up the Component - Install the component as you would any other Joomla Component, then go to the components settings and play around with the different options. The only thing that needs to be set there is the width and height of the rotating header images. The template is optimised for 525px in width and 180px in height. The width is the only thing that really can't change without distorting the layout, but the height can be adjusted to suite your specific needs.
Setting up the Module - Same as above, install the module as normal. Once installed, you will see the really comprehensive notes explaining how to set everything up. The only thing that needs to be set in the modules options, is which FPSS template to use. We would recommend either the default one or the one that was specifically designed for this template (jj-rasper).
- Left Sidebar Menu
("left" module position)
To get your sidebar menu (mainmenu) displaying the same as on the demo site all you need to do is set the main menu module to a "flat list".
- Site Footer Menu
We are using the "Other Menu" module to act as the footer menu. All you need for this to work properly, is open the "Other Menu" module, set the module position to " footer". Also make sure it is set to flat list and has a suffix of "-footer".
- Syndicate Module (the RSS Button on the Frontpage of the template demo):
In your template images directory (siteroot/templates/jj-rasper/images) is an image called customrss.png. You need to copy this into your "M-images" folder (siteroot/images/M_images). Once you have done this, open up the syndicate module from the module administration page. First set the module position to " User5". Then set "show title" to No, set pages to only mainmenu / home (otherwise it overlaps the print, pdf and email icons in the top right hand side of the content area). Select the hide option for all feed types except RSS 2.0. Below this select the RSS2.0 image to our freshly copied image customrss.png.
- Frontpage Layout:
To achieve the frontpage layout, as on the templates demo, all we did was set the following options in the Main Menu's "home" link parameters.
The first option, "# Leading" is which how many content items you would like displayed at the top. In the demo, the content page "Howdy Pardner" is the leading page. Then the "# Intro" option is how many content items should display their "intro text". Lastly the "Columns" option defines how many columns should be used in the displaying the rest of the content items. We have set this to 3 to acheive the desired 3 column layout. The content items displayed on the frontpage are set in their own parameters. The ordering of the content items are set in the Front Page Manager.
- Inset Top and Bottom Modules ("inset" and "bottom" module positions):
We recommend using the newsflash module to suck in the contents for the Inset Top and Inset Bottom Modules. To use the "newsflash" module in more than one position, simply make a copy of it in the Joomla Modules Manager, rename to something appropriate and change the module position (in this case, either "inset" or "bottom".
- Removing the Clutter:
The last step is just to unpublish any modules that are published by default, so that the template retains its crisp clean design.
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