installing a template - Manifest and XML setup file errors Topic is solved

[ibexweb]

Sorry - if I'm in the wrong place please refer me on to the right forum.

I'm a complete beginner working my way through a test build on the launch.joomla.org site. I've been following through on some [youtube] videos that are from OSTraining but they were written for v3 of Joomla. So far I've managed to work most things out, but once I got to templates they were too far out of date.

I've just started to try and load a new template by downloading the sporty template (theme?) (theme-900337.zip) from template toasters site. Every attempt to install this, and a couple of other themes, results in the same errors

JInstaller: :Install: Can't find XML setup file.

and

Unable to detect manifest file.

I know I've got to be getting something really simple wrong but I can't work it out. Any help would be appreciated.

I don't actually care about the specific template for now - I'm just trying to get something to work before I start on designing a new set of pages for my club.

[AMurray]

You're using a template that's too old for Joomla 5 (I can't find any reference to your template theme-900337.zip from Template Toasters. I suggest you use Cassieopia (the default template in J5) until you're comfortable with Joomla.

Further resources are found here for help: documentation is here: https://docs.joomla.org, and ask your questions in the relevant sub-forums.

You can 'graduate' to more complex templates once you master the basics.

[ibexweb]

Thanks. The idea was to just install an alternative template to see what it did and how it impacted the layout. It's just about learning how Joomla works before I commit to building a real site with it.

The actual template I was looking at is called Sporthy - Sports Club Template. I was pretty sure it was marked for V5 but I can't find that reference now. I had the same problem with some other templates that were marked for V5 so does this error definitely mean they're just not suitable for V5?

All I really want to do at this stage is load a template and see how that impacts the site. Is there another V5 template I can get to test that out?

"...and ask your questions in the relevant sub-forums." Are you also saying I'm in the wrong forum here?

[Per Yngve Berg]

The file is not a Template. Look at the size of the file. If it is more than a few Megabyte, it's a Quick Start Package that is a full install of Joomla. Install in an empty sub-domain.

Unzip the file and look inside. There shall be trmplatedetails.xml file in the root folder.

There may also be zip files inside. One with the template and another with a Framework.

[ibexweb]

Thanks. I'll do some more looking around to see what I can work out.

The instructions were so simple, just download the template, and then upload it onto Joomla. Clearly there's more to it than that, at least with the files that I tried to use.

[toivo]

The instructions were so simple, just download the template, and then upload it onto Joomla.

Joomla templates are Joomla extensions. The .zip file is installed through System - Install - Extensions. Many third party templates are dependent on a framework, which is another installable extension.

[SharkyKZ]

https://template toaster.com/template/sp ... b-template
This is not even a Joomla template. It's plain HTML.

[ibexweb]

Thanks everyone. I eventually worked out that one of the files I'd downloaded was just a template and the rest - well they were all sorts of things that advertised themselves as templates but were frameworks, full install etc.

I have now successfully installed and applied the shaper_helixultimate - Default template and seen what impact that has on my design. Basically confirmed that I should choose a template before rather than after I build out the site for my club to minimise the rework I would to go through to reposition elements.

[toivo]

Good to hear that you have installed your template! Do not hesitate to post further questions about Joomla or report possible issues here in the forums!

[FactorThree]

Greetings, ibexweb:

I am also looking for templates to install on my Joomla system. I have downloaded a number of templates from Joomlart and template toaster (and a few others). I have selected only templates that were marked as Joomla 5 templates, but I am getting the same "can not load template file" failure. After reading this Topic, I began looking at the zip files I am downloading. None of them have the trmplatedetails.xml in their root folders.

Could you please share the URL of the template file that you were finally able to load? I want to do what you did, which is to see the impact of a changed template on the site I am creating.

[toivo]

Click the download link on this page: Helix Ultimate, then download and install the template and the plugin.

[FactorThree]

Thanks, toivo, for the info.

I have a question: is the entire field of Joomla Templates about people paying for templates or purchasing some kind of application or framework in order to use their "free" templates? I'd like to know so I know what I am dealing with, and what I am going to have to do (how much I will ultimately have to pay!) so I won't get stuck with that default Cassiopeia template.

Is the entire Joomla template business full of folks finding ways to take your money? Are there no templates out there (other than Cassiopeia) that can be used as tests in order to learn Joomla layout/site building?

[toivo]

Is the entire Joomla template business full of folks finding ways to take your money?

Not at all. For example, try T4 Framework and the associated free templates.

[FactorThree]

Thanks for the links, but actually my attempts to install them are failing.

I am getting two failures:

Warning: Failed to move file: [TMP]/php69G1b4 to [ROOT][TMP]/t4-system-plugin_2.4.0.zip
Unable to detect manifest file.

I am getting similar failures attempting to install
tpl_t4_bs5_blank_1.2.2.zip
tpl_t4_bs5_blank_1.2.2.zip

and pretty much everything else on the T4 downloads page.

[FactorThree]

Almost forgot to mention:

I did avoid attempting to install anything that was clearly for Joomla 4 or below.

Also: curiously, tpl_t4_bs5_blank_1.2.2.zip actually has a file called "templateDetails.xml". It still won't install.

Question: does the template details file have to be all lower case? On windows it doesn't, but I am running Joomla 5 in a docker container. I believe the OS for the container is a Linux distribution (based on the fact that my virtual drive is mapped to a Linux directory). If that is the case, then Joomla could be failing to find the templateDetails.xml file because it needs to be templatedetails.xml.

Someone please advise.

[toivo]

Issues with the names of .XML files with properly tested and published extensions would be extremely rare. Go to the System Information - PHP Information and check if your web server supports XML. If not, enable it in the cPanel or a similar page provided by your host.

[FactorThree]

Problem was solved.

It wasn't the templates, or anything else. The failures were caused by a permissions problem.

I have the files in the Joomla root (/var/www/html) directory mapped to a local directory on my server. I do not know how the user IDs and permissions are set by the Joomla application, but docker containers, when creating file systems (like the directories and files for a Joomla installation), have them belong to root. Apparently the Joomla application has a different user name. As a result of the standard permission settings for file creation, Joomla was unable to copy files to the various directories when attempting to install templates or other components.

I solved the problem by giving universal write permissions for the files and directories. Once I did this, my installations worked without problems (except for the installation of the T4 framework and template builder, whose installation is failing for a different reason). I believe, however, there is a bug in the docker container configuration. The bug is simple enough: on a Linux system the container needs to set ownership of files and directories it creates to the Joomla application when it is first started. This can be done with a single configuration setting, but I do not know the username of the Joomla application. If I knew the username, I can edit my docker-compose.yml file to properly set all file/directory ownership. My write permission settings are a good kludge, but they create security issues for any website.

Can someone tell me the username that Joomla uses on Linux systems? I can provide the appropriate changes in the docker run command and a docker-compose.yml file that will fix this bug.

[toivo]

The username is configured in the web server, not in Joomla.

[FactorThree]

Okay...

What is the username used by the server?