Template For Joomla

When creating your Joomla website(s) you have most definitely utilized the vast amount of components available to add on to your site. Did you ever want to change the text that displays by default, even when the option to change this text isn't within the component options list? Most often, you can easily change the titles, the labels and any other text that displays by default through a component by simply altering one simple file: The Language file.

The language file is almost almost something that comes with any Joomla Component. It contains the "language" that is used through the display of your component. For example, if you are using a component that displays a photo gallery, the default setting for the photo gallery title might say, "Photo Gallery." But, what if you're using this "Photo Gallery" component to display images, graphics and examples of a portfolio? You wouldn't want it to say photo gallery, you might want it to say something like, "Portfolio" or "Examples."

There are many situations that this problem arises, another great example is a directory, classifieds or listing type of component. If you are using a classifieds component to let musicians find other musicians, and the component your using was actually meant for job classifieds, you wouldn't want one of the options for your "listers" to be "Job Description" or "Salary."

Alright, enough with the examples, but you get the drift. If you haven't encountered this dillema, trust me, you will. Basically, there is an easy way to change the text that naturally displays from a component, and it is within the Language file of that component. Note, that not ALL components have "language" files, but most do, so that's my little disclaimer.

The language file for a particular component is going to be located within the folder for that component. Which can be found by going to your Joomla website files and navigating to (for simplicity sake, let's say you are trying to alter the language file of a component named, "photogallery")

>> Components >> com_photogallery >> Language >> default.php

Of course, the language that your component is using will effect the file you alter. If you're using a component that is functioning in french, the file you want to open would be called, "french.php" instead of "default.php." Also, note that sometimes components come with a default.php file and an english.php file. If you're working in english, that is most likely the default. But, you'll have to test it to be sure which one is working for your site.

Inside this language file you're going to see a bunch of code, but don't worry, it's easy to tell what text is easily changeable. Just be careful not to change any of the actual code. Don't do any automatic find-replaces in this file!

You'll see many lines of code, each looking something like this:

DEFINE("_PHOTO_GALLERY_TITLE","Photo Gallery");

Using some common sense here, you could probably guess that the actual text you want to change would be within the quotation marks. In this example, the word "Photo Gallery."

NOTE: If you're looking for a particular phrase to change, just Control-F it in your file in order to find that phrase and make the necessary changes.

Voila! You have much more control over how your component looks, functions and operates through some creative genuis of your own and simple text changes.

Good Luck!

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