7 secret Joomla features everyone should try - JoomShaper

7 secret Joomla features everyone should try

12 February 2019
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6 min read
7 secret Joomla features everyone should try

What makes you most surprised about Joomla? To me, the extensive customization capability of Joomla is the most interesting thing in this powerful CMS. Every time I explore the inner settings of Joomla, I learn new things. Today I’ve accumulated 7 useful Joomla features that many of you might not be aware of. Let’s see what are these!

1. Login to backend and frontend at a time

A handy feature that I enjoy a lot, especially while publishing an article or page (from SP Page Builder) editing. Joomla’s default system doesn’t offer an article preview link on the backend. But authors can see the preview from the frontend archive for an unpublished article/page - given that, you need to be logged in on the frontend. To add an article, at first you need to login to the backend and then you need to login again on the frontend to see the preview! This is how the default Joomla article posting system designed.

But there is a secret feature in Joomla that saves you from logging in separately on the backend and frontend. Simply turn on the Shared Sessions feature. From now on, if you login to the backend, you will be automatically logged in to the frontend, and vice-versa.

How to enable?

Go to Joomla control panel > System > Global Configuration > System tab > Session Settings > Shared Sessions. Make it Yes, and save changes.

7 secret Joomla features everyone should try

2. Search article contents from backend

Joomla 3.9 came with a plethora of new features along with the most notable privacy tools. In the version 3.9x, you can search Joomla articles by inner contents on the backend article list interface. Previously, this search system used to consider the article title texts and URL by default. Now you can search by the articles’ inner texts as well.

How to use?

Go to Joomla admin control panel > Articles > Search. Use this format CONTENT: keyword and hit enter. Joomla will find that word and filter articles.

7 secret Joomla features everyone should try

3. Determine the uploadable file types

As you already know, an admin can customize a Joomla site to a great extent. Even, you can decide what file-types can be uploaded via Joomla media uploader. This will let you keep your server free from unwanted file-types that could be uploaded by the site users.

How to use?

To define the "Legal" file extensions (file types) that you/users can upload to your Joomla site, go to admin control panel > Media > Options (top right) > Legal Extensions (File Types) and Legal MIME Types. Set them accordingly.

7 secret Joomla features everyone should try

4. Rename phrases in admin area

Did you know that you can override/rename the phrases used in the Joomla admin area? This will help you give your admin control panel a more personalized and user-friendly look. Check the screenshot below. We'll change the marked item's name. 

7 secret Joomla features everyone should try

How to use?

Go to Joomla admin panel > Language(s) (under the Configuration section) > Overrides > New. There you can override a language constant to use your own custom text. To find the language constant for a given phrase, use the search section appears to the right side.

7 secret Joomla features everyone should try

See the example below. Here we’ve changed the SP Simple Portfolio extension’s name to “JoomShaper Simple Portfolio”.

7 secret Joomla features everyone should try

Don’t forget to clear the cache to get the result faster.

7 secret Joomla features everyone should try

5. Quick GDPR info

In the Joomla administrator area, in default view of the control panel, you can publish the Privacy Dashboard module. It shows information about privacy related requests that is a crucial part of GDPR compliance. Here you can see whether there is a data/privacy related request from a user of your site.

How to enable?

Go to Joomla admin panel > Modules (left side) > Administrator (from drop down).

7 secret Joomla features everyone should try

Click New, then select Privacy Dashboard, and choose "cpanel" module position for it.

7 secret Joomla features everyone should try

Save and close. Check the admin control panel. There is a new section displaying user request information.

7 secret Joomla features everyone should try

6. Show debug information to super-users only

When there is a bug, there is a debug system as well. You can see detail debug information about your site using Joomla’s extensive debug system. This will help you find errors in your website. By default, if you enable the Joomla debug system, it will show the “Joomla! Debug Console” (to the bottom) to everyone who visits the site. This is not good for a production site. So, you can tweak this default system to display the “Joomla! Debug Console” for the super-users only.

