Removing joomla is free software etc

[ollywood]

Hello at the bottom of the joomla page in the admin sections and on the site itself it has the following:

Joomla! is Free Software released under the GNU/GPL License.

and when logged in as admin:

Joomla! is Free Software released under the GNU/GPL License.
Joomla! 1.0.13 Stable [ Sunglow ] 21 July 2007 16:00 UTC
Check for latest Version

Does anyone know how to remove this and can it easily be done? The only reason is that i dont want competitors seeing my methods. I have contributed to joomla by developing numerous free components etc and cant figure out how to remove that title.

Many thanks

[rgautam]

1. goto your joomla site root folder
2. go inside includes
3. open the footer.php
4. make change as your wish.
this change will reflect footer as you wish in your site.

[lonely_mizo]

The easiest way to remove the footer notice is to go into your template's index.php file and look down towards the bottom where you will see this code:
<!-- copyright notice -->
<div id="copyright">
<?php include_once( $GLOBALS['mosConfig_absolute_path'] . '/includes/footer.php' ); ?>
</div>

Remove the PHP code: <?php include_once( $GLOBALS['mosConfig_absolute_path'] . '/includes/footer.php' ); ?>

Replace it with your own copyright notice for your site. So, you would have something like this:

<!-- copyright notice -->
<div id="copyright">
&copy; 2006 My Site Name.
</div>

Keeping your notice within the <div id="copyright"> means that your notice will be styled the same way as the existing copyright notice. If you want to change the way this looks, look in your template's css file for the
#copyright div styling and edit to however you want.

[ollywood]

Hi

For some reason the one above doesnt seem to work...i cant find any of the text and its not appearing in the document i download....any thoughts? Many thanks

[ollywood]

Hi, I am very new to editing this and cant seem to work out how to do it ie what to edit in the footer area, what to take out so that it says provided by myName in stead of Joomla is free software under etc which appears on the bottom of the admin area when editing it at /administrator.

Many thanks

Ol

[gjacob3412]

I am not sure if it is dependant on the template,.. but,.. I found that the text above was not found in the index.php file. I did a search on footer and found this line of code:

ETA: You want to go to \templates\template you are using\index.php
You don't want to edit (for this case anyway) the index.php file in the root dir.

Code: Select all

<?php include_once( $GLOBALS['mosConfig_absolute_path'] . '/includes/footer.php' ); ?>

If I understand what is been suggested,.. you should be able to simply replace this line with what ever you wish. Or you can just update the footer text. The footer.php file is commented.. and while I didn't spend a lot of time looking it over,.. looked simple enough.

Ok,.. went ahead and looked at it again... here the line straight from my footer.php file:

Code: Select all

// NOTE - You may change this file to suit your site needs
?>
<div align="center">
	&copy; <?php echo mosCurrentDate( '%Y' ) . ' ' . $GLOBALS['mosConfig_sitename'];?>
</div>

<div align="center">
	<?php echo $_VERSION->URL; ?>
</div>

So in theory,.. and I'm no programmer and haven't dived to deep into CSS as of yet but I would think that you could do something like this.:

Code: Select all

// NOTE - You may change this file to suit your site needs
?>
<!-- copyright notice -->
<div id="copyright">
&copy; 2006 My Site Name.
</div>

[farmerdon]

Go to:
/public_html/language/en-GB
then edit: en-GB.mod_footer.ini

delete the line or edit the text as required.

[ollywood]

hmmm cant seem to find the files that people are mentioning. I am using Joomla! 1.0.15 Stable not the new 1.5 version, this might be why i cant find the right areas. Also what programs do you use to edit the files and text pad/notebook makes it all look very messy! Thanks ever so much for al lyour help...sorry i haven sussed this yet.

Ol

[mandville]

excuse my ignorance but is this allowed? to remove the powered by link etc

Joomla! is released as Open Source software – this means the code is provided and you can change it, add to it, copy it, develop it further – and none of this will cost you a penny! We do insist that you retain the copyright notices within the code and that you abide by the GNU GPL v2.0 license under which the software is released.

[farmerdon]

The file your looking for will be in your language folder.

You can remove the footer. The licence will still be in the background (unseen).

[gjacob3412]

hmmm cant seem to find the files that people are mentioning. I am using Joomla! 1.0.15 Stable not the new 1.5 version, this might be why i cant find the right areas. Also what programs do you use to edit the files and text pad/notebook makes it all look very messy! Thanks ever so much for al lyour help...sorry i haven sussed this yet.

Ol

I find that interesting that you can not locate the file... I am using Joomla! 1.0.13 Stable [ Sunglow ]... (oops.. looks like I need to run an upgrade.. tee hee).

I would think that you shouldn't have much issue with finding the files.

With the template I am using,.. I can find the file here:

• /templates/rhuk_solarflare_ii/index.php --Index location
  /public_html/includes/footer.php -- Footer location

[ollywood]

Yeh, stil cant find it lol! when i go to /language in the root menu i can only see english.ignore.php and english.php english.html and index.html

in the templare section i cant see a footer section.

