Free Joomla templates and How to

SMS Functionality

2008-12-09T08:16:00.001-08:00

We did manage to use PHP to send sms using WAMP Joomla Server. For those who are interested, we use a facileform to create the joomla interface, I define phpSerial class in the facileform.process.php which can be called by the created form. You can create your own extension if you feel like it :). and you can get the phpSerial class that I use here => phpSerial

On form submission we run this chunk of code :

//Define String to send, use chr(13) for line feed
sms = "title".chr(13)."description";

//Require php Serial Class
$serial = new phpSerial;

//Open up connection to the GSM Modem
$serial->deviceSet("COM5");
$serial->deviceOpen();

//send command to GSM Modem, chr(26) is carriage return where the message ends.
$serial->sendMessage("at+cmgs=\"+6598776625\"\r\n",1);
$serial->sendMessage($sms.chr(26));

//release and close the device
$serial->deviceClose();

That's all for sending sms in Windows, you can retrieve data from database and put it into the string to send as sms too.
As for receiving sms, we fail to execute it in Windows using phpSerial. Instead we use Java to retrieve the sms and store to the joomla content database. Take a look here => http://smslib.org

Free Joomla Template 3 - Joomlabasic Charity

2008-09-06T23:59:00.001-07:00

Finally an update!! Recently, my schedule is packed with schools and work stuffs. Enough with the unnecessary issues :)... At last, I can find some time to make a quick conversion from the previous charity HTML template.

Joomlabasic Charity modules consist of:
user1 module
top module
right module

Remember to place the mainmenu at "top" position with "flat list" styling.

As usual free free to post suggestions. Thanks and enjoy.
You can get the template --> here

HTML Charity Template

2008-08-09T20:10:00.000-07:00

This month we are building a site for charity and here is the html web template. This template will be converted to Joomla 1.0 template, check back for updates.

You can get the html template here

Joomla useful Extension

2008-08-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

After playing around with a number of freely available Joomla extensions, I find some pretty useful ones when developing joomla sites.

1. JCE ~ pretty much an upgrade from tinymce wysiswyg editor, recommended.

2. Simple image Gallery ~ display pictures in thumbnail formats (viewable in original size slideshow) from a folder, as the name says it's simple and it works well :). I suggest using this for a gallery page.

3. mosModule ~ show a module in a content, useful.

4. denVideo ~ play flashs, videos, musics in your content or modules, another useful one.

5. Fireboard ~ install this component if you want to have a forum in your site.

6. Virtuemart ~ Good shopping cart systems, but pretty complex if code modification is required. Use it as it is.

7. Community Builder ~ let the user members feel to be part of your web community! Uploading profiles and stuffs are nice features.

8. Facile Form ~ I love this addon, it is able to create simple to advanced web forms. Sometimes virtuemart order flow will be much of a hassle for a simple customer order and hacking the code will be too much of a work. This form builder will be able to sort it out :).
this is not install and go addon, but learning how to use it will be very useful.

All these extensions are great, one problem I find is that there is rarely any support in their forums anymore.
If there's anymore Joomla extensions that you find useful and simple, do add on :).

Sending command to GSM Modem using php Settings

2008-06-12T13:26:00.000-07:00

the php_serial class sets the com port line by line. Windows seems to not be able to get the correct settings this way. Whenever I set the data bit to 8 the parity bits goes back to even. All these have to be done in one command line. So we have to modify the php_serial class to run the command in a single line and it solves the problem, for now.. :)

Sending command to GSM Modem using php

2008-06-02T18:54:00.000-07:00

I have a project on integrating sms module into Joomla interface. I found a php_serial class that enables sending command through serial port by using php. I have tested it through hyperterminal and it works perfectly well, but when I tested it with GSM Modem, the AT command seems to be not working. Anyone has an idea of how to use the php_serial to send AT command to GSM Modem? If you have any clue on how to send AT command using php_serial, please inform me :) Thanks
Here's my code

include "php_serial.class.php";

// Let's start the class
$serial = new phpSerial;

$serial->deviceSet("COM1");
$serial->confBaudRate(115200);
$serial->confCharacterLength(8);
$serial->confParity("none");
$serial->confStopBits(1);
$serial->confFlowControl("xonxoff");

$serial->deviceOpen();

$serial->sendMessage("at+cmgs=\"+6583569765\"\r");
$serial->sendMessage("hello".chr(26));

$serial->deviceClose();

?>

Free Template 2 - Joomlabasic Biz

2008-05-31T19:42:00.000-07:00

I have finally completed 2nd template. I think there's still a lot to be tweaked to get this template look more professional. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
You can get the template --> here

Free Template 2 Layout

2008-05-30T21:36:00.000-07:00

I am working on the 2nd template, expected to be finished by this weekends. This template will have 4 modules, here's the outline.
Got to get started :_)

Template conversion from html to Joomla

2008-05-29T05:41:00.000-07:00

Life in school has been pretty busy this week, loaded with class test and lab test, putting my best effort and struggling to pass every single test... But nightmare is just over (for a while), 3 weeks holiday is around the corner, hehe.

I am interested in converting an existing html template to Joomla template, hoping to complete it during holiday. I will pick a suitable html template and put it up here. As usual, I will share with everyone once it's completed :)
will update on the progress as soon as possible.

Free Joomla Template - 1module Template

2008-05-27T06:59:00.000-07:00

I just completed my first 1module Joomla 1.0x template
There seems to be a lot of improvements that can be made, need some comments on it :)
Here's the template pic

You can get the template file here --> 1module
This is a free template, you can modify it in any way including the footer link, author and stuffs
If you like the template let me know, I will create and upload Joomla template regularly

Joomlabasic One Module Cloud Template

2008-05-25T08:55:00.000-07:00

I have decided to design this simple and neat template. It has only one module, and that is the top module for menu. Simple enough for a site. This will be my first original template coding from scratch :), getting really excited haha..
I will attach a download link here once it's completed, any comment on how to improve on it is always welcome.

How to upload image from Joomla frontend

2008-05-24T10:16:00.000-07:00

I was trying to upload a image to show in the content as a publisher but couldn't. I did not realize that front-end users are not able to upload picture to the media manager by default. So here's the simple solution that I found out.

Files you need:

JCE Admin Component - grab it here
JCE Editor Mambot - grab it here

Steps :

Install JCE Admin Component
Install JCE Editor Mambot
Choose JCE WYSIWYG as default editor

There you go, now you can upload images from front-end.

How to install Joomla on your computer

2008-05-24T07:07:00.001-07:00

Joomla is a free, open source content management system. This powerful tool allows web developer to install a professional look and feature rich website in a fraction of the time needed if you have to code the web from scratch.

Things you need

Joomla 1.0.15 - grab it here

Wamp server - grab it here

Steps

Install Wamp server (just accept the default configuration)
Unzip Joomla to C:\wamp\www\joomla
Start Wamp server (there will be an icon at the system tray)
Open up your browser and type in http://localhost/joomla and this will start the installation process

Installing process
Use the following values when prompted

Host Name = localhost
MySQL User Name = root
MySQL Password = leave it blank (if you never put any password during wamp installation)
MySQL Database Name = anything you like (eg Joomla)
Tick install sample data
Site name = whatever you want to call your site (eg my first Joomla).
Important!! --> Change the password for administrator, you need this!!
Delete the installation folder when prompted
Click view site and there you go!! your first Joomla site is up and running locally

Hope this help, if there's anything unclear please inform me :)