Administrator's Guide Dashboard Overview Administration dashboard gives you an overview of all the activities you can do using the JomDirectory extension. It provides you with a view of all the menu items, system configuration checks, licence information, and links to the documentation. Screen 1: Dashboard screen Menu Items The Dashboard area mainly comprises of Menu items, an overview of listings and the graphical statistics about the offer views and offers added. The overview of listings and users are seen at the top area of the dashboard while the reports are seen below them. The Menu items are present in a list format on the left-hand side of the screen. The following image shows the Menu items present on the dashboard screen. Screen 1: Menu items area Dashboard Home or dashboard for the JomDirectory extension Directory Listings Shows the Listings administration screen Directory Categories Shows the Categories administration screen Custom Fields Shows the Custom Fields administration screen Address Shows the Address administration screen Users Shows the users administration screen Membership Plans Shows the Membership Plans administration screen Messages Shows the messages received Reviews: Categories Shows the Reviews administration screen to add review parameters for each category. For example, Quality, Customer Service, and so on. Reviews: Recommended Shows screen to add recommended audience for the listing or category. For example, For young people, Gizmodo, and so on. Payments Shows the payment related information. Import/Export Import to or Export data from JomDirectory extension. Add New Create a new listing quickly. Options Shows the configuration management screen. System Checks Any configuration problems or current configuration status is displayed in this area as shown in the following screen: Screen 3: System configuration checks area Need Help area The Need Help area includes links to documentation, knowledge base, community forum and supports tickets. You can use this information for any additional help required when using JomDirectory.  The following image shows the License area on the dashboard screen. Screen 4: Need Help area Information area The Information area displays the JomDirectory version that you are using along with the build details. It also states whether you are using the latest version. Screen 5: Information area Address Overview The Address feature, as the name suggests, lets you provide the country, region and city for the respective product listing. The advantage with the Address field in Extensions is that after you configure a particular address, it is shared across various components in the Comdev extension. Based on the depth of levels you want, such as the continent as Europe, country as the UK and region as Wales, you can configure the Address tree to have unlimited levels. The Address feature provides multilingual support. This means you can specify different names based on your language preference. For more information, see Languages . Creating A New Address The following image shows the Address Feature screen. To add an address, click Components > Comdev > Address . Click New to create a new address.  Screen 1: New Address screen Let us understand each of the buttons seen on the screen using the following table. New Creates a new Address entry. You must create separate entries for each level of depth that you need. Edit Provides the edit mode to make changes to the existing level or titles created. Publish Publishes the created address entry. Unpublish Removes the entry from the list of published address entries Archive Archives address entries that are not used anymore. Trash Deletes the address entry that is not required anymore. Rebuild Refreshes to incorporate the changes made to the entries in the Address feature. Address Structure The structure of the Address tree is maintained as follows in our example. You can create any structure as per your requirement.   -- -- –  -- – --   Editing address entries If you want to edit existing entries, you can either click the entry from the Address screen or select the check box next to the entry, and then click Edit . After you click the required entry that you need to edit, you can change the configurations based on the options as seen in the following table. Title Custom Address Field Alias URL alias for “SEF/SEO” URL Parent Select the parent address entry Text box Provide a description about the entry. You can format the text using the formatting options in the text box. You can also insert images or links to URLs for more information. Category Image Upload an address image Publishing tab After you have provided the above information, you can provide the publishing information in the Publishing tab as seen in the following image. You can change the values for the given options using the following table. Status Based on the status seen here, the visibility changes as follows: Published - Entries are visible on the front-end.  Unpublished – Entries are invisible in the front-end, but can be published later.  Archived – Older entries that are not ready for deletion yet.  Trashed – Older entries that should be removed. Access Access level for site users is as follows: Public access grant access to everybody. Registered access grants access only to registered and logged in users. Special access only grants access to users specified as “Special”. Language Select the language for the address entry. ID Address ID, which can be used in modules, plugins and menus. Created by User name who created the entry. Created Date Date when the entry was created. Modified by User name who modified the entry. Modified Date Date when the entry was modified. Metadata tab The metadata tab is used to provide metadata information for a particular address entry. The options for this tab can be seen as shown in the following image. You can change the values for the given options using the following table. Meta Description Meta-description for search-engine listings. Meta Keywords Meta Keywords for the search-engine Author Content author metadata. Robots Robots instructions: Use Global Index, Follow No Index, Follow Index, No Follow No Index, No Follow Categories Overview Categories allow the site owner to categorize listings into appropriate sections. Extension categories are independent from the Joomla category system. Nested categories (sub-categories) are supported in Extension. Component comes with a category named "UNCATEGORIZED", which is the default setting. This category holds listing items that are not attached to any category (same function as the default Joomla system). You can create a categories menu link under Menus using information provided here . Ensure that for creating this link you use the Item menu type as Categories . Creating A New Category The following image shows the Category Feature screen.  