Working With Mambo
Modules

Mambo Modules are actually the different sections on your Mambo site. For example, your menu is a module. So is the polls section, a banner rotation, and the News Flash. Modules can be positioned anywhere on the page. Some areas may not show up on your page if the template you're using does not support the location name. You may have to add it into the template's index.php file yourself. See Using Templates for more information. In addition to preset positions, there are also a few user positions you can use to add to your template file. To add support for a module in your template, add the following line, replacing the item in quote marks with the position name:

<?php echo mosLoadModules ( 'left' ); ?>

You can also obtain other modules from places like MamboPortal and MamboForge.

Some third-party modules can let you add things like visit counters, banners, ads and more. Or they may add a function such as placing animated snow over the page.

Installing A Module

NOTE: Before you begin, you will need to realize that this method does not work on Active Web Hosting's servers due to php's Safe Mode being set. While a Safe Mode Patch has been tried with Mambo, this was also not found to work. You'll need to develop your web site offline first and upload your files and import your database to install all your modules into the Mambo system. The instructions here are given for those who are developing on Linux-based systems. If you are using Windows, you will need to use a different method to set write permissions for files and directories.

Before you install a module, be sure that the following directories have write permissions set (CHMOD 777):

/administrator/modules/
/modules/

Go to Modules -> Install/Uninstall. Here you'll see a list of installed modules. If you have installed the Safe Mode Patch, then you can you can upload a .zip file from your hard drive containing the module you want to install. Click on the box next to Use FTP Assist and enter your CGI Server username and password (note that this is not your normal FTP password). Click the browse button next to the Upload Package File text box. Then click the Upload File & Install button.

Alternatively, you can also upload the module directory and it's files to the /modules/ directory (or /administrator/modules/ directory if it is a module for administrator use only).

Next, go to or refresh the Modules -> Site Modules page to see the new module listed. Note that if you do not find the module listed on the first page, then look at the bottom blue bar at the end of the list. You'll see links to 'Start', 'Previous', other pages, 'Next', and 'End'. Click on one of these to see more modules that are installed.

Activating A Module

Go to Modules -> Site Modules. This is where you'll see all the modules currently installed. An icon with a green checkmark indicates modules that are currently in use, or published. An icon with a red 'X' indicates modules that are installed but not in use (unpublished). Clicking in the Published column will toggle the icon between published and unpublished.

Uninstalling or Removing A Module

There are two ways to get a module off your page. One is to simply unpublish the module. To do this, go to the Modules -> Site Modules page and click on the icon in the Published column. It should change from an icon with a green checkmark to an icon with a red checkmark. Most of the time, you'll want to do this since you may decide to add the module to your site at a later time.

If you are certain you will never again use the module, you can delete it. First unpublish it as mentioned above. Click in the box to the left of the module name. Click on the Delete icon in the upper right of the page. The module will be deleted. To get it back again, you'll need to reinstall the module. If the site is hosted on Active Web Hosting's servers, you'll also need to manually remove the module directory from the /administrator/modules/ and /modules/ directories using your FTP program.

Using Modules

The Modules -> Site Modules is where you'll work with your modules. To use a module, you'll first have to be sure the module is active or published as mentioned above. Once active, you can configure the module further by clicking on the module name or clicking the box to the left of the module name and then the Edit icon in the upper right of the page.

In the Details section on the left you'll see the module title and a choice whether to display the module title or not. You can change the name of the module here or decide not to have a heading above the module on the page.

The Position drop down box lets you determine where on the page the module will be displayed. Keep in mind that if your template doesn't have a certain position defined, you'll have to edit your template's index.php file to support that position. This is most likely one of the reasons why your module may not show up on your site even though it's activated/published.

The Module Order is where you can place the module in the area set by Position. For example, by clicking on one of the items from the drop down box, you can place the module after the selected module.

Access Level determines who may be able to see the contents of this module. This is handy if you have some features that you do not want unregistered visitors to use.

Parameters let you define other items that are specific to the module. For example, Style lets you position the module on the left, center, or right horizontally. Pre Text will be shown before the module output, Post Text will be shown after the module output, and Module Class Suffix is where you can set the CSS class (as defined in the /css/template_css.css file) to be used when displaying the module.

The Page Items/Links section to the right is where you can select just certain pages which the module will appear. For example, a visit counter should be only on the mainmenu | Home page. Keep in mind that it's best to wait until after you have set up your pages and menu so that you can best determine which pages to show the module on. You can also go back and select any new pages if you wish. To select more than one page, hold down the CTRL key and click on additional pages.

When done making changes to your module's configuration, click on the Save icon in the upper right of the page.