In Joomla! 1.5, administration navigation was totally redesigned to be clearer and more usable. Regrouped extensions manager, unified Installer/Uninstaller just few to mention. Let take a look at image bellow.
Template is able to carry parameters
In Joomla! 1.5 templates are able to have parameters just like modules. This new feature is extremely powerful as it allows developers to create super flexible and versatile templates. All parameters and operation related to template are located in new page Template Parameters.
- Here from toolbar we can all template operations such as editing HTML and CSS code, preview, save and apply.
- In field “Details” we see all information about the template.
- In Joomla! 1.5 templates are able to carry parameter like modules. By adding this feature we can now expect a lot more flexible and usable templates.
- Here in field “Menu Assignment” we can assign template to particular menu item. However there are 2 types templates you can’t do assignment: Administrator templates and Default Site template
Editable multiple template css
As we all remember in Joomla! 1.0 template could use multiple CSS files, but from Joomla! Administration we could edit only the default “template_css.css”. Now in Joomla! 1.5, we can edit all CSS files used by the template.
To edit desired CSS file, we just need to click radio button near it and click Edit button on the toolbar.
Bye “Mambot”, Hi “Plugin”
In Joomla! 1.5 we will not ever hear the word “Mambot”. Now it is called “Plugin” and managed in Plugin Manager.
- Filter plugins by their name
- Filter plugins by their state
No text area for intro text
- Article’s parameters are represented in dynamic sliding panels.
- In Joomla! 1.5, he text field “Intro text” was gone for good. Now there is only one text field for article text. We can still have intro text by using new button Read more? to separate intro and the main article text. All we need is setting cursor to separator location and hit magic Read more? button. Dashed red line will appear to indicate place of separation.
Unified Article Manager
First, the concept “Content Item” has been changed to “Article”. Second, all articles are now managed in one single place - Article Manager.
- In Joomla! 1.5 Archive Manager was gone for good, archived articles are now managed in Article Manager by 2 buttons Unarchive and Archive.
- General parameters related to article, such as making Title linkable, showing Read more link, etc. are now configurable by clicking button Preferences. In Joomla! 1.0 these parameters were located in Global Configuration tab Content.
- Now we have an option to filter articles by their states: Published, Unpublished or Archived.
- Archived articles are marked as [Archived] and have grey color.
- In article listing table we have new column Hits showing articles’ impressions. In Joomla! 1.0 this parameter was located in dedicated Page Impressions which was not very convenient to use.
Unified installer/Uninstaller
In Joomla! 1.5 the process of extension installation / uninstallation is occurred in one single place - Extension Manager.
- From top toolbar we can access to unified installer and uninstaller of each extension type.
- In Joomla! 1.5 we can install an extension from any location on the Internet by providing the URL of extension’s installation package.
All-new Menu Item management
In Joomla! 1.0 the process of creating new menu item and it’s further management was a real pain for beginners. Joomla! Development team kept that in mind and they did really good job fixing this issue. Now it’s very straight forward to create and manage menu items.
When creating new menu item we select it’s type from very clear tree of menu item types. In Joomla! 1.0 it was a jungle of options and it was really confused.
After creating new menu item, we have true full control on it. We can change it’s type, parameter, whatever we want. In Joomla! 1.0, if we selected wrong type, the only choice left is delete that item and create new one.
- Once menu item was created it’s type can still be changed by button Change Type.
- Each menu item has a lot of parameters making it flexible and versatile. For example in the screenshot above menu item link to an article has parameters defining how to display that article.
- In Joomla! 1.5, all menu items have options on how to open it. In Joomla! 1.0, only menu items link to content items have this option.
Separated Articles’ common settings
As we remember in Joomla! 1.0 global article parameters like: Show Title, Title Linkable, PDF Icon, Print Icon, etc. are located in Global Configuration, tab Content. Now in Joomla! 1.5, these settings were moved to Article Manager under button Preferences.
Popup frame with dim background looks very stylish and is user friendly.
Separated Trash manger for menus and articles
In Joomla! 1.5, the Trash Manager was split into 2 new Menu Trash Manager and Article Trash Manager. Their functionalities remained the same as in Joomla! 1.0.
Source: http://www.joomlashine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5&Itemid=5