Screen 1: Adding a new category Let us understand each of the buttons seen on the screen using the following table. New Creates a new Category entry. You must create separate entries for each level of depth that you need. Edit Provides the edit mode to make changes to the existing level or titles created. Publish Publishes the created category entry. Unpublish Removes the entry from the list of published category entries Archive Archives category entries that are not used anymore. Trash Deletes the category entry that is not required anymore. Rebuild Refreshes to incorporate the changes made to the entries in the Category feature. Editing category entries If you want to edit existing entries, you can either click the entry from the Category screen or select the check box next to the entry, and then click  Edit . New Category tab The New Category tab is seen as shown in the following image: Screen 2: New Category tab After you click the required entry that you need to edit, you can change the configurations based on the options as seen in the following table. Title Custom Category Field Alias URL alias for “SEF/SEO” URL Parent Select the parent category entry Text box Provide a description about the entry. You can format the text using the formatting options in the text box. You can also insert images or links to URLs for more information. Toggle editor Toggle between a rich text box with formatting options and plain text box. Category Image Upload a category image Publishing tab After you have provided the above information, you can provide the publishing information in the Publishing as seen in the following image. You can change the values for the given options using the following table.  Status Based on the status seen here, the visibility changes as follows: Published - Entries are visible on the front-end.  Unpublished – Entries are invisible in the front-end, but can be published later.  Archived – Older entries that are not ready for deletion yet.  Trashed – Older entries that should be removed. Access Access level for site users is as follows: Public access grant access to everybody. Registered access grants access only to registered and logged in users. Special access only grants access to users specified as “Special”. Language Select the language for the category entry. ID Category ID, which can be used in modules, plugins and menus. Created by User name who created the entry. Created Date Date when the entry was created. Modified by User name who modified the entry. Modified Date Date when the entry was modified. Metadata tab The metadata tab is used to provide metadata information for a particular category entry. The options for this tab can be seen as shown in the following image. You can change the values for the given options using the following table.  Meta Description Meta-description for search-engine listings. Meta Keywords Meta Keywords for the search-engine Author Content author metadata. Robots Robots instructions: Use Global Index, Follow No Index, Follow Index, No Follow No Index, No Follow Custom Fields Overview Custom fields are a powerful tool to build content. We provide a variety of field types with the ability to outline into groups. Each field can be assigned into a single category or all categories. Creating a Custom Field Creating a custom field involves setting certain options. To create a custom field, click New as shown in the following image. Screen 1: Custom Field screen The following table explains the different options available on the screen. New Creates a new Custom Field. Edit Provides the edit mode to make changes to the existing level or titles created. Publish Publishes the created custom field. Unpublish Removes the entry from the list of published custom fields. Archive Archives custom fields that are not used anymore. Trash Deletes the custom fields that are not required anymore. Options Navigates to the Extension options screen. Editing Custom Fields If you want to edit existing entries, you can either click the entry from the Custom Fields screen or select the checkbox next to the entry, and then click Edit . Custom Field Edit After you click the required entry that you need to edit, you can change the configurations for the fields as shown in the following image. Screen 2: Custom Field Edit tab The following table explains the different options seen on the screen: Custom Field Edit Title Title for the Custom Field.   Alias URL alias for “SEF/SEO” URL.   Order Provide a value from 1 onwards. The lowest value will appear on the top.   Field Required? Enable whether to make the field required.   Category Category where the Custom Field will be published. When you select a custom field for a particular category, it is visible only for that category. While creating a listing if you select the said category and save, the custom field is available only then.   Field Type Set the Field Type for the Custom Field. For more information, see the Field Type Table .   Field Database Type Set the field type, needed for database settings. String - Used for text Decimal - Decimal number e.g. 10.060 Integer - Number e.g. 1232   Field Group There are 5 custom field groups. Custom fields are grouped into groups. It has many advantages, one of them is display purposes. There are few groups available: Items - group displayed on the listings page under the description Item - group displayed on the left-hand side of the slideshow under detailed view. Tabs - special group to create own Tabs in detailed view. Features - special group for featured listings. Paid Items - Paid group displayed on the listings page under the description. Paid Item - Paid group displayed on the left-hand side of the slideshow under detailed view. JomEstate, JomEvents only Location - group displayed under the Location Tab in listing details. Groups are static and cannot be created. Paid groups are related to the membership plans that are applied to custom fields. Paid Items are displayed in the Items list, while the Paid Item is displayed in an Item (detailed) view.   