Installation Manual

Posting a New Topic (or when joining an existing thread with the same issues)
Once you have looked for similar responses in the appropriate Fora and you decide you do need to start a
new Topic, please be sure to include:
A Descriptive Title - please do not just say "Help Needed", "Joomla! won't work", "It's Broken"...well you get
the picture, many people will in fact just ignore those type of topic!
To start with make a brief note of what the specific issue is that you are experiencing, then:
• 1. What version of Joomla! you are using, including the SVN number or the date of the Nightly build
used where appropriate.
• 2. What version of PHP, MySQL, Apache (or other server) you are using?
• 3. What the operating system is. The information for 2 and 3 can be obtained from the Help Menu-
>System Info->System InfoTab.
• 4. Whether your installation is on a shared or dedicated remote host, or is on your local computer
(localhost).
• 5. Detailed description of the steps to reproduce the issue, and an explanation of what you have
done so far to try and resolve it.
• 6. Include screen shots of the relevant issue where possible (a picture is better than a thousand
words) click the Additional Options link beneath the editor window to add upto four images each no
more than 100KB in size (so crop and scale this as much as possible) You can also upload a
zipped/text file that may contain more relevant details to deal with the issue.
• 7. Sit back and wait for an answer (hopefully).
Some General Do's and Don'ts
• 1. Do not bump your message as this is against the Forum Rules and the post will be deleted. Do it
too often and you could find your account suspended or banned (in worst case scenario). Joomla! is
a world wide project and there is the issue of Time Zones as well as people's real lives that they have
to deal with first before getting to the forums.
• 2. Do not post the same Topic in multiple forums knownas cross-posting, or
• 3. Do not tack it on the end of someone elses (sort of) related issue - known as hijacking.
• 4. Do, by all means, add to the same thread if it is related to the same issue and you are not adding
to a thread that has been untouched for a couple of months or more. It is better to start a new topic in
this instance.
• 5. If adding to a thread be more descriptive than just saying "same with me" or "Me too!" or any other
such comment. Add to the thread constructively; post your details as above. The more information
those answering your question have, the less they have to ask for, and the likelihood is your question
will be answered more quickly than them having to ask the same question repeatedly in the thread.
Additional Information to consider including
Ensure you include Third Party Developer Extension version numbers where appropriate.
• 1. If you have a template question or a queastion related to the core code, please reference the
problematic section in *code* tags.
• 2. If your site is displaying any errors please copy and paste them, and note any recent changes you
have made to your Joomla! install.
• 3. A URL to your Website so other users can view your problem--and detailed instructions to
duplicate the issue.(Do not post your passwords/username on the Forums!)
• 4. Any relevant information that you think might be of assistance to others trying to answer your
questions.
The Joomla! User Documentation Team 43 The Joomla! v1.5 Installation Manual