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Populus Custom Modules

Learn all about the exciting new RocketTheme exclusive modules that are included in the Populus template release. Here you can find instructions for installation and configuration for each of the custom modules.

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Step One: Installing the Module

  • Download the populus_extensions.zip archive from the Populus download section of the RocketTheme Joomla! Club. Unzip the archive, inside you will find individual zip files for each of the modules.
  • Login in to your administrator console on your Joomla! website and navigate to the Installers menu item, and select Modules from the dropdown menu.
  • In the Upload Package File section, click the Choose File button and select one of the mod_modulename.zip that was inside of the zip file you downloaded earlier. Next click the Upload File & Install button to install the module.

Step Two: Publishing the Module

  • Now the module is installed it must be published in the appropriate module position and configured to suit our needs. From the top menu, select Modules then Site Modules.
  • This will take you to the Site Module Manager which allows you to configure the placement and configuration of all modules in your Joomla! website.
  • Locate the module from the list. Remember there could be a few pages. Once you have found it, you can publish in 2 ways: The first is selecting the cross next to the tile or clicking the title then set Publish to Yes followed by a Save.

Integrated RokSlide Tabbed Modules

For Populus; we have integrated RokSlide into the core of the template so you have the RokSlide functionality in terms of tabs with stylish transitional effects with the modular layout of the template.

RokSlide by default has 5 tabs available. Each tab has a module position ranging from User7 to User11, respective to the individual tab. Therefore, you have a single modular position per tab but you have the option of applying multiple modules to a single position. For example, you can assign 3 modules to the User7 position and they will appear in a horizontal layout in Tab 1.

Configuration

Configuration of the integrated RokSlide itself is primarily controlled in the index.php with the other template configurations. Below is a snippet related to the integrated rokslide:-
// module slider configuration

$modules_list  = array(array("title"=>"Group 1 Stuff", "module"=>"user7"),

		 array("title"=>"Group 2 Panel", "module"=>"user8"),

		 array("title"=>"Group 3 Collection", "module"=>"user9"),

		 array("title"=>"Group 4 Assortment", "module"=>"user10"),

		 array("title"=>"Group 5 Items", "module"=>"user11"));

$module_slider_height = 200;   // height in px

$max_mods_per_row     = 3;     // maximum number of modules per row 
                                 (adjust the height if this wraps)

With the setting $module_list, you can control the aspects of the integrated rokslide feature to a great extent. You can control the tab title and also the module position which appears in each of the tabs.

In the code snippet, we have 5 lines, each line controls a single tab. Each line is segregated into 2 distinct parts. These are "title"=>"Tab Title", which controls the Tab Title. The second part is "module"=>"Module Position"),

Module Slider Height

This setting controls the height of the Module Slider in pixels. 
$module_slider_height = 200;   // height in px

Module Count

The module configuration variable below controls how many consecutive modules you can have for a position. 
$max_mods_per_row = 3; // max number of modules per row
(if wraps, adjust height)

Adding new positions

With the integrated RokSlide, you will find that if you will need to add 2 extra module positions. These positions are User10 and User11. These are not available by default in Joomla so you will need to create these yourself. To do this, follow the instructions below:-
  1. Login into the Joomla administrator
  2. Navigate to Site -> Template Manager -> Module Positions
  3. In the column called Positions, find a blank field
  4. Once found, enter User10
  5. Find another and insert User11 up to User14
  6. Select Save
The standard RokSlide module will not function correctly when used at the same time as Populus integrated rokslide tabbed module system, which is located at the bottom of the template and enabled by default.

Original RokSlide

These settings are specifically for use with the "orginal" RokSlide module from previous template (not included with the Populus release). This option is only for use when Populus built in tabbed module system is removed or disabled. In the Module configuration, set the following options:
  • Show Title: No - The module header will not be visible.
  • Position: User2 - RokSlide will be located in Populus User 2 module position.
  • Access Level: Public - Guests and above will see the module
  • Published: Yes - The RokSlide module will be active on your website
  • Menu Item Link(s): Features - This menu item will be the only page to have RokSlide.
  • Category: Newsflashes/RokSlide - Set which Content Category is loaded into RokSlide.
  • Width: 570 - Dictates the width of the module in pixels.
  • Height: 150 - Dictates the height of the module in pixels.
  • Show Images: Yes - Decides whether images show in the module.
  • Read More: No - Controls whether read more links to the content item appear.
  • Max No. of Items: 5 - Choose how many tabs are shown.
  • Include Mootools JS Library: No - Will load the necessary javascript if not present in the template.