Joomla! Discussion Forums

hello all,

i'm using a new template called "4 seasons templates - summer" (there is a template for each season).  everything is fine with it except that the top menu is all mashed together & i can't figure out how to fix it...i know about the css and i looked in there to see if there's anything i can do to fix it, but i'm not sure what to look for...i see something that says ".module - menu div div div h3" but i tried to change the margin from 0px to 5px and that didn't do it...  does anyone know how i can fix this?

you can visit my web site at:  http://www.savinathompson.com  to see what i'm talking about.

also, if you visit my site, you'll see that there appears to be a large amount of white space at the top.  that's where the joomla banner used to be.  i changed the css file and replaced the joomla banner with just a blank white banner, but i'd like to make that area much, much smaller...does anyone know how to do that as well?

any help would be GREATLY appreciated - this is my business web site, so i'd like it to look nice and professional.

thank you for the help!!

from looking at the output, you top menu module is set to output the menu as a flat list but your templat css looks like it is expecting your menu in a horizontal table ( two completely different html outputs ) Templates often only have css for one method.

modules > site modules > top menu > menu style : horizontal

Re the banner, if you do not intend using the banner then you should either remove the html for it from the template index.php or maybe remove / ammend the css defining the banner area container. It currently has a fixed height of 60px

thank you for your help!!

just one thing...umm...maybe i overstated my understanding of css just a little...tiny...bit.  well, actually, i UNDERSTAND it...it's just that, in regard to my top menu module...i'd like it to run straight across that top bar...how would i do that?  i do want just enough of a banner up there to fit that menu going across the top, so i'll adjust the size of that on my css, but how do i change the css to make that top menu run left to right across?

when you say that the top menu module is set to output the menu as a flat list, do you mean it's set as a horizontal list?

thank you again for the help

never mind - i figured it out!   :D  i do have one more quick question though....

at the very bottom of the template is a link to "mambo assistance," etc.  can you please tell me how to get that off of there?  it looks very...messy.  thank you!

by the way, I had a quick scan of the site and noticed on the About page that you have used lots of manual line breaks to force text onto a new line. This looked quite bad in my browser, probably because the text size settings in my browser are larger than in yours. The line breaks occurred at the wrong places. Your visitors will have a variety of text settings so you may want to look at this formatting.

It is normally better to let the browser decide where to make the line breaks and personally I prefer to have the editor render carriage returns as new paragraphs.

great, thank you for checking!  i'm still learning, so i'm sure there are a lot of mistakes like that, lol...

also, do you know how to get rid of that text at the bottom?  the "mambo assistance & mega-something" text? 

Well that is the copyright notice from the template designers, so you will need to look at their rules on this copyright notice (it is most likely coded into the template index.php). Many people who give out free templates require that their acknowledgment remains in place, which is not ideal for a business website. Also some free templates cannot be used in commercial sites at all.

You will need to check with the designers - sometimes they will allow you to remove it upon request or perhaps for a small fee.

hmm...okay, i guess i'll try to contact them...it's not usually so bad; it's just so big on this template.  anyway, thanks again

There are not usually rules stating that the notice must be a certain size. It would normally be ok to reduce its impact, provided you do not go too far and make it unreadable.

e.g. the following in your css controls the footer text and the links within it


I have reduced the font-size down to 10px and changed the text color to be less of a contrast

you're very handy...(grin)...thank you! 

okay, i promise that was my last question...for the next few minutes, at least

When you say

I assume that you do not actually have a program or service for newsletters already?

If that is the case then you will need a joomla component to provide the newsletter function

If you wish to have a module in the side column for e.g. to allow people to sign up for the newsletter, then you would also install the accompanying newsletter module.

