Installation: QuickStart

Installing the quickstart package is the easiest way to get up and running quickly. The quickstart package contains a copy of Joomla! and the sample content for this template.

• Locate and extract the Clarion_Quickstart.zip file on your computer.
• Upload the extracted files over to your webhost or local webserver directory
• In your browser, navigate to the directory where you have uploaded the quickstart files.
• You should be greeted by the default Joomla installer page.
• Proceed as per standard joomla installation - remember to install the sample data.

If you need assistance in any of the installation steps, you can consult the Joomla! help documentation. Below is a video tutorial of a standard Joomla 1.5 install, the quickstart package uses the same methods as illustrated in the video.

Installation: Standard

If you already have joomla installed and would like to install this template, then the standard install is quick and easy. Follow these steps to get this template installed on your existing website.

Before you start:

You will need a copy of Joomla running on your computer or web server. If you do not have joomla, get the latest copy of Joomla (Stable Version): (Download here & Installation Instructions here).

Requirements:

Download the following files if you do not already have them:

• T3 System Plugin (REQUIRED!): Joomla 1.5 Version | Joomla 1.7 / 2.5 version.
• JA Typo plugin (optional): Joomla 1.5 Version | Joomla 1.7 / 2.5 version
• JA Extension Manager (optional): Joomla 1.5 Version | Joomla 1.7 / 2.5 version
• The template you wish to install. e.g. Clarion_Template_Install.zip

Installation Procedure:

Once you've download the above extensions, you will need to install them on your copy of Joomla. For each of the above, follow the following steps to install:

• From the backend of your Joomla site (administration) click on Extensions -> Extension Manager from the top menu.
• Click the Browse button and select the extension package on your local machine.
• Click the Upload File & Install button.
• Wait for confirmation message indicating the installation was successful.

After installing the above, you will need to enable (publish) the T3 Framework & JA Typo Plugins.  This is found under Extensions -> Plugin Manager menu. To enable the plugin, select the checkbox next to each plugin and click the Enable button in the top right corner of the page.

Activate the Template

To activate your newly installed template, click on Extensions -> Template Manager.

Then select the template you wish to activate by clicking on the Radio button next to the template name and click on the Default button with yellow star.

Module Positions

There are over 20 module positions that one can assign modules to on this template. These are illustrated in the module block diagram below:

Layout Options

This template provides 6 layout options. You have the option of presenting your content or any particular page on your website in one of the configurable 3 column, 2 column or full width layout options. Assigning a layout to a profile is quick and easy.

Available Layouts:

3 Column Layouts:

Content-Left-Right	Left-Content-Right	Left-Right-Content

2 Column Layouts:

Left-Content	Content-Right

Content-Only

100% Content, No Sidebars

Assigning Layouts

To view or change the layouts, open up the template parameters page in the backend and click on the layout tab. This template has layouts suitable for both desktop and mobile device web browsers.

Managing Layouts:

Layouts can easily be applied to any profile and then be assigned to any page of your website. You can even duplicate (clone) or edit layouts directly from the backend without modifying the core template itself.

Menu Settings

Changing the appearance of the main menu can be done from the Menu Settings section under the Profile Tab of the template Parameters.

Under Menu Type, you can choose which menu to assign to the main navigation, e.g. Main Menu or Top Menu. (You can create and manage the menus from the menu manager).

The Menu System option is to allow you to choose and toggle between the supported menus:

• CSS Menu
• Mega Menu
• Dropline Menu

There are also additional animation parameters one can set to fine tune the menu animation.

Changing the Logo

To customize the site with your own logo, you can either opt for a grapical image logo or a text based logo.

Text Logo

For text based logos, select Logo type: text under the general settings section of the profile tab. You can also set a corresponding caption (tagline) to go with your logo. If you need to adjust the size of the text logo, then edit the template.css file and modify lines 28-29 as necessary to adjust the font size.

Image Logo

• To set an image logo, select Logo type: image under the general settings section of the profile tab.
• Upload your desired logo in png format to your template's images directory (this is under http://yourwebsite.com/templates/tr_clarion/images)
• In the template.css file, modify lines 18-24 as necessary. You will mostly need to adjust the logo filename (e.g. logo.png) height and width.