Field Can Be Searched Enable to make the field values searchable. This setting applies only for the Search Module -> Layout Filter.   Field Search Type Provide the type of search option to include: Single Input Field Type Range Input Field Type Range Dropdown Field Type Range Slider Depending on the Field search type you select, the search criteria field will be displayed in the search module – layout side search. This field is functional when the Field Type is selected as Input and Field can be searched set to Yes   Minimum Value When, as an example, the Range Dropdown option is selected, you can select the range between which the options can be selected. For example, for Price range between X and Y, with incremental steps of 2, you can set x value in this field.     Maximum Value Set the Y value for the range in this field.   Steps Define the incremental steps. For example, for increments of x+2, provide the value as 2.   Custom Field Template Custom fields have own templates that can be used and customized. There are 3 templates available: default horizontal horizontal float  horizontal float + icon horizontal no label default no label If you would like to create and customize your own templates, see the Developer Guide .   ID This field is auto - generated. Custom fields values area Add new If the field type is selected to hold multiple values , this button lets you create the multiple values.   Delete Delete the value. Custom Field Values This area lets you create values when the field type requires multiple options to be provided.  For custom fields that can have values, to add multiple values, navigate to the custom fields listing screen. Click the  icon next to the field where you want to add values as shown in the following image. Screen 3: Adding values to custom fields area Here, the Field Type is selected as Checkbox and the Field Database Type has been stated as String. This means the Custom fields value area should provide options that can be seen when editing listing and displayed on the component front page. Hence, the Sample Values are provided in this area as Street, Garage, Underground. The following screen shows the values added at the back end. Click Delete  to delete the entry. Screen 4: Values added to custom field area The following image shows how the field looks on the add listings page. Screen 5: Custom Field as seen on new listing page The custom field is seen on the listings page as shown in the following image: Screen 6: Custom Field as seen on published listing page Field Types With Extension extension, you get several field types that you can create based on your requirement. The following image shows the available field types. Screen 7: Field Types The following table explains the different options seen on the screen. Type Multiple select Multiple Values Description Radio button No Yes Standard radio button with multiple values Checkbox Yes Yes Standard check boxes with multiple values Dropdown No Yes Dropdown (select) field with multiple values Multiple Select Yes Yes Select box with multiple values Input No No Single text box Web Address No No Single text box for URL, it will display as the link in the front page Email No No Single text box for email Text No No Text area Date Time No No Select a date and time from the Calendar icon on screen. Date No No Select a date from the Calendar icon on screen. Editor textarea No No Creates a rich text editor box, it can be combined with Tabs group. Publishing tab After you have provided the above information, you can provide the publishing information in the Publishing tab. You can change the values for the given options using the following table. Status Based on the status seen here, the visibility changes as follows: Published - Entries are visible on the front-end.  Unpublished – Entries are invisible in the front-end, but can be published later.  Archived – Older entries that are not ready for deletion yet.  Trashed – Older entries that should be removed. Language Select the language for the address entry. To create a custom field that applies to a particular language, you need to select the appropriate language from the drop down. For each language that you want it to appear for, create a separate entry. Created Date Date when the entry was created. Start Publishing Date when publishing needs to start in case of limited viewing of the field. Finish Publishing Date when publishing needs to stop in case of limited viewing of the field. Modified Date Date when the entry was modified. Listings Overview Listings are nothing but the product listings that you want to create in the directory. Each listing is attached to a category. They are created in the same manner as Joomla articles, but are not related to Joomla articles in definition. Creating A New Listing The following image shows the Listings screen. Screen 1: Listing screen                    The following table explains the different options seen on the screen. New Creates a new Address entry. You must create separate entries for each level of depth that you need. Edit Provides the edit mode to make changes to the existing level or titles created. Publish Publishes the created address entry. Unpublish Removes the entry from the list of published address entries Archive Archives address entries that are not used anymore. Trash Deletes the address entry that is not required anymore. Options Naviagate to the options screen in JomDirectory. Edit Listing If you want to edit existing entries, you can either click the entry from the Listings screen or select the checkbox next to the entry, and then click Edit. Edit Listing tab This tab provides options to add title, description, select category, and other options for the Listing as seen in the following image Screen 2: Edit Listing screen The following table shows the options available: Edit Listing area Title Title for the Listing.   Alias URL alias for “SEF/SEO” URL.   Category Category where the listing will be published.   Tags Provide the tags for the listing. Tags are integrated and maintained with Joomla Tags Component.     Provide a description for the listing. You can create a short description as well a long description.   