This month we took a look at some ways that you can customise Joomla without hacking the core files.

1. How to customise Joomla
Sydney Joomla User Group
Presented by Tim Plummer

2. Why would you want to customise
• Don’t want all websites to look the same
• Everyone has different requirements
• Out of the box solution doesn’t quite do what
you need it to

3. Challenges you face
• Having to reapply changes (if you hack core
code)
• Keeping track of all the customisations
• Conflicting code

4. Why Joomla is easy to customise
• MVC coding (model – view – controller)
– Separation of view (what you see) to data (model
talks to database)
• Open source and licensed under GPL
– Access to all unencrypted source files
– GPL allows you to make whatever changes you
need
• Ability to override almost everything

5. Ways to customise
• Apply different template
• Template overrides
• Alternative Layouts
• Language overrides
• Media overrides
• Plugins

6. Site template
• Can completely change look and feel by
changing template
• Install third party template or create your own
• Different templates can apply to different
pages of your site

7. Same content, different template

8. Custom CSS
Some site templates have custom CSS option
where you can put your styles
Others have a custom.css or user.css file which is
not overwritten during updates (you may need
to manually create this)

9. Template overrides
• Allows you to change output of extension
– Adjust output formatting/style
– Remove unwanted functionality
– Add your own new functionality
• Can create template overrides for components
and modules

10. Example of module override
• If you wanted to remove the “forgot your
username” on login module

11. How to create override
Extensions->templates->Templates
Select your template

12. How to create override
Select “Create
Overrides”
tab, and
choose what
to override

13. How to create override
Expand HTML folder,
choose extension you are
overriding, and edit the
default.php file

14. How to create override
Remove the text/code you don’t need

15. How to create override
Now your change has taken effect

16. Things to be aware of
• Overridden files will never be updated, so if
new feature is added to component/module
then you may not be benefit from changes
• Overrides are stored in your template, so if
you change template you will also need to
reapply overrides

17. Alternative Layouts
• Apply different output formatting to same
content
• Similar to template override, but file has
different name
• The only rule is that the file name should not
have any underscores in it

18. Alternative Layouts

19. How to create alternative layout
Start with a template override

20. How to create alternative layout
• Rename the override file

21. How to create alternative layout
• Customise the layout file as needed
• Apply new alternative layout to content

22. How to create alternative layout
Example of how you could implement 2 column
layout
Change to

23. Same content, different layout

24. Language Overrides
Change any text in Joomla
Site = front end
Administrator = back end

25. Why override language string?
• Allows you to customise any text in Joomla
core or third party extensions
• Text changes will not be affected by upgrades

26. How to create language override
• For example, if you want to change “forgot
your password?” on the login form

27. How to create language override
Search for text, and select language string

28. How to create language override
Change the text, then save and close

29. How to create language override
Text has now changed

30. Media Overrides
• Any third party extension build with Akeeba
Framework On Framework (FOF) will
automatically support media overrides
• Like template overrides, but for CSS, JS and
image files

31. How to create media override
You can override FOF media files by copying
from /media/component_name/css/yourfile.css
to /templates/yourtempalte/component_name/css/yourfile.css
For example:
/media/com_bfsurvey/css/theme_blue.css
/templates/protostar/media/com_bfsurvey/css/theme_blue.css
Note you may need to created media folder in your template.

32. How to create media override
Same form with different CSS due to media override

33. Plugins
• Plugins can allow you to customise Joomla
– Transforming data (eg. Phone number to click to
call link)
– Add extra fields (user profile plugin)
– Override core functions (system plugin that loads
before core funtion)
• Can be triggered by events (such as
contentprepare), or can run all the time
(system plugins)

34. Example of user profile plugin

35. Questions?

36. Tim Plummer
www.tamlynsoftware.com
@bfsurvey