Fabrik 
Version
3.0.7 (last update on Mar 30, 2013)
Rating
Compatibility
Reviews
221
License
GPLv2 or later
Non-Commercial
Type
Date Added
19 January 2007
Fabrik gives you the power to create forms and tables that run inside Joomla without requiring knowledge of mySQL and PHP. Then feed your data into Google Maps, Charts or an AJAX based calendar
With Fabrik you can create applications that range in complexity from simple contact forms to complex applications such as a job application site or bug tracking systems.
Images
I searched high and low to find a solution for user profile handling, and gave Fabrik a try. The install was straightforward and error free on 2.5.0.
Somewhat overwhelmed by the considerable number of options/features, I registered with the Fabrik web site to access the tutorials. (You'll DEFINITELY need to register to access some of the more advanced tutorials.)
The tutorials gave plenty of guidance - with a bit of humor along the way - for me to get going in a reasonable number of hours (about 2-3).
When I finally got deeper into Fabrik, I made a design decision that it was too much complexity for my application, which I wanted to keep dirt simple.
This by no means detracts from the extension. I am glad I invested the time to get to know the tip of the Fabrik iceberg, and now know when to use it in other web site applications.
Very nice! Kudos to the developers!
Somewhat overwhelmed by the considerable number of options/features, I registered with the Fabrik web site to access the tutorials. (You'll DEFINITELY need to register to access some of the more advanced tutorials.)
The tutorials gave plenty of guidance - with a bit of humor along the way - for me to get going in a reasonable number of hours (about 2-3).
When I finally got deeper into Fabrik, I made a design decision that it was too much complexity for my application, which I wanted to keep dirt simple.
This by no means detracts from the extension. I am glad I invested the time to get to know the tip of the Fabrik iceberg, and now know when to use it in other web site applications.
Very nice! Kudos to the developers!
The component is easy to use once you get the hang of it and everything can be customized.
I use it on most sites I make.
However, installing this component somehow breaks the functioning of the ZOO component. Disabling Fabrik brings back the functionality of ZOO. I don't know on which end this fault lies but it could have to do with the new custom elements in J1.6+.
This doesn't change the fact that Fabrik is an amazing (especially for its price) Extension.
I use it on most sites I make.
However, installing this component somehow breaks the functioning of the ZOO component. Disabling Fabrik brings back the functionality of ZOO. I don't know on which end this fault lies but it could have to do with the new custom elements in J1.6+.
This doesn't change the fact that Fabrik is an amazing (especially for its price) Extension.
I see a lot of potencial here. I think it's a "must have".
Very intuitive considering what you can do with it.
A great piece of work, keep it going.
Very intuitive considering what you can do with it.
A great piece of work, keep it going.
I have built and worked on several custom(way beyond standard installs) Joomla websites. I have worked with JReviews, Seblod, K2, several RSJoomla components and the dreaded (jk) VirtueMart.
I can say that Fabrik is one of the better components I have been able to use. Although it is often listed with CCK like components, I think it is quite different. It has a steeper learning curve then most Joomla add ons, but that is expected considering what a developer can do with it.
I charge for my services and so I do not expect everything to be free (shocked by web developers who think EVERYTHING in the Joomla space should be free, are they building websites for free? If so, I have a ton of potential 'clients' for them ;-). I paid for the bronze subscription and felt I easily got my money's worth!
You must be comfortable with some advanced Joomla stuff, and understand a little bit about databases to really get the use out of Fabrik, but once you do you should be happy.
If it is just too much for you then look at K2 and stay far away from Seblod (great tool with similar learning curve to Fabrik).
I can say that Fabrik is one of the better components I have been able to use. Although it is often listed with CCK like components, I think it is quite different. It has a steeper learning curve then most Joomla add ons, but that is expected considering what a developer can do with it.
I charge for my services and so I do not expect everything to be free (shocked by web developers who think EVERYTHING in the Joomla space should be free, are they building websites for free? If so, I have a ton of potential 'clients' for them ;-). I paid for the bronze subscription and felt I easily got my money's worth!
