Help16

Site System Information

From Joomla! Documentation

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Overview[edit]

Joomla! Core settings to update and manage your Joomla! website.

How to access[edit]

Select Site → System Information from the drop-down menu of the Joomla! Administrator Panel.

Description[edit]

This tool provides useful information about your host server environment, including operating system, database and PHP settings, and directory information. You can navigate to five different screen: System Info, PHP Settings, Configuration File, Directory Permissions, and PHP Information. Each screen provides detailed information about that aspect of your Joomla! website. This information is very helpful when you are troubleshooting setup problems.

  • Note that none of these settings can be changed from these screens. This must be done in different locations throughout your Joomla! installation, depending on the specific setting.
  • Many settings on the Configuration File screen can be changed from the Global Configuration screen. Some settings shown here depend on your host server configuration and cannot be changed from inside Joomla!.

Screenshot[edit]

System Information Screenshot

Toolbar[edit]

At the top right you will see the toolbar:

  • Help. Opens this Help Screen.

System Information Toolbar

Screens[edit]

  • System Info
  • PHP Settings
  • Configuration File
  • Directory Permissions
  • PHP Information.

System Info[edit]

This screen shows information about the operating environment for your Joomla! site.

PHP Built on : Provides details of the principle operating system which the webserver that Joomla is running on.

Database Version
Provides the current version of the MySQL database being used by the installation of Joomla!.
Database Collation
How the MySQL databased is structured for the information used by Joomla!.
PHP Version
Provides the current version of PHP server side script that is being used for this installation of Joomla!.
Web Server
Provides the current type and version of web server which the installation of Joomla! is running on.
Web Server to PHP interface
The script that permits interaction between the web server (in most cases, Apache) and the PHP scripting language.
Joomla! Version
Provides the current version of Joomla!. It is recommended that it is always to to day and using the current stable release.
User Agent
The summary of the current user's local machine's operating system and browser information which is used to create an unique session ID for access and functionality within the Joomla! web site.

PHP Settings[edit]

These screen shows the Relevant PHP Settings information. If any of these is highlighted as incorrect should be taken care of to rectify the situation.

Safe Mode
Recommended setting: ON
Open basedir
Recommended setting: Site dependent
Display Errors
Recommended setting: OFF
Short Open Tags
Recommended setting:
File Uploads
Recommended setting: ON
Magic Quotes
Recommended setting: ON
Register Globals
Recommended setting: OFF
Output Buffering
Recommended setting: OFF
Session Save Path
Recommended setting: Site dependent
Session Auto Start
Recommended setting: OFF
XML Enabled
Recommended setting: ON
Zlib Enabled
Recommended setting: ON
Disabled Functions
Recommended setting: Site dependent
Mbstring Enabled
Recommended setting: ON
Iconv Available
Recommended setting:
WYSIWYG Editor
Recommended setting: Depends on preference

Configuration File[edit]

This screen shows the contents of the current Joomla! configuration.php file which is stored under the main <path to joomla>/joomla_root/ directory. This file is created for you automatically when you first install Joomla! and where most changes of the Global Configuration section of Joomla! are recorded. Please note that none of the settings can be changed from this page. Use Global Configuration to see more information about these settings and to make changes.

Directory Permissions[edit]

This screen shows a list of the directories that the webserver should have write access to. Please note that all directories listed on this page should say Writable. If not, you may need to change the permissions to be able to install and use Joomla! successfully.

PHP Information[edit]

This screen displays the full configuration of the PHP server side scripting language that Joomla! runs on, together with all the associated system information that goes towards the creation of the web server. It is the output of an integrated php.info script built into Joomla!.

PHP is installed, and runs on the server (hence the server side above), and therefore all the settings are made on the server. The visitor to the web site does not need to have anything special running on their local machine in order to view or use any of the extra functionality that PHP gives to the web site.

All the settings that are ever likely to be needed are displayed here. Any changes that are required would be made within the php.ini and other configuration files on the web server.

How much control a web site owner has over this information depends on whether they own the server or if the server host is flexible in their customer approach.

It is a good practice to know the limitations of a particular server installation. This screens output is used to find detailed information about how PHP is implemented on the server.

For full details on the information contained within the PHP Info screen visit: http://php.net/phpinfo.

Quick Tips[edit]

  • If you are having problems installing extensions, uploading files, or changing configuration options, check the Directory Permissions screen to make sure you have permission to write to files on your web server. The "Status" of the directories should be "Writable". If not, you may be unable to upload or edit files in these directories.
  • When you are seeking help with setup problems, for example in a Joomla! web forum, it is very helpful to post specific information about your Joomla! installation. This screen is an easy way to find all of this information in one place.