How to do it?

Go to Joomla admin control panel > Extensions (upper ribbon menu) > Plugins. Search for “debug”. You will get the System - Debug plugin. Click on it to open in editing mode. Set the Access option for Super Users (from the drop down menu). Save and close.

7 secret Joomla features everyone should try

Now your debug info will be displayed to logged-in super-users only. And yes, to enable the debug system, Go to Joomla admin panel > System > Global configuration > System tab. Set "Debug System" as yes.

7. Content versioning

With content versioning in Joomla, you can save your article modifications through the various versions to keep track of the changes that you and other authorised users perform. Utilizing this feature, you can compare the changes in an article, edit and delete the modified file. Simply, it’s a changelog/change-history for an article. The saved old versions of an article can be accessed using this functionality.

How to use?

This is enabled by default. But can be disabled by an admin. So it’s good to start by enabling the Versions feature from the backend. You’ll find it in the Articles section’s Editing Layout tab in the Global Configuration. Later, you can access these versions from the article’s editing interface.

7 secret Joomla features everyone should try

It’s an extensive feature. We have a detailed tutorial on how to use the content versioning feature in Joomla. Find it on this link.

That’s all for now. Did you try these interesting Joomla features before? Please let us know your experience as well. You can also share some other secret helpful stuff via comments. Stay with us for more useful resources. Thank you!

Arafat Bin Sultan

Arafat Bin Sultan

Arafat is a tech-enthusiast with a keen interest in space, photography, and video making.
J
Joy
5 years ago
https://www.joomshaper.com/joomla-extensions/cookieconsent can you please update this plugin with cookie blocker? Would be cool, to use this plugin.
Arafat Bin Sultan
Arafat Bin Sultan
5 years ago
Thanks Joy for the valuable feedback. This has been forwarded to our development team. Regards.
R
rjmorrison
5 years ago
Thank you, excellent!
Arafat Bin Sultan
Arafat Bin Sultan
5 years ago
Hi rjmorrison, thank you too for reading this article. Please stay tuned for more such useful stuff.
K
Kallle
5 years ago
Very fine!
But a Question about 5. Quick GDPR info:
[b]Where[/b] and [b]how[/b] does a user enter his request for his personal data so that it appears under "User requests"?
Arafat Bin Sultan
Arafat Bin Sultan
5 years ago
Thank you Kallle! Please visit this official [url="https://docs.joomla.org/J3.x:Information_Request_Workflow_in_Privacy_Component"]Joomla doc page[/url] to find the information request workflow. Hope it helps.
B
blueoceanyyc
5 years ago
Hi,

Question about Content Versioning. As shown on this article's screenshot - it is capable of using the PageBuilder Joomla article plugin.

Now to my knowledge, versioning only works on original Joomla content? Not on PageBuilder content using the SP PB Joomla article plugin correct?
Arafat Bin Sultan
Arafat Bin Sultan
5 years ago
You are correct for the current version. Thanks for the feedback :)
S
ssnobben
5 years ago
Good catch and hope it will be updated ;)
D
digitalmaster
5 years ago
Thoughtfully written and detailed, thanks.
Arafat Bin Sultan
Arafat Bin Sultan
5 years ago
Thank you makeitactive! Inspired :)
Jeffry Pyrax Sasela
Jeffry Pyrax Sasela
5 years ago
Good article but number 1 and 3 are very useful and important.
Arafat Bin Sultan
Arafat Bin Sultan
5 years ago
Thanks Jeffry for the comment. Happy to know that you found it useful. Stay with us for more resources. Have a nice time!
M
meto
5 years ago
Great article.
It would be great if you open the forum foll all users. I'm a mamber but my subscription has ended along time and I want to read forum topics.
Could you review this decision again and open the forum?

