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This guide will walk through each of the steps required to successfully install the jTips component and standard Dashlets. While this guide is written for Joomla! 1.5, it will be mostly similar for Joomla! 1.0. Graphics and step-by-step howto's will help you understand the installation process and how to configure various aspects of the system.
Firstly, we will look at how to install the main component using the Joomla! Extension Manager. This secion will describe navigating to various areas in your Joomla! Administrator area as well as uploading the component and troubleshooting common problems with installation. Secondly, we will see how to install the Dashlets to be used in conjunction with the main jTips component.
It is important to note that this guide is for jTips 2.1. Many of the steps outlined here will not be relevant to jTips 2.0 or below.
Unpacking jTips
jTips comes bundled with three standard dashlets. To get started, we will need to extract this bundle to get to each part.
- Locate the file you downloaded with your Download Key. The file is called 'jTips (Unzip First).zip'
- Open the file (double-click) then, in Windows, click on Extract All Files and follow the prompts to extract the files to a location of your choice. The Desktop is a handy location for now.
- You should now have the following files in the location you extracted to (Desktop):
- jTips Component.zip
- jTips Competition Ladder Dashlet (Unzip First).zip
- jTips My Tips Dashlet (Unzip First).zip
- jTips Team Ladder Dashlet (Unzip First).zip
- The three files with 'Unzip First' in the name will also need to be extract. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to extract the contents of each file.
If you are using Joomla! 1.5, you will need the following files handy:
- jTips Component.zip
- jTips Competition Ladder Dashlet (1.5).zip
- jTips My Tips Dashlet (1.5).zip
- jTips Team Ladder Dashlet (1.5).zip
If you are using Joomla! 1.0, you will need the following files handy:
- jTips Component.zip
- jTips Competition Ladder Dashlet (1.5).zip
- jTips My Tips Dashlet (1.5).zip
- jTips Team Ladder Dashlet (1.5).zip
Installing the Component
Now we will go through the process of getting the main part of jTips installed on your website.
 Log in to your Joomla! Administration area. This is found in the administration/ directory of your website. For example: http://www.mywebsite.com/administrator- In the main navigation menu, go to Extensions » Install/Uninstall. This will load Joomla!'s component manager.
- Click the 'Browse' button in the 'Upload Package File' section, then, locate the 'jTips Component.zip' file you have extracted.
- Click the 'Upload File & Install' buttonThis process can take up to a few minutes to complete. It is important you do not try to click any other links or buttons on the page after you have clicked 'Upload File & Install' button.
 The jTips Component will now be uploaded and installed. This will do a number of actions in the background. When it completed, you will be presented with the jTips installation confirmation page.
If you are using Joomla! 1.5!, congratulations! You have completed the first part of the installation. Now proceed to the next section on installing the Dashlets.
If you are using Joomla! 1.0!, proceed to step 7 below.
Installing the Dashlets
Now that the main jTips component is installed, we can install the bonus dashlets to add more functionality and features to the jTips Dashboard.
- In the Joomla! Administrator area, go to Extensions Install/Uninstall.
- Click the 'Browse' button and locate the jTips Competition Ladder Dashlet (1.5).zip file.
- Once, selected, click the 'Upload File & Install' button to upload and install the Dashlet.
- Joomla! will upload the dashlet and install it and present a confirmation page with a short description of the dashlet just installed.
- Repeat steps 1 to 4 to install the jTips My Tips Dashlet and jTips Team Ladder Dashlet.
The jTips Dashlets are now installed and ready to be configured.
Configuring the Dashlets
Each of the bonus dashlets will be configured separately. Firstly, go to Extensions » Module Manager. Then ensure you can see the jTips Dashlets in the list. The dashlets can mostly be configured in the same manner as any other Joomla! module, with an important exception regarding the module position.
Competition Ladder Dashlet
- Find the jTips Competition Ladder Dashlet in the modules list and click it to configure.
- Make sure you change the setting for 'Enabled' to Yes.
- In the 'Position' field, rather than selection an option using the dropdown menu, click your cursor in the text of the dropdown. Now, delete the text there and enter:
jTipsDash
This must be entered in exactly this way, with the capital T and D and make sure there are no spaces before, or after the entry.If the module position is set to a standard postition (anything other than 'jTipsDash', your website will display errors on the page).
