templateDetails.xml

The templateDetails.xml file acts as a manifest, or packing list, that includes a list of all the files or folders that are part of the template. It also includes information such as the author and copyright. Some of these details are shown in the administrative backend in the Template Manager. An example of an XML file is shown here:

NOTE - If you are following along and creating the template as you read, at this point, you should open up a text editor, create a file called templateDetails.xml, and make sure it includes the code shown here.

  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
  <install version="1.5" type="template">
        <name>TemplateTutorial15</name>
        <creationDate>August 2007</creationDate>
        <author>Barrie North</author>
        <copyright>GPL</copyright>
        <authorEmail> compassdesigns@gmail.com </authorEmail>
        <authorUrl>www.compassdesigns.net</authorUrl>
        <version>1.0</version>
        <description>First example template for Chapter 9 of the Joomla
  Book</description>
        <files>
              <filename>index.php</filename>
              <filename>templateDetails.xml</filename>
              <filename>favicon.ico</filename>
              <folder>css/</folder>
              <folder>images/</folder>
              <folder>js/</folder>
         </files>
        <positions>
              <position>user1</position>
              <position>top</position>
              <position>left</position>
              <position>banner</position>
              <position>right</position>
              <position>footer</position>
        </positions>
        <params>
              <param name="colorVariation" type="list" default="white"
  label="Color Variation" description="Color variation to use">
                    <option value="blue">Blue</option>
                    <option value="red">Red</option>
              </param>
        </params>
  </install>

Let's look at what some of these lines mean:

<INSTALL VERSION="1.5" TYPE="template">—The contents of the XML document are instructions for the backend installer. The option type="template" tells the installer that you are installing a template and that it is for Joomla 1.5.

<name>TemplateTutorial15</name>—This line defines the name of your template. The name you enter here will also be used to create the directory within the templates directory. Therefore, it should not contain any characters that the file system cannot handle, such as spaces. If you're installing manually, you need to create a directory whose name is identical to the template name.

<creationDate>August 2007</creationDate>—This is the date the template was created. It is a free-form field and can be anything such as May 2005, 08-June-1978, 01/01/2004, and so on.

<author>Barrie North</author>—This is the name of the author of this template—most likely your name.

<copyright>GPL</copyright>—Any copyright information goes in this element.

<authorEmail>compassdesigns@gmail.com</authorEmail >—This is the email address at which the author of this template can be reached.

<authorUrl>http://www.compassdesigns.net</ authorUrl>—This is the URL of the author's website.

<version>1.0</version>—This is the version of the template.

<files></files>—This is a list of various files used in the template. The files used in the template are laid out with <filename> and <folder> tags, like this:

  <files>
       <filename>index.php</filename>
       <filename>templateDetails.xml</filename>
       <filename>favicon.ico</filename>
   <folder>css/</folder>
   <folder>images/</folder>
   <folder>js/</folder>
  </files>

The "files" sections contain all generic files, such as the PHP source for the template or the thumbnail image for the template preview. Each file listed in this section is enclosed by <filename> </filename> tags. You can also include whole folders, such as an image folder, by using the <folder> tag.

<positions></positions>—This shows the module positions available in the template. It is the list of page locations, such as top, left, and right, defined in the template in which modules can be set to appear, using the Position drop-down of the Module Manager. The position names in this list must precisely match the PHP code that generates content for each listed position inside index.php.

<params></params>—This section describes the parameters that can be set in the backend and passed as global variables to allow advanced template functions, such as changing the color scheme of the template.

Creating a Simple Joomla Template
What Is a Joomla! Template?
index.php