In the above image, a tag appears when you click Read More . Any content above this tag is the short description , while the entire content is the long description . Also, note that if there is no content after the Read More tag, the event description will be blank when users view the listing. Ensure that you have content after the Read More tag. Joomla Articles area Article Button Click to select a relevant article. If an article is provided, it can be seen under the Details tab in the listing.     Page Break Button Insert a page break in the displayed text. Address area Address Address of the listing   Street, House No. Street and house number of the listing - If both Address and Full Address specified, map location will position automatically. Location area Maps latitude It utilizes the GEO-location based on Google Maps.   Provide the latitude information for the location mapping.   Maps longitude The information provided in this field is used to map the exact location. It utilizes the GEO-location based on Google Maps.   Provide the longitude information for the location mapping.   Maps Search Search for a specific location. Type in the location and press Enter to go to the exact location. Sidebar Featured Enable to make the listing appear as featured listing.   Approved Enable to approve the listing. Listing will not be published.   Language Select the language for which the listing needs to appear for. For multiple languages, you must create separate entries for each language .   Status Select the required status. Published Unpublished Trashed Archived   Created by Select the user who created the listing.   Access Provide the access level for the listing. Guest Public SuperUsers Registered Special   Date created Select the date when the listing was created. You can select a future date for publishing the listing as well.   Publish Up Select a date when you want to publish the listing. Here too, you can schedule to post the listing at a future date.   Publish down Select a date when the listing should stop being published.   Modified Date Select a date when the listing was modified.   ID This is an auto-generated field. Understanding the Location area in Edit listing tab Let us understand how to provide the address and Street/House No for providing the exact locations on the map.  When you provide the address, street and House No. in the backend when creating listings, the location position automatically. If the House No. is not provided, additional location fields needs to be used. Mapping using longitudes and latitudes If you provide the latitudes and longitudes, and the Maps Search setting is left blank, the location mapping is done based on these parameters as shown in the following image. Screen 3: Map using longitudes and latitudes values Mapping with Map Search values  If the Map Search field has a value provided to it, it takes precedence as shown in the following image. If the Map Search field value is given as “New York”, the location will map to this location. Screen 4: Map using Map Search Field values Custom Fields tab This tab includes all the custom fields created for a particular category. If the custom field is not applied to a specific category, it can be seen for all categories when creating a listing. The following image shows the Custom Fields tab screen. Screen 5: Custom Fields tab For more information about creating custom fields, see Custom Fields . Images tab This tab includes information about images and videos attached to the listing. Before you can add images to the listing, you must save your listing at least once. This ensure that all the other data you have filled for the listing does not disappear after the images are added. The Images tab can be seen as shown in the following image: Screen 6: Images tab To set the the Order of the images, which one displayed first, drag and drop images to switch positions. The first image in the gallery is used as the image thumbnail for the listing. Provide the options as shown in the following table. Images Add file area Add Files Click to select the image that needs to be uploaded.     Drag & Drop Files Here Drag a bunch of images to this area to upload multiple images.     Upload Into Select which category the image falls under: Slideshow - detailed view main gallery Gallery - in gallery tab Logo - displayed in sidebar under custom fields and over the image with transparency in listings page.     Add available images & attachments Click to add already uploaded images and attachments to this listing.   Images area Editing an Image   The options are as seen in the following image: You can provide a title, select group where the image will be displayed. The groups include Slideshow, Gallery or Logo.   Click the   Delete icon to delete the image.   Attachments area   Click the   Edit icon to edit an attachment that is linked to the listing. The screen is as shown here:   Click the   Delete icon to delete the attachment. Attachments are detected automatically based on file extension that’s are allowed in Configuration . YouTube Video     Provide the YouTube video URL in this field as shown in the following image. Availability Calendar tab This tab includes an ajax calendar where you can add the date-wise information related to the listing. Based on the services you offer, you can show the availability for that service. Screen 7: Availability tab To set the availability for a range of dates , drag and click the required range of dates . Provide the information about availability as shown in the following image. Screen 8: Availability information Click Save to save the availability information. If you want to delete a particular entry, click the colored band of availability and click OK Metadata tab This tab includes the Meta title and Meta description for the listing as shown in the following image: Products Overview Each listing can have as many products as you need. Products can be found on the "Products" tab of each Listing item on the frontend of the website Access Products section of JomDirectory You can access Products section of JomDirectory by clicking on the Products item in the Sidebar as seen on the following screenshot Screen 1: Products screen                    The following table explains the different options seen on the screen. New Creates a new Product entry. Edit Provides the edit mode to make changes to the existing product. Publish Publishes the created product entry. Unpublish Removes the entry from the list of published product entries Archive Archives products entries that are not used anymore. Trash Deletes the product entry that is not required anymore. Options Naviagate to the options screen in JomDirectory. Creating A New Product The following image shows the Products screen. Edit Product If you want to edit existing entries, you can either click the entry from the Product screen or select the checkbox next to the entry, and then click Edit. This tab provides options to add title, description, select category, and other options for the Product as seen in the following image: Screen 2: Edit Product screen The following table shows the options available: Edit Listing area Title Title for the Product.   