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Version: 4.x

extensions-discover

Description​

This screen allows you to discover extensions that have not gone through the normal installation process. This provides a method to install large extensions which are not possible to install using the normal process. For example, some extensions are too large in file size to upload using the web interface due to limitations of the web hosting environment. Using this feature you can upload extension files directly to your web server using some other means such as FTP or SFTP and place those extension files into the appropriate directory. You can then use the discover feature to find the newly uploaded extension and activate it in your Joomla! installation. Using the discover operation you can also discover and install multiple extensions at the same time. An extension can be installed with the discover function by doing the following steps:

  1. Upload the uncompressed extension files to the appropriate directory in your Joomla! installation. For example, if you wanted to upload a site template extension to your Joomla! installation you would create a directory for the template extension in the /templates sub-directory of your Joomla! installation. Then you would upload the template extension files into that directory you created.
  2. After you have uploaded the extension files, go back to the Extension Manager Discover screen and click the Discover button in the toolbar. This will initiate the search function which will search your Joomla! extension directories looking for uninstalled extensions.
  3. If the extension you uploaded is compatible with Joomla! version and is not already installed, it will appear in the listing of discovered extensions in this screen.
  4. Click the check-box to the left of the discovered extension and then click the Install button in the toolbar. This will install the extension into your Joomla! installation.

How to Access​

  • Select System → Install Panel → Discover from the Administrator menu.

Screenshot​

Help-4x-Extensions-Extension-Manager-Discover-screen-en.png

Column Headers​

  • Checkbox. Check this box to select one or more items. To select all items, check the box in the column heading. After one or more boxes are checked, click a toolbar button to take an action on the selected item or items. Many toolbar actions, such as Publish and Unpublish, can work with multiple items. Others, such as Edit, only work on one item at a time. If multiple items are checked and you press Edit, the first item will be opened for editing.
  • Name. The name of the extension.
  • Location. Specifies if this is a site or administrator extension.
  • Type. The extension type - module, plug-in, template, language.
  • Version. The version number of the Extension.
  • Date. The date this extension was released.
  • Author. The author of this extension.
  • Folder. If the extension is a plug-in, the subdirectory of your Joomla! installation's /plugins directory where the extension is located. By default Joomla! 3.x has the following subdirectories in the plugins directory which each represent the different types of plug-ins that are defined by default: authentication, content, editors, editors-xtd, extension, search, system, user.
  • ID. The ID number. This is a unique identification number for this item assigned automatically by Joomla!. It is used to identify the item internally, for example in internal links. You cannot change this number.

List Filters​

Search bar. Near the top of the page you will see the search bar shown in the Screenshot above.

  • Search by Text. Enter part of the search term and click the Search icon. Hover to see a Tooltip indicating which fields will be searched.To 'Search by ID' enter "id:x", where "x" is the ID number (for example, "id:19").
  • Filter Options. Click to display the additional filters.
  • Clear. Click to clear the Filter field and restore the list to its unfiltered state.
  • Ordering. Shows the current list ordering field. 2 ways to change the order:
    • Select from the dropdown list. Ordering may be in ascending or descending order.
    • Click a column heading. The column heading toggles between ascending and descending order.
  • Number to Display. Shows the number of items in a list. Select from the dropdown list to change the number displayed.The default for a site is '20' but this may be changed in the Global Configuration.

Filter Options

You can use one of the available filters or any combination of them to limit the number of extensions displayed to just the extensions which match your filter parameters.

  • -Select Location-. Select Site, Administrator or API from the drop-down list of available locations.
  • -Select Type-. Select the extension type from the drop-down list box of available types.
  • -Select Folder-. Select a plug-in folder from the drop-down list box of available folders. There is a separate folder for each type of plug-in defined in your Joomla installation.

Page Controls. When the number of items is more than one page, you will see a page control bar near the bottom of the page shown in the Screenshot above. The current page number being viewed has a dark colour background.

  • Start. Click to go to the first page.
  • Prev. Click to go to the previous page.
  • Page numbers. Click to go to the desired page.
  • Next. Click to go to the next page.
  • End. Click to go to the last page.

Toolbar​

At the top of the page you will see the toolbar shown in the Screenshot above. The functions are:

  • Install. Installs the selected extension.
  • Discover. Searches the Joomla! installation directories for uninstalled extensions. Any uninstalled extensions found will be displayed in the extension listing. Caches the search results so they continue to be displayed on subsequent visits to this screen.
  • Options. Opens the Options window where settings such as default parameters can be edited.
  • Help. Opens this help screen.

Quick Tips​

  • If you have many extensions you want to install you can upload them all into the appropriate directories of your Joomla! installation and then use this screen to discover all of them in one operation. You can then install all of the extensions in one step by selecting all of them and pressing the Install button in the toolbar.
  • If you install a Component Extension, it will be listed as a new Menu Item in the Components menu.
  • You can assign a Menu Item to an installed Component Extension in the Menu Item Manager by clicking the New toolbar button. The new Component will show in the Internal Link list of Menu Item Types.
  • If you install a Module Extension, it will be added to the list of the Modules in the Module Manager, where you can enable/disable it. You can also customize it's parameters in the Module Edit screen.
  • An installed Plugin Extension will be added to the list of the Plugin Manager, where you can enable/disable it. You can also customize its parameters in the Plugin Edit screen.
  • An installed Template Extension will be added to the Site or Administrator list of the Template Manager where you can assign it to all of the pages or to the selected ones. You can also customize its parameters, edit the HTML or CSS source, or preview the available Module positions.
  • An installed Language Extension will be added to the Site or Administrator list of the Language Manager, depending on the client attribute of the Extension. This screen let's you assign it as the default language, if desired.

Related Screens