- For 'Menu Assignement', you can leave this set to 'All' - the jTips Dashlets will only appear on the jTips Dashboard.
- In the Module Parameters section, there should be no need to set 'Load Mootools' to Yes. You should only change this option if you experience issues with this dashlet.
- Click the Save button to publish the jTips Competition Ladder Dashlet to the jTips Dashboard.
My Tips Dashlet
- Find the jTips My Tips Dashlet in the modules list and click it to configure.
- Make sure you change the setting for 'Enabled' to Yes.
- In the 'Position' field, rather than selection an option using the dropdown menu, click your cursor in the text of the dropdown. Now, delete the text there and enter:
jTipsDash
This must be entered in exactly this way, with the capital T and D and make sure there are no spaces before, or after the entry.
If you created the jTipsDash module position in the previous step (Configuring the Competition Ladder Dashlet), you will now find that the jTipsDash module position is available as an option in the dropdown list. You can now safely use the dropdown list to select this option.If the module position is set to a standard postition (anything other than 'jTipsDash', your website will display errors on the page).
- For 'Menu Assignement', you can leave this set to 'All' - the jTips Dashlets will only appear on the jTips Dashboard.
- In the Module Parameters section, there should be no need to set 'Load Mootools' to Yes. You should only change this option if you experience issues with this dashlet.
- Click the Save button to publish the jTips My Tips Dashlet to the jTips Dashboard.
Team Ladder Dashlet
- Find the jTips Team Dashlet in the modules list and click it to configure.
- Make sure you change the setting for 'Enabled' to Yes.
- In the 'Position' field, rather than selection an option using the dropdown menu, click your cursor in the text of the dropdown. Now, delete the text there and enter:
jTipsDash
This must be entered in exactly this way, with the capital T and D and make sure there are no spaces before, or after the entry.
If you created the jTipsDash module position in the previous step (Configuring the Competition Ladder Dashlet), you will now find that the jTipsDash module position is available as an option in the dropdown list. You can now safely use the dropdown list to select this option.If the module position is set to a standard postition (anything other than 'jTipsDash', your website will display errors on the page).
- For 'Menu Assignement', you can leave this set to 'All' - the jTips Dashlets will only appear on the jTips Dashboard.
- In the Module Parameters section, there should be no need to set 'Load Mootools' to Yes. You should only change this option if you experience issues with this dashlet.
- Setting 'Show Team Logos' to 'Yes' will display a small logo for each team in this dashlet. The image will only be displayed if one has been uploaded for the Team (from the Team Management section of the jTips Component).
- The 'Team Field' setting allows you to configure which value for each team that should be displayed. The list of teams in the dashlet will be order by the selected option here. Normally, this can be left as 'Points' to display the total accumulated points for each team.
- Click the Save button to publish the jTips Team Ladder Dashlet to the jTips Dashboard.
You have now configured each of the jTips Dashlets. Continue to the next section to learn how to prepare a menu item to link to parts of jTips.
Creating a Menu Item
With Joomla! 1.5, jTips allows you to create links to parts fo jTips for each season/competition you have setup.
 To begin creating a new menu item, go to Menus » Main Menu (or select another appropriate menu).
- You will then see the list of menu items that already exist for the menu you selected. Click the New button on the toolbar.
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 Select jTips from the list of available components. You will then be able to select which part of jTips you want this menu item to link it. The default option is the Dashboard - you should have at least this as a menu item. The Menu Layout and User Preferences Layout have both been marked as NOT USED - these options should not be selected.
 Configuring the menu item for jTips is easy. Simply select which season/competition this menu item corresponds to. This will ensure that only information relevant to that selected season/competition is displayed when a user clicks on this menu item link. Other menu item settings are standard and allow you to publish the link and also determine who should have access to the link.
- When you have fully configured the new menu item, click the Save button in the toolbar to save the settings.
You can repeat this process to create other jTips menu items to link to other parts of jTips or other competitions.
Congratulations!
You have successfully installed jTips! In this guide we have covered:
- Unpacking the jTips Package
- Uploading and Installing the main component
- Installing and setting up the three basic dashlets
- Creating a new menu item to link to jTips
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