Alias URL alias for “SEF/SEO” URL.   Category Category where the product will be published.   Tags Provide the tags for the listing. Tags are integrated and maintained with Joomla Tags Component.   SKU Short for stock-keeping unit, SKU is a unique numerical identifying number that refers to a specific stock item in a retailer's inventory or product catalog. The SKU is often used to identify the product, product size or type, and the manufacturer.   Quantity Quantity of that specific product in the warehouse   Brand ID ID of the brand to which this product belongs   Summary / Full Description Provide a description for the product. You can create a short description as well a long description.   Icon In the above image, a tag appears when you click  Read More . Any content above this tag is the  short description while the entire content is the  long description . Also, note that if there is no content after the  Read More  tag, the product description will be blank when users view the listing. Ensure that you have content after the  Read More  tag. Joomla Articles area Article Button Click to select a relevant article. If an article is provided, it can be seen under the Details tab in the listing.   Sidebar Price Price of that specific Product   Previous Price Previous price of the Product. If exists, a previous price will be visible on the Product tab on the Frontend, showing the increase or decrease of the price   Product VAT VAT of the Product can be entered here   Featured Enable to make the listing appear as featured listing.   Approved Enable to approve the listing. Listing will not be published.   Language Select the language for which the listing needs to appear for.  For multiple languages, you must create separate entries for each language .   Status Select the required status. Published Unpublished Trashed Archived   Created by Select the user who created the listing.   Access Provide the access level for the listing. Guest Public SuperUsers Registered Special   Date created Select the date when the listing was created. You can select a future date for publishing the listing as well.   Publish Up Select a date when you want to publish the listing. Here too, you can schedule to post the listing at a future date.   Publish down Select a date when the listing should stop being published.   Modified Date Select a date when the listing was modified.   ID This is an auto-generated field. Custom Fields tab This tab includes all the custom fields created for a particular category. If the custom field is not applied to a specific category, it can be seen for all categories when creating a listing. The following image shows the Custom Fields tab screen. Screen 3: Custom Fields tab For more information about creating custom fields, see  Custom Fields . Images tab This tab includes information about images and videos attached to the listing. Before you can add images to the product, you must save your product at least once. This ensures that all the other data you have filled for the product does not disappear after the images are added. The Images tab can be seen as shown in the following image: Screen 4: Images tab To set the Order of the images (which one displayed first) drag and drop images to switch positions. The first image in the gallery is used as the image thumbnail for the product. Provide the options as shown in the following table. Images Add file area Add Files Click to select the image that needs to be uploaded.     Drag & Drop Files Here Drag a bunch of images to this area to upload multiple images.     Upload Into Select which category the image falls under: Slideshow - detailed view main gallery Gallery - in gallery tab Logo - displayed in sidebar under custom fields and over the image with transparency in listings page.     Add available images & attachments Click to add already uploaded images and attachments to this listing.   Images area Editing an Image   The options are as seen in the following image: You can provide a title, select group where the image will be displayed. The groups include Slideshow, Gallery or Logo.   Click the   Delete icon to delete the image.   Attachments area   Click the   Edit icon to edit an attachment that is linked to the listing. The screen is as shown here:   Click the   Delete icon to delete the attachment. Attachments are detected automatically based on file extension that’s are allowed in Configuration . YouTube Video     Provide the YouTube video URL in this field as shown in the following image. Membership Overview Memberships in Extension are required to set user group level based on the monthly/Yearly pay plan the user selects. Using membership plans, you can decide how much to charge a user and how many listings a user can make for a particular membership plan. Membership are well integrated with Joomla groups and have a dependency on each other. Ensure that you have created Joomla groups before creating membership plans. By doing this, you can select groups when creating membership.  Create a new Membership Plan Click Components > Extension > Membership Plans > New to create a new membership plan as shown in the following image: Screen 1: Create new membership plan First membership plan should be a Free (basic plan). When user logs into the Front Admin, he will be assigned to that plan. From that point, User can upgrade his membership to paid plans. Edit Membership Plan If you want to edit existing entries, you can either click the entry from the Membership screen or select the check box next to the entry, and then click  Edit.   