User's Manual
Chapter 3: Joomla! Users
Joomla! 1.0.11 User Manual 30 Version 1.0.1.
OverviewoftheInstalledElementsofaJoomla!WebSite
Introduction
Now that you have your Joomla! installation up and running, a word about the different elements
that make up your web site.
Templates
The template and its associated files provide the visual ‘look and feel’ of your web site and are
maintained separately from the web site content. This is stored in a MySQL database.
A typical Joomla! installation comes with two templates pre-installed called madeyourweb and
rhuk_solaflare_ii.
Template files are located in the templates folder, in the root directory, and each template
typically consists of the following files:
Table 2: Template files
File Name Details
index.php
This file contains HTML, PHP and possibly JavaScript coding that provides
the framework for your web site’s design. In combination with the .css and
image files, it builds all the design and content placement elements of your
web site.
templateDetails.xml
This file is the authority to use the template and contains references to all
the files used, e.g. index.php, the css file etc.
template_thumbnail.png
This file is used in the Template Manager to provide, if switched on, a small
thumbnail representation of the web site design. There must be a
template_thumbnail.png file in the template’s root directory.
template_css.css
Located in the css folder, this Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) file contains
the code to handle the visual elements of the web site, e.g. font sizes,
colours, etc. There can be as many CSS files as you wish provided the
appropriate HTML reference is in the index.php file. For example,
<?php echo "<link rel=\"stylesheet\"
href=\"$GLOBALS[mosConfig_live_site]/
templates/$GLOBALS[cur_template]
/css/template_css.css\" type=\"text/css\"/>" ; ?>
Although this example has bee wrapped over four lines, there are no
spaces in this coding.
Image files
These files are located in the images folder and may be .gif, .jpg, or .png.
They provide the graphical elements of the web site design.
L Further Information: This manual does not cover template design in detail.