J1.5:Use an existing Joomla! 1.5 site

The "J1.5" namespace is an archived namespace. This page contains information for a Joomla! version which is no longer supported. It exists only as a historical reference, it will not be improved and its content may be incomplete and/or contain broken links.

GSheader The aim of this short introduction is to help you use a site that has already been set up so that you feel that you are not just using a mysterious back box. It is one of a series of documents introducing Joomla! version 1.5.

Introduction

Who is it written for?

• Everyone
• The main focus is on people who do not have much experience of using web sites.

You also need:-

• to have access to a Joomla! site with an appropriate level of permission

Many people start to use a web site that has been set up using Joomla! You are especially likely to do this if you are going to be adding content to an existing site and do not expect to go further with managing the site.

You do need to know something about the site and where the Articles are located. This will vary a great deal from site to site, so (obviously!) cannot be covered here in detail.

How to login

You will need a username with the right permissions for what you are going to do, such as add and edit articles.

You will be given a username (sometimes called a login) to allow you to alter the content of a site. This shows you how to login once you have a username and password.

• Open the site in your browser

• Find the LOGIN area: this is usually to the left of the page but it can be elsewhere.

The screen may look slightly different on different sites, for the name and the position depends on how the site is designed.

There are separate boxes for entering your Username and Password.

Type your username into the Username box

Type your password into the Password box

Click the LOGIN button

When you have logged in you will probably be able to see more Menus and other content on the site. If you have the right permissions, you should also be able to edit some of the content. Look out for the edit icon

Usernames and permissions

Joomla! allows content to be created and edited by visitors who login with a username with appropriate permissions.

• The usernames are created, and the permissions defined, by the person who looks after the Web site, usually called the Administrator.

There are four levels of permission relevant to adding and editing Articles in a Joomla! Web site.

• Guests: Some website visitors never login and are just able to read the content. They may also be limited in the pages they can see.
• Registered users: 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.

• Author or Editor: You may be given 'author' or 'editor' permissions, which allows you to edit and add Articles, but does not allow you to 'publish' them. Publishing an article makes it visible to visitors to the web site. Authors can only edit articles that they have created.
• Publisher: You may have 'publisher' permissions, which allows you to publish articles, as well as adding and editing them.

Where Next?

Once you have logged in to the site, there is a hands-on document (part of this series) to introduce you to altering an Article.

• Hands-on how to begin to edit an Article. This will help you to become familiar with editing in Joomla!

Further information

There are other levels of permission that are needed for managing a site. This has some further detail - Controlling user access to a Joomla! Site

Index to other documents in this series

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--Lorna Scammell December 2010