The following image shows the Edit Plan screen. Screen 2: Edit Plan screen The following table explains the different options seen. Name Provide a name for the membership plan. Number of Listings Provide the number of listings the users in the plan can create. Group ID Select the Joomla user group ID for the plan. It is recommended that you create your membership under the Registered group. Number of Images Provide the number of images the users in the plan can add. Price Monthly Provide the monthly charge for the plan. Price Annually Provide the annual charge for the plan. Best Value Best value badge, that shows in Front Admin (informative) No of Premium Listings Provide the number of premium listings the users in the plan can create. Attachments Enable to allow users to add attachments to listings. Video Enable to allow users to add Video link to the listings. Custom Fields Enable custom fields for particular plan. Custom field needs to be assign into Paid Groups to be shown here . ID This field is auto generated. Adding paid custom fields to the Membership plans For adding a custom field to the membership plan, the field group needs to be set to Paid item. Click Extension > Custom Fields . Click the field you want to add to the membership plan as a paid item. Change the Field Group to Paid item for the Item view and Paid items for the Items view as shown in the following image: Screen 4: Adding a paid custom field This field needs to be enabled in the membership plan as shown in the following image. Screen 5: Enabling the paid custom field This field can be seen in the front admin under the membership plan as follows: Screen 6: Viewing the paid custom field Membership expiry email configurations Before the membership expires, an email can be sent to a user that informs them about his membership nearing expiration. The setting can be seen in the following image: Screen 3: Configure expiry email field Cron Setting for Membership expiry check Under your hosting panel a link needs to be added that launches a script. This script checks all users’ membership and sends an email if membership is about to expire: curl -sS 'http://yourdomain.com?option=com_jomdirectory&task=expiry.send' or wget -q -O /dev/null 'http://yourdomain.com?option=com_jomdirectory&task=expiry.send' If you are unaware about where the cron setting needs to configured in the hosting panel, contact your hosting support center. Ensure that the script is launched every day at a particular time consistently. Set Single User expiry date and group To set plan expiry and attach a group for each user, do the following: Click Users > User Manager . Click the user for whom you want to set the membership expiry. Click the Additional Options tab. Provide the expiration date in the Plan expiry field. Click the Assigned User Groups tab. Select the check box next to the group you want to attach the user to for a particular membership plan as shown in the following image. Click Save . For more information about membership expiration setting, see Configuration documentation. Creating a new Group for Membership Plans In order to add users to groups for membership plans, you must create a super group named JomDirectory. Then, under it you must create groups for each of your membership plan. These groups are used to provide Group ID when creating a membership plan. Users created using User Manager can be linked to each of these membership plan groups. To create the JomDirectory group and other groups, do the following: Click Users > Groups > Add New Group . Provide a name for the group. We need to create JomDirectory group before creating other groups. So, provide the name as JomDirectory . Repeat steps 1 and 2, but select the parent as JomDirectory. Click Save . Name JomDirectory for the main group is mandatory, however groups for membership under that group can have any names e.g. Lite, Pro or Free, Basic etc... User Permissions based on groups For the users to access Front Admin certain user permissions need to be granted. These settings need to be done in the JomDirectory and Comdev Options. To provide user permissions for JomDirectory, do the following: Click Components > Directory Click Options from the right-hand side of the screen. Click Permissions . Provide the permissions as shown in the following image. Click Save . User permissions also need to be set for Comdev extension as explained here. Click Components > Comdev . Click Options from the right-hand side of the screen. Click Comdev . Provide the permissions as shown in the following image. Click Save . Users, which belongs to Joomla group JomDirectory, will now have access to Front Admin. If Permissions for the Comdev component are not set, users would not be able to upload images. A 500 error would show that permissions are denied.  Reviews Overview Reviews are provided by users and can be seen on the Reviews tab in the listing. Creating Reviews Categories Review categories can be seen on the Reviews tab in the listing to the user when they are adding a review for that listing as seen in the following image. Screen 1: Reviews Category screen Click on category type to edit it: Screen 2: Add a category for review on listing page Creating Reviews Recommended Review recommended can be seen on the listing details Reviews tab in the listing to the user when they are adding a review for that listing as seen in the following image. Screen 3: Reviews Recommended screen Click on category type to edit it: Screen 4: Review Recommended on Listings page Note: If the reviews are not being shown after submission on the listing page, you must enable Approve Reviews option under component Configuration. For more information. See Configuration documentation. Adding a Review for listings After these categories and review recommendation types are added, you can now create a review. To create a review, go to the listings page and click the Reviews tab. Provide the options as seen in the following image: Screen 5: Adding a Review After you provide the information, click Submit Review. The Review can now be seen in the listings page, under the Reviews tab. Editing a review Now, you can view the review and edit it, if required. Click Extension > Listings . The following image shows the Reviews column for the