Thanks in advance!
Arafat Bin Sultan
Arafat Bin Sultan
5 years ago
Thanks meto for your feedback. This has been forwarded to our development team. Regards.

U
udi
5 years ago
Great and Useful article.

It is really valuable info.

Thank you
Udi

P.S
Could you please explain the J! GDPR system and how to implement it?
Arafat Bin Sultan
Arafat Bin Sultan
5 years ago
Thank you Udi for the appreciation. Hopefully you'll be benefited by this post. You can check [url="https://docs.joomla.org/J3.x:Privacy"]this official Joomla doc[/url] to get ideas on implementing GDPR in a Joomla site.

Regards.
J
Joy
5 years ago
It's really cool, but can you please plan to build "Easyblog" Blocks? So that we can use based on Categories, what the next 3 feed items should be displayed?

Quix supports that and i would rather use helix ultimate, because it's much easier. I think i'm sure not the only one, whou would like to get connectors to stackideas products, since the build templates based on helix ultimate.

Please make this real!
Paul Frankowski
Paul Frankowski
5 years ago
Hi, big thanks for the trust.
Do you mean integration with EasyBlog? Because EasyBlog has "text" blocks similar to our addons. Can you tell us more about your concept?
J
Joy
5 years ago
yeah how can i edit comments here. I can delete it.

Well you got integratations like K2 or Joomla Articles. Easyblog got reference to the SQL DB.

We got 30 authors who use the Easyblog Editor over K2 as example.

In the SPageBuilder Block i could choose between wanted listed categories. And the Block would display the Current or the next 3 items from the categoriey. Based on setting (Article Slider, latest items) as example.

So then could we use Easyblog and the PageBuilder would list our articles.
Arafat Bin Sultan
Arafat Bin Sultan
5 years ago
Hi Joy, I've edited it for you :)
J
Joy
5 years ago
cool nice :) please build also the Easyblog Block :P
N
noxpc
5 years ago
I was so thrilled while reading and knowing that joomlashaper has such an awesome features that I haven't tried yet.
I was a tech geek but not much into other platforms otherthan wordpress but now I am fell in love with Joomla, would like to launch my new sites and blogs on joomla for sure.
Nox PC
Arafat Bin Sultan
Arafat Bin Sultan
5 years ago
Good to know that you liked Joomla. Thanks!
Paul Frankowski
Paul Frankowski
5 years ago
We have Page Builder for WordPress as well. You can purchase both or only one of them. https://www.themeum.com/product/wp-pagebuilder/
S
ssnobben
5 years ago
Thats great you fell in love with Joomla and if you want to build something quick and smart one tips is Joomla free component builder ;) https://www.joomlacomponentbuilder.com/
SM
Sarazen Mark
5 years ago
# 1 is particularly useful. Thanks!
Arafat Bin Sultan
Arafat Bin Sultan
5 years ago
Thank you Sarazen for the comment. Really happy to know that you've found the post useful. :)
SN
Siam Naulak
5 years ago
Thank you for these useful tips...

Regarding "[b]4. Rename phrases in admin area[/b]", what will happen if we update Joomla version and/or that particular component (SP Simple Portfolio)? Will it change back to the original name? Or it will not be affected?
pepperstreet
pepperstreet
5 years ago
Language [b]overrides[/b] should be save on updates. They are stored in a separate .INI file
S
ssnobben
5 years ago
Yes one of the good and stong points of Joomla! :p
S
sergann
5 years ago
Thank you, excellent!

Arafat Bin Sultan
Arafat Bin Sultan
5 years ago
Happy to know that you found it useful. Thanks for you amazing feedback :)
D
david
4 years ago
thank you for this good article well written and detailed with really valuable information, it was very useful to me.
And it would be really cool if you opened the forum for all users without subscription.
Paul Frankowski
Paul Frankowski
4 years ago
For open & free access you can use Joomla Official Forum or asks on FB. Our forum is our support center, that's we have to "protect" it.

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