Just to recap, id like to remove the text that appears beneath the login page at /administrator which is:

Joomla! is Free Software released under the GNU/GPL License.

and then when you login it remains... I have attached a screen shot...i thnk im misunderstanding things...thanks ever so much for your help so far. I tried deleting the footer and that didnt seem to work either.

cheers

[gjacob3412]

*Slaps self in head*

Well,.. now that you point that out.. I think everyone will point you to a different location!!! Simply because we thought you were referring to the Copyright at the bottom of the page that a user would see... not the Administrator!!!...

Ok,.. well now,.. how about giving this a whirl:

/administrator/templates/joomla_admin/index.php

That should be the direction to head towards...

[TikkiRo]

Replace it with your own copyright notice for your site. So, you would have something like this:

<!-- copyright notice -->
<div id="copyright">
&copy; 2006 My Site Name.
</div>

Can I ask how you make any part of that a hyperlink website address? Can you put html into it in other words e.g.

<!-- copyright notice -->
<div id="copyright">
&copy; http://www.ape-computers.co.uk
</div>

Do you just "a ref" it or is there some other way?? I'm trying to put my hosts website address in as a footer and this seems the best place to put it?

[leolam]

in the templare section i cant see a footer section.
cheers

go to:
administrator/templates/joomla_admin/login.php and delete (or replace with your own copyright notice)

Code: Select all

div class="footer" align="center">
	<div align="center">
		<?php echo $_VERSION->URL; ?>
	</div>
</div>

you can also change here the site text

at all: you can put in this page whatever you want (as long as you dont claim that you created this CMS )

cheers

Leo

[TikkiRo]

I'm quite intrigued by how there appears to be a number of places you can change footer info e.g. admin, login, includes, templates, languages etc - does changing the info in any one of these work globally across all the others, or is there one in particular you need to access to ensure that happens??

[jpaolini]

No offense to the OP here, but if competitors are going to see the admin interface it won't take them long to figure out it's a Joomla-based website if they are at all familiar with the current CMSs available (which I assume they should be if they are your competitors).

Removing the "branding" of Joomla! just seems to be a moot point. Changing some images and colors doesn't make it feel that different (especially to someone who knows CMSs).

[abercrombie]

Go to:
/public_html/language/en-GB
then edit: en-GB.mod_footer.ini

delete the line or edit the text as required.

this suggestion worked for me under v1.5

[omojesu]

Does anyone know how to achieve this in v1.5.2? I can't seem to find the copyright tag. I followed thsi

Code: Select all

Go to:
/public_html/language/en-GB
then edit: en-GB.mod_footer.ini

delete the line or edit the text as required.

but the copyright notice still appears, with no effects.

[leolam]

Does anyone know how to achieve this in v1.5.2?

just unpublish the dedicated footer module:
admin > extensions> module manager > mod_footer : unpublish and done

easy huh?

[omojesu]

Thanks. I actually just found out I can replace the ISFREESOFTWARE tag in login.php and cpanel.php

[leolam]

Thanks. I actually just found out I can replace the ISFREESOFTWARE tag in login.php and cpanel.php

well it's a way of doing BUT...we started with Joomla 1.5.0, are now on 1.5.3 and I bet before the end of this year we will have 4 - 5 releases if we follow the known pattern. This means that eah time you upgrade with the added features or security issues you need to redo this again.....

To avoid that the specific module was created which can be unpublished so no modifications to the "core" files...
sounds logical?

Leo

[ranwilli]

Just a general comment, AND THIS IS ONLY MY OPINION - and I'm Not a Lawyer.

We have been given the right NOT TO DISPLAY Joomla's copyright to the world, but not to remove it from the source code...

At some point in this thread, instructions were given about "rebranding" the admin area, and it sort of "implied" that one could edit index.php to show a different copyright...


I don't think that would be the right thing to do... I certainly agree one CAN do it, I just don't think we SHOULD.


In the end, you are always better off, IMO and in my experience, if the client knows EXACTLY where the software came from, and EXACTLY how much you paid for it (especially if you donated to the effort, as we all should).

If you ever attempt to hold yourself or your company out as the developer of this thing (or just allow the client to make that assumption because you insert a footer that says copyright YOU) How you gonna explain a vulnerability or a security upgrade?

You are much better off to tell the client exactly what they're paying for.


Just my opinion.

[leolam]

Just a general comment, AND THIS IS ONLY MY OPINION - and I'm Not a Lawyer.
At some point in this thread, instructions were given about "rebranding" the admin area, and it sort of "implied" that one could edit index.php to show a different copyright...

If you refer to my thread that is not the case and it did not imply that at all! If you think that you read it wrong! I wrote that as very well known that the visible copyright notice can be taken off the the website in front and backend. You are not allowed to rebrand it as your own CMS (Also that I stated above) You can however state that Copyright 2008: Joomadesk or whatever...that is not against the law and that is mentioned here!

