G-Calendar

JCE Text Editor

Joomla Stats

MooFaq

Phoca Documentation

Phoca Download

Phoca Gallery

Phoca Maps

Q-Contacts

Rok Slide Show

X-Cloner

X-Map

This website was created using Joomla, an open source content management system. Joomla is a sophisticated program that allows users to create extensive dynamic websites. The functionality of Joomla is contained within its components, modules and plugins. These Joomla extensions vary in their complexity – components the most complex and plugins the least. Although Joomla comes with a limited number of extensions, literally thousands of extensions are available through the Joomla Extension Directory (JED). At the JED, you can find extensions that will add photo galleries, calendars, online stores and many others.

Other programs used in creating this website include the following:

Ipswitch FTP Pro: This is an FTP client and essential for uploading files.

WinRar: This is a compression program like WinZip or 7Zip.

MicroSoft’s Image Resizer Powertoy: Easily resizes images through your right click menu.

Artisteer: This program is fantastic. It allows you to create your own Joomla template

Online Icon Generator: To create the favicon

Online sign generators: to create pictures

I have all of these programs on my web server and have posted their links below. I can talk you through setting them up as necessary over the phone. Dana

Ipswitch FTP Pro: This is an FTP program. It is one way for accessing your website's root directory directly. (You can also use your C-Panel, but FTP Pro is handier most times.) This is fairly easy to set up.

Microsoft Office Professional 2007: Full, legitimate corporate edition. About 500 MB, and may take some time to downoad.

MicroSoft's Image Resizer: A really handy utility that adds an image resizer to your right mouse button menu. There is nothing worse  than a website with tremendously large images. Really simple.

Wind Rar: A compression program like Win Zip, or 7 Zip. You only need this if you start playing with Artisteer and making or tweaking your own Joomla template.

Artisteer: This program is for creating Joomla templates. Takes some getting used to.

X-Cloner is a commercial Joomla extension form JoomlaPlug that allows you to back up, restore and clone or move your website.

Creating backups is easy and intuitive. All you have to do is follow the on screen prompts in the X-Cloner component control panel. Restoring the site is a little more difficult because is it not intuitive for the amateur non professional types.

The favicon is the little image that appears both in your address bar (to the left of the http:// address) and in the tab of your web browser.

Okay, you may think that to change the default imaged directory, all you need to do is change it through the Server tab of the Global Configuration, of the main control panel. This will have no effect on the JCE Media Manager, which will still want to take images from the images/stories directory.

To change the default directory of the JCE Media Manager, go to:

Components, JCE Administration, Groups, Default, Editor Parameters, then scroll down to Editor Parameters where you can change the File Directory Path to whatever you like. The correct syntax to use if you want your default images directory to be public_html/My_Content/My_Images, for example, enter only My_Content/My_Images.

The importance of this is obvious, however backing up one's data is one of the computer related tasks most neglected. My motto for data backup is, "Multiple, redundant, offsite and automatic."

A good webserver provider will include a control panel (the cpanel) with your hosting package. I use Canadian Web Hosting which provides exemplary service. In their cpanel is a backup wizard which is fairly intuitive to use. It will allow you to do both full and partial backups. The wizard is easy to use.