You must be comfortable with some advanced Joomla stuff, and understand a little bit about databases to really get the use out of Fabrik, but once you do you should be happy.
If it is just too much for you then look at K2 and stay far away from Seblod (great tool with similar learning curve to Fabrik).
I must say that Fabrik is one of the two extensions that will give you the the most of your Joomla based site (the other being Seblod). It's true that such tools have a learning curve and require some efforts. But I'm no developer and Fabrik lets me achieve some very impressive results with just a basic understanding of MySQL databases. It's just... amazing :)
Thumbs up!
Thumbs up!
I have never left a review before, but this component deserves more than a 5 star rating. Not to difficult to configure and once you get the hang of it, the possibilities are endless. Support can easily be found on their forum and if you dont come right there, the support team is fantastic.
What a pleasure!!
What a pleasure!!
If you are looking for a form component that allows you to build a simple contact form on your website, or a vastly more complicated application, Fabrik is the one!
I have been a user of Fabrik since version 1 and seen it grow in both features and stability. I have tested just about every other form component which I have to say do hit the spot but they simply do not have the same functions and features that fabrik has.
One of the most requested features is the ability to have cascading drop down boxes. I build sites which need the ability to select a county, and the next drop-down filters the towns for that county and the next post codes, etc. Fabrik has this in just a few clicks!
Rob and Hugh develop this component full time and each and every issue is acknowledged and rectified very quickly. I cannot talk about them highly enough because even the most inexperienced Joomla! user is made to feel like a pro!
I have been a user of Fabrik since version 1 and seen it grow in both features and stability. I have tested just about every other form component which I have to say do hit the spot but they simply do not have the same functions and features that fabrik has.
One of the most requested features is the ability to have cascading drop down boxes. I build sites which need the ability to select a county, and the next drop-down filters the towns for that county and the next post codes, etc. Fabrik has this in just a few clicks!
Rob and Hugh develop this component full time and each and every issue is acknowledged and rectified very quickly. I cannot talk about them highly enough because even the most inexperienced Joomla! user is made to feel like a pro!
This is so much for than a form system. Do expect to spend a day playing with this before creating anything of value, however. The tutorials are good but the learning cure is still steep. I thought the best feature of this system was going to be the price but it was the function.
I think this form should not mention in this category(forms) its real application builder! just simply turn your think & use it as you wish.
I must say thanks to Rob Clayburn to found this easy way thats great and is also want to be a part of next release (should be add layout customization ).
I must say thanks to Rob Clayburn to found this easy way thats great and is also want to be a part of next release (should be add layout customization ).
Although it says that with this component everybody can make forms and tables without any knowledge of PHP, this is just not true. Sure, if you want to make a form with just 1 column, it probably will show your form as you want it. But if you want a form with 2, 3 or more columns, you're stuck. You will have to make a new template fot those and that will require PHP coding. Also, you will then have to make new CSS files for every form.
If you want to show the results of your forms, you are even in bigger trouble, because for some strange reason it will display your results in lists instead of tables, which are much more easy to edit.
So, if you want just a form with 1 column, go ahead and use this. But if you want more columns, I suggest a component like RSForm Pro where you can easily edit the tables for every single form.
If you want to show the results of your forms, you are even in bigger trouble, because for some strange reason it will display your results in lists instead of tables, which are much more easy to edit.
So, if you want just a form with 1 column, go ahead and use this. But if you want more columns, I suggest a component like RSForm Pro where you can easily edit the tables for every single form.
Owner's reply
Hi Each group has a column setting which enables you to render the elements in a series of columns.
The recorded data is shown in a table as the default table template. There is a template which shows the results as a list, but its not the default one.