As we have also published in one of our tutorials on our own website just to clarify:

Last but not least:
You are NOT required to show the visible Joomla! or Mambo copyright notice on the bottom of a site.
It is NOT illegal to remove the generated copyright notice.
What the GPL forbids is removal of copyright notices in the SOURCE CODE.
The copyright notices that appear in the source code (e.g. *.php files) look similar to the following:

Code: Select all

* @version $Id: COPYRIGHT.php 1642 2006-01-04 01:20:09Z rhuk $
* @package Joomla
* @copyright Copyright (C) 2005 Open Source Matters. All rights reserved.
* @license http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU/GPL, see LICENSE.php
* Joomla! is free software. This version may have been modified pursuant
* to the GNU General Public License, and as distributed it includes or
* is derivative of works licensed under the GNU General Public License or
* other free or open source software licenses.
* See COPYRIGHT.php for copyright notices and details.

You are NOT allowed to remove these notices!

Please Note: add-on components, modules, and other extensions to Joomla! or Mambo come with their own copyright and legal notices. The information given above only applies to the basic Joomla! and Mambo core installations. For information about whether you can legally remove the copyright of 3rd party add-ons, you will need to refer to the information they include and, if in doubt, contact the developer before making any changes.

Where I reacted at and I was planning to modify the post to clarify what I write here as well but i cannot edit my own thread..(interesting to make things clear and avoid confusion..... You can change any text or image in your admin backend login to whatever format you want. You can make a full blown own template which has no reference to Joomla at all. Does not make sense though to hide at all since people are not stupid and source code shows that this is Joomla so why removing the reference? IMHO it is an advantage to use the power of Joomla in your communication with your clients...

Expect that this clarifies

Leo

[ranwilli]

Leo - My profound apologies - I DID read that too quickly - and read it wrong...


I don't however, take back what I said about efforts to "re-brand" - I've seen it done - and I think it's wrong, and I think it's stupid.

[leolam]

Leo - My profound apologies - I DID read that too quickly - and read it wrong...
I don't however, take back what I said about efforts to "re-brand" - I've seen it done - and I think it's wrong, and I think it's stupid.

no issue and fully accepted and I do agree with you as you can read. People should use the Magic and Power instead of hiding it.... and yes it is being done and yes in past (and I hope they still do) they went after those culprits since it is simply unlawful and stealing

cheers buddy

[omojesu]

To add my 2 cent to this, the idea behind changing the Copyright Joomla on the footer is to give the site a somehow professional look. The point is that if users see this notice they tend to think that because it is "free" then it does not have value, whereas Joomla as it stands today is one of the most powerful web application today, it beats hands down any commercial application in its class. But most people are guilty of this, when they see something free, they tend not to place high value into it.

...and people that fall into that category never even look in the source code to read the Joomla copyright notice which is always intact as per GNU license

And leolam...thanks, you make a lot of sense about this. Never knew the footer is a module that can be turned on/off at will. That again demonstrate the power of Joomla!

well it's a way of doing BUT...we started with Joomla 1.5.0, are now on 1.5.3 and I bet before the end of this year we will have 4 - 5 releases if we follow the known pattern. This means that eah time you upgrade with the added features or security issues you need to redo this again.....

To avoid that the specific module was created which can be unpublished so no modifications to the "core" files...
sounds logical?

[ranwilli]

To add my 2 cent to this, the idea behind changing the Copyright Joomla on the footer is to give the site a somehow professional look. The point is that if users see this notice they tend to think that because it is "free" then it does not have value, whereas Joomla as it stands today is one of the most powerful web application today, it beats hands down any commercial application in its class. But most people are guilty of this, when they see something free, they tend not to place high value into it.

...

You are speaking of the front end if you say "users", no? we have no quarrel about removal from the front end.

I maintain it is shortsighted, foolish, and intellectually dishonest to remove it from the back end.

[leolam]

I maintain it is shortsighted, foolish, and intellectually dishonest to remove it from the back end.

I rather consider these stipulations "strong" (people have their own views and I do respect those views without "branding" those views .. .) and indefinite incorrect regarding the word "dishonest". Please see the attachments. The license fully allows to remove or change the blue-highlighted parts in the backend and as long as you do not replace this with "Software Developed by company XYZ" (even that is disputable allowed or not...but the borders are thin here) you are completely ok to either remove or put any text here such as: Site developed by: XYZ Copyright XYZ 2008. Nothing wrong with that at all.

So I believe that your points ( though understandable) are driven by emotions and do not reflect the law as per GPL.

Note this is an ever returning discussion so no need to further renew the discussion once again.....hundreds of threads have been posted and if you feel the need to discuss this further I suggest moderators to move this to The Lounge or so?

Cheers
Leo

back2.jpg

back1.jpg

[lulubug]

Ok, going back to the original topic... I still can't seem to remove the "Joomla! is Free Software released under the GNU/GPL License. " from the ADMINISTRATOR panel... it was pretty quick and eay to take it off the live sit but I need to remove it from the admin panel... doea anyone have any idea on how to do it? Please, I am desperate!!!

Thanks