PHP

• 10 GOOD reasons to choose Joomla over WordPress for your next website.

• A fool- and SEF-proof link to homepage with core Joomla multilanguage

  What? Is not that simple as place a <href="index.php">Home</a> and you're done?

  Yes and no... The Joomla routing engine is smart enough, to redirect all such above links to the default menu item in most cases. But using the core multi-language engine in Joomla 1.7+ has created a little-bit different situation. Let me explain!

• A hidden gem - the Modal script shipped with Joomla

  Sometimes you are looking hard elsewhere to find an useful, much needed extensions, just to find out, that the tool is already in your toolbox. This is the case with the modal script shipped with Joomla, which is a great tool (even with the known limitations) to add a basic lightbox function to your site without needing anything else, but a few lines of code.
  Here are few examples of what you can do with!

• Add caching to your modules

  In several previous tips(like Turn caching on!, Caching reloaded, Give a boost to your Joomla site and couple of others) I urged you to turn caching on wherever is appropriate. Recently one of my readers had criticized me, because he tried to follow the tip, but on several modules he used simply he didn't found the option to turn cache on (or off) in module settings.

  Indeed, this might be a problem, since some modules does not have this option! this little detail don't need to stop you to do so!

• Adding a new Joomla Super Administrator via phpMyAdmin

  Sometimes the Joomla site owners get a bit paranoic after a time, due to lot of hype about site security. Basically is nothing wrong with, a good site security is based on keeping your accounts secure. But what about when you are hired to do something in a Joomla site and you got ALL access (including FTP and database access) but you discover, that the Joomla account you received is only an Administrator. You can do a lot as an Administrator - but often not enough! Don't tell me, that this never happened to you - unless you are a Joomla rookie. What you can do?

• Adding spatial navigation and tabindex to your custom forms

  Having correctly implemented spatial navigation in your custom forms is more important, than ever these days. Unfortunately Joomla's core JForm does not support adding the required info easily (for example by creating an XML file which will output the correct code.

• Baba Yaga

  Baba Yaga is an entity that haunts the dreams of children and a common threat that parents use when their children misbehave in Slavic countries across Eastern Europe.

  But in the world of malware, BabaYaga is a form of malware that can update itself, use antivirus functionality and more. Much like the mythical creature, BabaYaga malware has the potential to haunt Joomla/WordPress or, in fact any PHP site administrators and IT support staff.

• Blank page when accessing Joom!Fish

  It's weird and scary - in a perfectly functioning Joomla site I installed one of my favourite components, Joom!Fish - remember, I'm the multilang guy - and all I got was a blank screen. Obviously, something gone south... but what?

• Bypass the VirtueMart's built in currency converter

  Recently one of my clients needed an interesting feature: to have different, un-related prices for the products in his shop for each "currencies" he wanted to use. The quote signs aren't by mistake there, one of his "currencies" was for example Payments in USD from China... Interesting currency, what you think?

  At the first the problem seemed to be simple: since the existing VM framework let you define any kind of extra currencies, and also let you enter prices for products in all of your currencies, the logical step was to simply switch off the currency converter plugin, as was possible in VirtueMart 1.1.9 and earlier versions.

  But there is the first catch - this is no more possible.

• Can't log in with admin, no error messages

  This error comes back time-to-time, especially after a Joomla site is moved from one server to another. The symptoms are simple - but frightening. You try to login to the administrator interface as usual, with your well known credentials, and the login box is reloading whitouth any kind of error message and withouth letting you in. No errors in browser console, no error in the logs, and no errors even if you turn the error reporting to maximum or the Joomla debug on. You can try even the tricks described elsewhere in this site to change your admin password - that won't help.

  Why? Because the cause(s) - yeah, there can be multiple causes - are different from having bad credentials! Let's see what you can do about!

  ATTENTION: these tricks are qualified as core hacks, so be careful: backup, wear your lucky hat, keep your finger crossed - and take any other security measures before you proceed - you can ruin your site easily with a wrong move.