View source for Use an existing Joomla! 1.5 site

Many people come to Joomla! in order to use a site that is already up and running. In this case, you will need to know something about the site and where the Articles are that you are going to work with. This will vary a great deal from site to site, so is not covered here (obviously!)

You are likely to want to do this if you are going to be adding content to an existing site and do not have much computing experience.

=== Usernames and permissions===
Joomla! allows content to be created and edited by visitors who have a username (sometimes called a login) with appropriate permissions. The usernames are created, and the permissions defined, by the person who looks after the Web site, usually called the Administrator. 

If you are using an existing site, you will need to make sure that you have been given a username with the right permissions for what you are going to do. So you will need a username in order to be able to add and edit articles, and thus be able to use this hands-on Manual. 

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There are four levels of permission  relevant to adding and editing Articles in a Joomla! Web site. 
* Some website visitors never login and are just able to read the content. They may also be limited in the pages they can see.
*Others can login but have 'read only' access to the site - in other words they cannot alter anything. 
*You will need to be given a username (with a password) by your Administrator with a level of access that will allow you to edit and create content. 
**You may be given 'author' or 'editor' permissions, which allows you to edit and add Articles, but does not allow you to 'publish' them. An author can only edit he articles that they have created.
**You may have 'publisher' permissions, which allows you to add and edit articles, but you can also make them visible on the site - that is to say you can publish them. 

[[Who can do what?| More about usernames and permissions.]] This lists the various things that people with different permissions can do.

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