listings. Screen 6: View the Review column Click the Review icon to view all the reviews for a listing. Now click on the review title to edit it: Screen 7: Editing a review Edit the options as given in the following table. Title Edit the title for the review. Alias Edit the alias for the review. Text Editor Edit the description in the editor. Toggle Editor Toggle between rich text and plain text editor. Rates Move the cursor over the circle to edit the given categories. Recommended Select the required recommended for group. User Select the user who created the review. Status Change the status of the review. Published Unpublished Archived Trashed Review on front page After these types are added, when a user is writing a review, the options are seen as follows: Messages Overview Messages related to the Contact form available on each listing. If the user wants to contact Owner of the listing, a copy of the email will be saved under Messages. Additional send email copy to admin can be set under Configuration The messages are always sent to the owner of the listing. The user email address is taken from the User Account settings. The Contact area on the listing page is as seen in the following image. The options are provided as given here: Screen 1: Sending a message on the site Viewing messages Once the user accepts the Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy, he clicks Send Email. The email is now available for the owner of the listing to view as seen in the following image: All the messages that are sent through the site from the Extension listings can be seen on backend Messages section. To view a message, hover the mouse pointer over the message as shown in the following image. Screen 2: View the message If you want to archive older messages or any message, select the checkbox next to the message and click Archive .  Messages sent using the contact form are available on the Messages tab for the owner of the listings. You can view the message or delete it based on your requirement. Front Admin Messages To view messages, from Front Admin, click the  Messages tab to see the following screen. Configuration Overview The JomDirectory extension can be configured using the options provided with it. You can control multiple factors such as SEO, Printing, Security, Image widths, and more using the options provided. General tab This tab controls the elements for Layout, SEO, Security, and Print options. The following image shows the options available on the General tab. Screen 1: General tab The following table explains the different options seen on the screen. Layout Layout Select a layout based on existing components. Global layout is selected by default.   Color Scheme Select Lite, Silver, or Simple scheme. Current build have only one color scheme available.   Default Listings Sort Select the Listings from the following options: Latest Updated Alphabetically Most Viewed   Listings Per Page Select 15, 30, or 60 listings per page.   Premium Listings on Top Enable to see premium listings on top. Layout Elements Enable Print Enable the “Print” button on listing pages.   Enable Tell a Friend Enable the “Tell a Friend” button on listing pages.   Enable Features Enables featured listing on the page.   Attachments Enable adding attachments to listings.   Enable Save Listings Enable the “Save” button on listing pages.   Enable Social Networking Enable social networking buttons on listing pages.   Enable User Logo Enable to display user logo for listing.   Enable Address Show the listing address on listing pages.   Enable Short Descr. Enable short description.   Enable Youtube Enable YouTube video embedded on listing pages.   Item Map Enable google map in the detailed view - location tab   Enable Image Enable images to be displayed for listing.   Listings Map Enable Google map on the listings (items menu link)   Enable Date Enable date on listings SEO Maximum Characters for Meta Title The maximum amount of characters used in the meta title.   Maximum Characters for Meta Description The maximum amount of characters used in the meta-description. Print Print Location Print the map on print requests.   Print Reviews Print reviews available for the listing. Other Enable Alias For Non-English Characters Enable to provide ability to add alias for non-english characters.   Enable Powered By Link Enable the “powered by” link on listing pages. Media tab This tab provides options to control display of media such as images or videos on the listing pages. Screen 2: Media tab The following table explains the options seen on the screen. Default Image Library Select the default image library for the listings component between “GD” and “iMagick”.  For more information see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GD_Graphics_Library http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagick   Max Attachment Size The component wide settings for maximum Attachment size in kilo-byte. (1024 KB = 1 MB) Allowed Files Extensions Comma separated list of allowed attachment file-extensions. Video Width Embedded Video width in pixels.  (size of the grey-box video player)  Default Youtube.com size is either 480×385 for a 4:3 video, or 640×385 for a 16:9 video. Video Height Embedded Video height in pixels.  (size of the grey-box video player)  Default Youtube.com size is either 480×385 for a 4:3 video, or 640×385 for a 16:9 video. Listing Image Width The main listing image width in pixels. Listing Image Format The format for the main listing image.  1:1 = Image will be unchanged.  4:3 = image will be resized to 4:3 format.  16:9 = Image will be resized to 10:9 format. Items Logo Image Width Image width in pixels for Items Logo on the listing page. Item Logo Image Width Image width in pixels for Item Logo on the listing page. Main Gallery Image Width Image width in pixels for main gallery image. Ensure that the width value given here is as wide as or more than the slideshow width (generally 800-1200 pixels).If this is not done, the slideshow images will be blurred. Main Gallery Image Height Image height in pixels for main gallery image. Main Gallery Image Format The format for the main gallery image.  1:1 = Image will be unchanged.  4:3 = image will be resized to 4:3 format.  