The following guide should give you a brief summary of important aspects related the JoomFish 2.5 installation. Please read this guide carefully as there are some aspects that might be relevant for you.

Prerequisites

1. Of course JoomFish 2.5 does only work with Joomla 2.5.x (as Joomla 3.0 changes again some of the underlying tables we can't gurantee that the extension is working right now. But we will work on that)
2. PHP 5.2 (ideally 5.3 or 5.4)
3. mysqli driver (not mysql, note the ending i)
   just go to Joomla 2.5 Global Configuration —> Server —> Database Settings and be sure that the database Type is Mysqli
4. The Joomla multilingual system present in the core is not compatible with translations made using JoomFish. This means you must either use JoomFish to translate your contents or you must use the core Joomla way to create a multi-lingual website. If you choose to use JoomFish you have to make sure to disable the core Joomla Language Switcher module (Backend > Extensions > Module Manager > select the modules "Language Switcher" and unpublish them) and disable the Language filter and Language code system plugins (Backend > Extensions > Plug-in Manager > select the plugins "System - Language Code" and "System - Language Filter" and unpublish them).

Test environment (and settings in case of problems)

• Set Error reporting to Maximum in the Global Configuration (Backend > Site > Global Configuration > Server > Error Reporting = Maximum).
• Set Debug System to Yes in the Global Configuration (Backend > Site > Global Configuration > System > Debug System = Yes).

Installation

1. Download the latest JoomFish 2.5 package from our download pages. For club members check out the intermediate builds that give you additional updates
2. Use the ZIP archive with your Joomla extension manager
   The package includes the core component as well some additional plugins all these will be installed automatically and are available for your afterwards
3. Download additional language packs for the backend if needed

Post-installation

Enable JoomFish language selector

Check whether the frontend JoomFish language selector module (Backend > Extensions > Module Manager > "JoomFish language selector") is published, assigned to relevant pages and published on a position that appears in your template.

• Status = Published
• Choose a position, e.g. "position-6" on Joomla's default template Beez
• Assign the module, e.g. "On all pages" (or at least a selection)

Check the Content Languages

Check the Content Languages (Backend > Components > JoomFish > Content Languages): only active languages are shown in the frontend. Make sure each language has an Internal Title and a Native Title.

Check/disable core Joomla multilingual system

Disable the core Joomla Language Switcher module and the Language filter and Language code system plugins. The core Joomla multilingual system is not compatible with Joomfish translations so you must decide which system you will use on the site. See pre-requisite nr. 4.

Check Joomfish system plugins ordering numbers

The Joomfish system plugins need to come before all other system plugins and their ordering numbers must be: 1 - "Joomfish - Basic Router", 2 - "Joomfish - Database Abstraction Layer", 3 - "Joomfish - Core overrides". All other system plugins need to have ordering numbers higher than 3. Find your system plugins here: Backend > Extensions > Plug-in Manager > Dropdownbox: - Select Type - = system.

Add languages after installation of JoomFish

When you install a new language after you have installed JoomFish the language automatically shows up in the Content Languages screen (Backend > Components > JoomFish > Content Language). You may want to change the Internal title (title of the language used in JoomFish' backend) and the Native Title (title used in the language selection module in the frontend). The language is only shown in the frontend language selection module if it is set to active (check the box and save).

Re-install JoomFish

A re-installation of JoomFish is not needed for any upgrade or other activity. If you are going to do this please uninstall the core extension (JoomFish component). This will uninstall all additional extensions as well. All Database entries are kept, only the JoomFish files (component, module and plugins) are removed.

In case of an issue with the un-installation please ensure all files as well as the database entries within the extension table are removed before you install a new version of JoomFish.

Die Einrichtung und ersten Schritte mit JoomFish sind manchmal eine kleine Herausforderung. Wir versuchen immer diese Schritte zu vereinfachen was aber nur mit sehr großem Aufwand gelingt, da auch die Problemstellung von mehrsprachigen Webseiten sehr vielseitig ist. Der im PHP Magazin veröffentlichte Artikel beschreibt diese ersten Schritte und gibt eine einfache Einführung in die Nutzung der Erweiterung JoomFish.

PHPMagazin 03.09 - Sprachenwunder

We might be able to translate the article into English in future.

This FAQ isn't proofreaded or something like that, so if you notice spelling errors or other mistakes, please notify me via a PM on the forums.

1: I have this parse error when I click on Control Panel:
Parse error: parse error, expecting `T_OLD_FUNCTION' or `T_FUNCTION' or `T_VAR' or `'}'' in c:\program files\easyphp1-8\www\administrator\components\com_joomfish\classes\JCacheStorageJFDB.php on line 52

You are running PHP4. Joom!Fish needs PHP 5 to run (It's not yet compatible with PHP 5.3). In your Joomla! backend: help > system info, you can check which version you're running

2: In my default language I also see the 'there are no translations available' message.

First thing to try: go to your language manager and set your second language to default and then your first language again. (So reset the default language).

If this doesn't solve the issue: Go to the language configuration in Joom!Fish (components > Joom!Fish > languages) and check if you don't have any fallback language for the default language.

Let's go to the upgrade step by step. This instructions contain information for upgrading from prior 2.0 versions (alpha, beta, beta2, interim releases). For migration from version 1.8.2 to 2.0, please read the documentation package available to Club Members or refer to our forum.

Step by step:

1. Download the Latest Stable package from www.joomfish.net (don't unzip it);
2. Go to your Joomla! Administrator panel;
3. Ensure that you are using version of Joomla! 1.5.6 or later;
4. Go to Extensions -> Installation;
5. Choose the downloaded zip file;
6. Click on Upload & Install
7. Now you need to go either with eXtplorer or FTP client and ensure that the following two files were deleted by the installation script:

- administrator/components/com_joomfish/admin.joomfish.php

- administrator/components/com_joomfish/JoomfishManager.class.php

You are done - YES, that's all. Future upgrades would be even easier.