Joomla 3 category blog template override - joomla

i am trying to implement a custom template override for category blog. So:
I have copied: templates/gk_startup/html/com_content/category/blog.php
and renamed to: templates/gk_startup/html/com_content/category/newsletter.php
I have created a category named: Newsletter and set Alternative Layout to "newsletter".
I have created a menu item of type: Articles/Category Blog and chosen category "Newsletter" to display.
However in the front end i can see that the blog.php "default" template for category blog is still used.
What am i missing here?

Managed to accomplish what i was looking for by creating an alternate category blog layout as described here:
https://joomla.stackexchange.com/questions/10374/how-to-create-a-category-blog-layout-with-all-articles-shown-in-full
So only by creating an override for the menu items also (specifying newsletter.xml in components/com_content/views/category/tmpl) i was able to use my newsletter override initially created in templates/gk_startup/html/com_content/category
Hope that helps in some cases

Related

How to assign different Joomla template styles to a category and it contains articles?

How to assign different Joomla template styles to a category and it contains articles, meaning that articles and categories use different style templates and layouts。
just like:
Category A contains many A articles. This category uses the website template protostar, but the article I want to use beez3, is there a way to make a judgment to change the layout? Or directly assign different style templates?
Joomla tends to be menu driven so you can create a Category Blog or Single Article menu option (page) or similar and then assign the required template style to each page in the template options.
Page classes can also be specified for menu options (pages) so that you can apply custom CSS to particular pages.

Confused between Joomla Alternative Layout and Templating with K2

I am really confused about these 2 concepts. I am basically wanting to change the appearance of the Joomla category page that lists the sub-categories in it. I dont like the default "Alternative Layout" options of Blog and List type. I want to show the sub-categories with an image + sub-category title style similar to some Portfolio layouts I've seen. So I started googling and reading a few docs on how to do this. During this time, I came across the Layout Overrides in Joomla which says that we can create alternative Joomla Layouts to display Modules, components, Category and Menu Items.
Q1) So does this mean that I can create a new layout (for portfolio category as an example) and if I place them inside "templates/myTemplate/html/com_contact/category" folder this layout option will be listed under Alternative Layout drop-down list in admin panel?
While I was reading some more, I then came across the K2 method where it says that K2 allows creating sub-templates to have different styles for each categories. I havent decided if I am going to use K2 or the core Joomla articles. But my main concern is to style some category pages differently to the default blog or list options. When I read the above article, I thought this can be done in Joomla core itself. But when I read the K2 article on Templating with K2 (and the concepts of sub-templates), it said that the core Joomla doesnt allow sub-templating and K2 can do that.
Q2) What is the difference between creating sub-templates for K2 categories and creating custom template layouts for Joomla categories?
I am totally confused here. If Joomla allows to create different layouts for categories which can then be chosen from the admin panel on what layout to use for that category, what is so special about K2's sub-templating which claims that only K2 allows the flexibility of choosing a different layout for different categories?
Can someone help me understand this please? I have been searching to understand the difference for several hours and I am still stuck on this...
I am new to Joomla and I am using the Joomla version 3.3.
There is a big difference in Joomla core Alternative-Layouts and K2's approach. Hard to explain in theory...
Joomla:
The core feature offers two choices: Either create Alt-Layouts and assign them to each Category and (each!) Article in Backend. Or with a new, alternative MenuItem. The latter is achieved through an additional XML file with same name and location. As long as you work with Categories and Listings, the result is quite similar. But it is different when it comes to the Article Fullview: You won't get an alternative layout for full view automatically! You have to assign the layout in backend or use 1 global setting from the article options. The latter will only apply to articles that have no respective Alt-MenuItem. This can result in a "chicken-egg-situation". AFAIK, frontend submission requires an alternative MenuItem for each edit-form. You can't get an alternative full-view layout when you click on a blog/list item "easily". The links from your category items still lead to the "default" without extra work. In my experience, full-view layouts are displayed in the following setups only:
Alt.MenuItem (XML) for Category and Article. A MenuItem for each article has to exist, to automatically pickup your alt.Layout.
Alt.Layout assigned to each Article. (manual work)
Alt.Layout set for Category (no XML). Only 1 global setting in Article's manager options.
K2:
The layout folder structure is simpler. All layout files live in the same folder, you just rename that container folder. e.g. products. The inner files keep their default names. This results in an easier and automated "workflow". A layout is assigned to a category and/or its sub-categories. Article full-views pick up their layout automatically, due to the file/folder structure. There is no difference between frontend/backend. No manual assignment on article edit is needed. Nor single K2 items in the menu. (not to mention, that you get extra fields per category)
Hope this helps.