/* @group Header, Logo & Searchbar */
h1.logo, h1.logo a {
	height:70px; /* Logo height */
	width:200px; /* Logo width */
}
h1.logo a {
	background:url("../images/logo.png") no-repeat left center transparent;
}

Changing Color Themes

This template features 16 unique color styles, allowing you to select the right tone for your needs. You can instantly change the color theme of you website by assigning a color theme from the template parameters.

Color themes can be assigned to a profile by selecting the desired theme from the theme settings dropdown under the profile tab.

Once you have selected your desired color theme, remember to hit the Save button at the top of the page for your new settings to take effect.

Installing the Slideshow

This template supports many of the slideshow modules and components available in Joomla and has been tested with several popular ones. The demo site sports the DJ Image Slider, but one could use any popular slideshow module.

• Download and Install slider module of your choice (DJ Image Slider or any other slideshow extension from joomla extensions directory).
• Enable the module in either User1 - User5 if you wish to display the slider on a colored background.
• Enable the module in either User6 - User10 if you wish to display the slider on a clear background.
• Depending on your needs and your slider of choice, you may need to tweek some parameters within the sliders settings. The default slider shown on the demo homepage uses the default settings of the DJ Image Slider modoule.

Search Module Settings

The Search module requires it to be published in the Search Module Position. Additionally, the Search button as image value must be set to No for the search button to function normally. See the attachment below for a screenshot of the search module parameters for Joomla 1.5 and 2.5.

K2 Settings

If you intend to use the awesome K2 component, then we recommend you disable the default K2 styling under K2 component parameters. Whilst keeping this enabled will not affect the functionality of your website, it tends to load duplicate CSS files which may slow down your website. This template contains all the necessary styling for K2 to function as normal, so it is safe to switch off the default CSS styling.

T3 Overview & Features

T3 framework is the third generation template framework developed by JoomlArt for Joomla! 1.5 and above and brings a new file/folder structure, new features and lots of improvements.
So what exactly can this new T3 framework do? Essentially it does a big thing with small and innovative scripting.

The major features coming with the T3 Framework:

• Modular code makes the template light and fast but also powerful.
• An advanced navigation system upgraded by introducing the Megamenu, that improved the other menu systems by giving them additional class and menu item description or slogan line, but also upgraded the template functions by adding menu system override options.
• Multiple layout system - layouts are built with blocks having distinctive styling and module positions.
• Mobile Ready - made possible with device detection capabilities implemented into the framework to make your website compatible for mobile devices such as Blackberry, Android, Palm, Windows Mobile and also iPhone devices.
• Native RTL support powered by ingenious code to switch text-direction and template styling.

Visit the T3 Framework Wiki for more information on the T3 Framework or view this short video for a quick overview of features:

Contact Page Map

The map module used on the contact page is called JGMap. This is a free module and may be downloaded from the Kermode Bear Software site. This module is published in the user6 module position on the demo but can be published anywhere between user6 to user10. Refer to the screenshot below for the module settings as used in the demo:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

I get the following error on the site after installing the template:

Cause:
The JA T3 Plugin is not installed or not published. 

Solution:
Install and Publish the JA T3 Plugin. Follow the steps outlined in the installation procedure outlined above and ensure the T3 System plugin is installed and published.

How do I install Google Analytics / Adsense / Alexa / Bing codes on a T3 Template:

Solution:

The general procedure for installing any custom code/scripts is to place it in the index.php file - but this may be tricky for people new to the T3 Framework. Another (easier) method can be done from within Joomla administrator. You can easily add the analytics (or any other HTML / CSS / JavaScript code) via a new custom module in joomla. This can be done as follows:

1. In your Joomla admin, go to the module manager.
2. Click the "new" button in the top right corner.
3. Select the "custom" module
4. Paste your code in the text area in the new module*
5. You can Publish the module to the debug module position and ensure that is published on all pages of the site.

For this to work as intended, you need to switch off the WYSIWYG editor in the global configuration and in if you are using joomla 1.6 and above, you will need to switch off text filtering:

Switch off Editor: In the User Manager, select the username you are logged in with. In the right hand panel, change the Editor option for this user to None. (Alternate method: In the global configuration page, change the Default Editor option to Editor - None.)

Switch off Text Filtering (Joomla 1.6 and above): In the Article Manager, click the Options link on the top right. Select the Text Filters Tab. Change the Filter Type to No Filtering for your required user group (e.g Super Admin)