Software Review: Joomla! Template Kit 3.x from Media 65 - Page 2

What do you need to run the Joomla! Template Kit? Windows or Mac OS X or above, Dreamweaver 8 or above, Joomla! 1.5.X or above, a Web browser with Flash plug-in 8 or above, and computer speakers for audio/video. Some knowledge about Joomla!, Dreamweaver, HTML, and CSS is required as well. You will want to install a local Web server on your computer so that you can work locally before uploading to your site. All of this is explained in detail when you get the kit.

One of the best things about this product is the quality of support that you have with working with the Joomla! Template Kit. The manual is online and is very complete. You are shown the recommended steps for installing a local Web Server. You can install your own setup if you have a different preference, but if you are unsure, the recommended XAMPP install was a breeze.

Next you are shown how to install Joomla!. Again, nothing is left to chance and you are guided through the install. The same thing goes for the Joomla! Template Kit extension. What is also great about this kit is that along with the written document, there are over two and one-half hours of videos to show you how to set up and work with the product. The downside here is that you have to have a pretty good internet connection since it is over 400 MB in the download.

Once you have the Joomla! Template Kit set up and have run through the videos, it is really straightforward to use. Sure, there is some learning curve if you want to get fancy, but for the basic implementation of a new template is almost a no-brainer.

You set up your system. Then you create the base template files which also creates the template directory and all of the files that you will need. You then open up the index.php file and the J_CSS_Designer.html file. You have to run some set up for working with locally, but that is just the push of a button on each file. The J_CSS_Designer.html file is a special tool that maps out Joomla's CSS in Dreamweaver. This way you can ID the CSS class, and you will be able to see which parts are affected by changes in the CSS.

From there you set up your index.php and set up your template areas. In a simple case, you have a header, footer, and a center area that is made up of a right, center, and left section. Using the Joomla! Template Kit, you drop modules and the main component on to the page and you can render your template.

Article Author: T. Michael Testi

T. Michael Testi is software developer, a writer, and a photographer. He also blogs at PhotographyTodayNet and at All This and Everything Else.

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