joomla using virtuemart i want the description to be placed under products

I have a joomla site using virtue mart in my products. I want my description to be placed under the products. Any help would be appreciated.
You will see here that the description is above the products.
I have had a look through the source files but was wondering the best way to go about this as I may just be missing something.
I hope you are using , VM2.x Versions.
The the Product Details Page Source file you can found on the following path.
components\com_virtuemart\views\productdetails\tmpl\
The product description and short descriptions are included in the default.php layout.
If you want to change the description ordering simply change its position as per your requirement.
$this->product->product_s_desc and $this->product->product_desc;
If you are planning to change the default VM template style , I recommend to use Joomla Override Concept this way you can simply override the default template with your own.
Here you need to override productdetails view then simply like below.
copy all the files from components\com_virtuemart\views\productdetails\tmpl\ and paste this to , templates/your_template/html/com_virtuemart/productdetails/ If you unable to find this path inside your template folder you have to create that.
This will simply load your new layouts from template folder rather than default path.
Hope it clear for you..
The VM Template system also lets you create additional view templates for categories and products. To override the default categories, category, or productdetails view, simple use the standard Joomla template override method. Copy /components/com_virtuemart/views/[categories, category, or productdetails]/default.php to /templates/[Your Template]/html/com_virtuemart/[categories, category, or productdetails]/default.php and make your changes to the template version of default.php.
To create additional views that can be set on a per category/product basis, simply copy /templates/[Your Template]/html/[categories, category, or productdetails]/default.php to a new file name like /templates/[Your Template]/html/[categories, category, or productdetails]/myView.php and make the desired changes. In the Virtuemart category or product configuration, you will find myView in the drop down list of alternatives views that can be used.

Magento Go - Adding attribute above product description in Grid view

Im wanting to add the Brand name (or designer name in this case which i have made a new attribute for) just above the product description in the Category view (grid) but cant figure it out.
As its Magento Go i have no access to the code, other than XML updates for the category itself.
Ive looked everywhere and would value any help.
Thanks
If you are cant get to the template phtml codes, you can put it on by admin.
Open catalog / attributes / manage attributes, find your attribute and in the properties set to
Visible on Product View Page on Front-end
Used in Product Listing
But it will not be on position you want.
You can edit CSS for the template and set an absolute position for your attribute.
Next way is to add in the admin in category XML layout, but this you need to do for each category. (Custom Layout Update)

How do I add product short description on the product list template page on Magento?

I want to add product short description to product list template page, and I found this article:
http://www.magentocommerce.com/knowledge-base/entry/magento-for-dev-part-3-magento-controller-dispatch
it said: Blocks refer directly back to the models for their data. In other words, the Action Controller does not pass them a data structure.
So , does it mean the code to get short description should be added to the Block class? But the Block class is Magento Core class:
Mage_Catalog_Block_Product_List
I should not edit this class, right? So what should I do? Create my own Block class extend Mage_Catalog_Block_Product_List and add the showProductShortDescription method to it? If yes, Should I create my own module?
Thank you!
You can use in the list.phtml file this.
$_product->getShortDescription();
but Magento does not load all the attributes on the product listing page.
Go to the admin pannel Catalog->Attributes-> Manage Attributes and edit the short description attribute.
Set “Used in product listing” to “Yes”. Save and clear the cache.

Resources