I have always used the letterman newsletter component, but there are several out there some which are based on the letterman component

Depends on what features you require. You should find them easily enough on the extensions directory

i downloaded and installed letterman, but it's not showing up on my site...do i need to change the css or something to get it to show up?  the "poll" isn't showing up either...i see that they're both listed in my "installed modules" area...i should probably list this question in another area, since i've already asked you about 5 questions beyond my original one - sorry!!

many components require you to make a menu link to access them

e.g. menu > main menu > NEW > component > select the newly installed component from list

If you install the letterman sign up module, I think that when you sign up for newsletters it will take you to the newsletter comonent page with any published newsletters on display.

Many modules that you install will need you to go into the settings and set the module to be published and choose which pages to place it on and which module position in your site template etc.


Oooh, just noticed - this was my 2000th post       
(thought that I would go mad and treat myself to a few frivolous smilies!

lol...and to think, you were only at 500 when we started this thread...heehee...

okay, you were right - i had to publish the "sign up" module...but the polls still won't show up...as far as i can tell, everything is set up correctly -

i don't know if it matters, but here's the only thing in the "language---->english" file i can see about the poll:

/** poll.php */
DEFINE('_ALERT_ENABLED','Cookies must be enabled!');
DEFINE('_ALREADY_VOTE','You already voted for this poll today!');
DEFINE('_NO_SELECTION','No selection has been made, please try again');
DEFINE('_THANKS','Thanks for your vote!');
DEFINE('_SELECT_POLL','Select Poll from the list');

(sigh).

and i'll partake in your smiley revelry: 

okay we seem to be doing a mini how-to-joomla manual here...

the poll module is capable of displaying multiple polls

you can decide which pages the poll module shows on in the poll module params

the big difference with the polls is that when you define your polls in the polls component, you can set different polls to show on different pages

so you can have the poll module show on page x, y & z

and in the polls manager set poll a to show on page x & y
poll b to show on page y

so you need to check both the polls in components > polls AND the module which displays them in the module manager

i did that, that's the problem...i know about the poll module being attached to whatever page the poll component is tied to, so i made sure they're both set right...

but it's okay, i'll figure it out...thank you for the help!

you are welcome

quick thought - is the poll set to published in the

components > polls > your poll ?

yep - on both the module and the component, i have it set for "published."  i also created a menu item button for the poll and tried to tie it to that instead of just to the home page, but if you click on the menu item button, it just takes you to the results of the poll - you can't vote...  i'm at a loss...i have no idea why it's not working...

i have another site i'm working on, http://www.mugwortpress.com and the poll is working just fine there...i went into the admin of that site to see if there are any differences in the component/module settings, but it's set exactly the same as this one...the only thing i can think of is that something is screwy with the css...maybe this template doesn't allow for a poll??

(sigh) you've been very helpful - i really appreciate it!!

do you have the poll set to publish in position "left"? If not, that is the problem. By default it is in position "right" I think.
Left is the only reasonable position for polls that exists in your template.

oh!  great!  that worked!  but it publishes at the top of the page...where should i put it so that it publishes at the bottom left?  i don't want to get rid of the rss feed syndication, but i don't want the poll to be above the navigation buttons...

You will get the hang of it. You just need to look a bit harder at the admin interface - or maybe you don't as long as people are as nice as Toubkal 

Just below the modules drop-down box where you set the module position to left, there is another field where you set the module order.
This sets the order of the modules within the same position.  Alternativley, you can use the little blue arrows in the module manager to move modules up or down relative to the other modules in that are in the same position.

i know, i know...he's been here forever...don't worry though, all of my questions were answered, so you've gotten rid of me for awhile, lol...

thanks again to both of you for all of the help

Oh, I was just ribbing you a little.  In truth, the only questions that really bother me are the ones I can't figure out the answer to.
At some point we've all had to find answers to what may now seem like simple questions.

yeah, to be honest, at first i thought it was a hopeless venture trying to learn joomla, lol...it's soooo different than working with html...but little by little i'm getting it, i think...it's just a matter of learning where everything is...like learning today that i can move the position of the modules...that's pretty basic - i should have realized that, lol...