I spent about 3 months trying to get other Joomla development tools to do the job I needed, to create a gig engine for a fan site. None of them came close, so then I decided to start from scratch and write a component. I found fabrik by accident and gave it a go. To cut a long story short, this is one of the best development tools for any environment I have ever used - it did the job I needed, my site looks great and the back end admin is amazing. It is incredibly powerful "out of the box", but with all of the extensions available, and the ease with which it can be customised, it beats all of the others by a mile. I use fabrik in conjunction with CB, Kunena and Community ACL and have a site that my users are delighted with.
Just one complaint - why is it hidden in Contacts & Feedback -> Forms? There must be loads of people looking for a component like this that never find it.
Just one complaint - why is it hidden in Contacts & Feedback -> Forms? There must be loads of people looking for a component like this that never find it.
Hi to every one who is new to fabrik, if you happen to read my post, believe me that fabrik is a must have component. I came across this component fews months back, but left it thinking that it has bad support and hard to use.. but today the reason why i am writing this review is, I regret searching for other alternatives for nearly a month and got it done only by using fabrik fabulous :-), kindly have patience and work with it. thank you fabrik team.
I'm using it for more than a year and it's really powerful ,
There are many plugins to help you,
but for some very specific applications a knowledge of PHP is needed,
After more than a year I subscribed to a support plan which allowed me to download some very good plugins to complement the very good component.
The support forum is a good place to help you even if you have no subscription.
Keep up the good work
There are many plugins to help you,
but for some very specific applications a knowledge of PHP is needed,
After more than a year I subscribed to a support plan which allowed me to download some very good plugins to complement the very good component.
The support forum is a good place to help you even if you have no subscription.
Keep up the good work
Although Fabrik is clearly a powerful form builder, this component is poorly made and follows poor coding principles. It is overly complex and seems to have built in bug upon bug, with patches to fix things, but never code-overhauls to strip out the underlying problems.
It also has a lot of annoyances. It's CSS includes a plethora of !important declarations, making it extremely hard to override their CSS with your own (that's bad practice for something providing functionality, not design). It conflicts with numerous other plugins out there, including SeBlod and even Mootools updater. It adds style declarations in the body, making your code invalid. It only works with some WYSIWYG editors. It is just riddled with problems.
My advice would be to avoid this extension whenever possible, although it admittedly has some features no other extensions have. If you do use it, good luck sorting out the bugs!
It also has a lot of annoyances. It's CSS includes a plethora of !important declarations, making it extremely hard to override their CSS with your own (that's bad practice for something providing functionality, not design). It conflicts with numerous other plugins out there, including SeBlod and even Mootools updater. It adds style declarations in the body, making your code invalid. It only works with some WYSIWYG editors. It is just riddled with problems.
My advice would be to avoid this extension whenever possible, although it admittedly has some features no other extensions have. If you do use it, good luck sorting out the bugs!
Owner's reply
Hi, I can see your point with some of the css !import declarations, but beyond that I would have to disagree.
We make full use of Joomla's MVC, so I disagree with your statement we use 'poor coding principles'. If you'd like to suggest improvements in our code, feel free to contact us with any patches or suggestions.
I don't think throwing out all of the code and restarting would make for a bug free solution. The updates we make are for specific bugs, rarely but sometimes that produces other issues but for each release we do the potential bugs are dramatically reduced.
If you posted on the forum we would be happy to help you with any conflict you have with another program. Most of the time that is due to those plugins making improper use of JQuery or outputting comments inside our Ajax calls. I'm struggling to think of a time when we have been at fault with the way we are implementing things.
I've never heard of a report of an issue with Seblod (a quick google didn't find anything either)
Also it's incorrect that Fabrik doesn't work with Joomla's mootools system upgrade
This is by far the most extensive and robust extension I have come across. To be able to develop a custom built database application through the joomla interface is amazing, and the product is free. I went free at first, and very quickly subscribed for the added features and support (which is great). The free product has paid for itself many times over and allows me, a non-programmer, to develop a custom built database application for our small company that would never have the budget to pay a developer to achieve the same results. Very extensive and versatile, and practically every time I conceive of something, I can find a way to do it through the interface.
Page 2 of 12