10:9 = Image will be resized to 10:9 format. Gallery Image Width Image width in pixels on the photo gallery on the Items view (Gallery tab). Based on the dimension you provide here, the image can be seen as follows: Gallery Image Format The format for the main listing image.  Original = Image as uploaded by user 1:1 = Image will be unchanged.  4:3 = image will be resized to 4:3 format.  10:9 = Image will be resized to 10:9 format. After the images width or format are changed in the Media tab, ensure that you clear the cache for JomDirectory extension. Click System > Clear Cache -> check com_jomcomdev to clear the Joomla cache for our extension. If possible, image format should be constant for both component and modules. Otherwise, cache issues may appear.  Email tab This tab provides options to control the email and security options for the JomDirectory extension. Screen 3: Email tab The following table explains the options seen on the screen. Contact Enable Contact Enable the contact function on listing pages.   Email Send To Enable Send Email button on listing pages.   Enable Terms & Privacy Activate a check-button for TOS and Privacy statements on contact requests.   Terms & Condition Provide Terms & Condition statement by category.   Privacy Policy Choose Privacy Policy by category.   Send Email Copy To Admin Enable to send all email copies to Admin. Security Enable Captcha Enable Captcha for non-registered/logged-in users.   Captcha needs to be  configured  in Plugins -> ReCaptcha and  enabled  under Joomla Global Configuration   Enable Captcha for Registered Users Enable Captcha for registered users as well. Reviews tab This tab provides option to enable review ratings when the the  Enable Reviews & Ratings  slider button is set to  Yes  as shown in the following image. Screen 4: Reviews tab The following table explains the options seen on the screen. Enable Reviews & Ratings Enable to make the reviews and ratings option active. Rating Method Select the rating method to be used. Available options are circles and stars. Enable Likes in Reviews Enable to let users like reviews. Allow Guest to Review Enable to let users post guest review without logging in. Moderate Reviews Enable to let admin review reviews before making them active. Enable Terms and Condition Enable to provide users terms and conditions. Terms & Conditions Select the page where you want to display the Terms & Conditions Enable Captcha for Registered Users Enable Captcha for registered users as well. Search tab This tab provides option to enable search when the the  Enable Search tag  slider button is set to  Yes  Integrations tab This tab provides options to control map integration for listings. Screen 5: Integrations tab The following table explains the options seen on the screen. Google Maps API Key Specify a Google Maps API key. You can create a key by visiting Google's Get a Key documentation (you will need a Google account to register a key). Map Type Select the map type from Google maps. Map Satellite Hybrid Terrain Default Zoom Select the default zoom factor for the listing map. Listings (Items) map zoom is calculated automatically based on all listings and can't be adjusted, same apply for the ajax map search module. Map Starting Location Default location or starting point for map search. Enable Articles Integration (com_content) Enable article assign button when adding a listing (below description) Enable Availability Calendar Enable to showcase listing availability with every listing. ShareThis Key Specify a publisher key for sharing listings via the ShareThis platform. To obtain a key, sign up to ShareThis and retrieve your publisher key from your ShareThis profile. Currency & Price tab This tab provides options to control display of currency formats for listings. Screen 6: Currency & Price tab The following table explains options seen on the screen. Currency Select the currency to use. Additional currencies can be added by editing a config file administrator/components/com_JomDirectory/config.xml Vat The current vat rate for estates in the operating country. Decimal Digits Select the number of decimal digits required. Number Format Select the number format most suitable for your currency. Display Digits Select the format for the digits. Currency Position Select if your currency sign will appear before or after the price. Membership Plans This tab controls membership options that you want to set for your site. Screen 8: Membership Plans The following table explains options seen on the screen. Default Group For New Users Select the membership plan that new users are grouped in by default. Show Free Plan Enable to display free plan. Monthly Plan Enable to display monthly plan. Membership expiration reminder Define the days before expiration reminder will be sent. Front Admin This tab controls how the menu links are seen on the front admin for JomDirectory. It also provides other options related to front admin. Screen 7: Front Admin tab The following table explains the options seen on the screen.   Welcome Article-ID Set the component's welcome article from Joomla articles.   Help Article-ID Set the component's help article from Joomla articles.   Profile Menu Link Set the page for the Profile Menu Link.   Login Menu Link Set the page for the Login Menu Link.   View Profile Menu Link Set the page for the View Profile Menu Link. Enable Features Approve User’s Listings When listings are added from the Front Admin, they will not be published unless the site admin approves it.   Listing Email Notification Enable to send an email to user about listing created.   Reviews Approval By Users Turn review approval on or off when you login from the Front Admin.   Enable Location Enable to auto map location.   Enable Availability Calendar Enable to display availability calendar for a listing. Payment Settings Enable Paypal Enable the Paypal facility for user subscriptions.   Paypal Email Address Provide the Paypal email that will receive the payments.   PDT token Provide your Paypal PDT token for secure payments.   Use Paypal Sandbox Enable for testing your configuration with the Paypal sandbox facility.   Paypal Sandbox Merchant Email Enable to set your merchant sandbox email address for receiving payments.   Paymens success article ID Provide the article from Joomla articles that points to the page that the user will go to after payment is made. Permissions This tab provides options to control permissions for different groups.