The Joomla! Extensions Directory ™

After a long search for something that would allow me to highlight items AND be truly responsive with mobile devices, I found uSquare Grid.

This has several excellent features to recommend it, namely, it permits customization for a range of display definitions and the size of the grid is completely adjustable.

Installation is fast and easy with an intuitive back-end that lets you experiment with settings until it's perfect.

I contacted the developer for some assistance and the response was fast and helpful, bearing in mind the time difference between countries. Good support is always a great encouragement when buying commercial extensions.

The developer seems keen to add to this extension and I can recommend it as doing exactly what it claims to do with much potential to do more. It is good value for money and beats everything else I've tried.

Downloaded it, installed it, enabled it and it works. Once the category and position settings were checked there was nothing else to do - it took minutes and it works flawlessly.

If you want a photo gallery extension for Joomla 3 you need look no further. There are many things I like about this extension - simplicity, versatility and responsive. Exactly what is required if you have any ambition to use Joomla 3's mobile-friendly feature. The 'turbo' mode makes it ideally suited to the task and I recommend it without reservation.

One caveat - study the settings and try different ones, read the support documents then read them again. Learn what it can do because it is more powerful that you might imagine for a plugin. Try it, love it, use it... SIGE is boss!

This extension does exactly what it claims. It is easy to install, easy to use and has potential far beyond my use of it. There is lots of scope to make adjustments and it is intuitive for the front end user. It works with responsive templates to render beautifully on mobile devices which indicates that the developer has skillfully considered the functions provided for all users. I can heartily recommend this extension. My only reservation is that it lacks spam protection although all questions submitted are moderated. A very useful touch would be a link to whatever CAPTCHA is available in Joomla so that guest visitors can be screened - perhaps in a future release? Then it really would be perfect - but it comes very close.

It does exactly what it claims and more. Highly recommended!

When you get this extension, and I recommend that you do, abandon all your preconceived ideas about music players. This one is not just a music player and after the first look, take another look because there is a lot to learn.

Initially it installs and works as predicted but it might not look quite as you want it or fit into your theme. No problem - every part of the extension can be customized BUT you really must study the documentation or you'll be missing out on much of what this very powerful, versatile music player can do.

One of the best features is that it permits the use of music files from almost anywhere and will take the information from tags or if you prefer, the filename. This gives it a serious advantage over many other players.

It works well with responsive templates although you must have regard for the dimensions of the player itself and be economical with the amount of information displayed if you want it to be 'mobile friendly' but this is another great feature! It gives you lots of choices...

My initial application was to create a 'jukebox' but I'm gradually migrating a whole music collection to use it and of course it can be used to play single items in a blog page - or several individual items on the same page.

The creator of Commedia has not overlooked what is often overlooked by others, namely, when you start to play a different track, the one already playing stops. Simple perhaps but essential for serious use.

So far I haven't found a way to make it 'auto-play' but no doubt this will be included at some point - or have I just missed something?

I haven't used the 'popup' player because I haven't got around to tweaking the layout but it's a useful feature to have.

Having started off with several reservations about this extension, I have come to love it and for what it costs, it is well worth the time and effort of making it work for you. I recommend it without reservations.

Best of all, the developer is happy to support it and takes all feedback or requests very seriously. Full marks from me!

Simple to install and configure - works immediately. Best of all it has some documentation to help create a Facebook app to use with it. Recommended!

I've always like this player and was disappointed when support ceased on the original. However, this updated version has added many improvements without losing the original versatile simplicity that makes this plugin special. It works in almost any configuration of Joomla (including tables) but one of the very best features is where multiple instances occur in a page. Clicking the play button on any one will fade down the one currently playing before starting the next. This is invaluable and is what sets this player apart from many other. The best simply got better and works for any version of Joomla.

I do enjoy writing positive reviews and this extension certainly deserves it.

With a componenet that provides everything needed to construct a custom form (only if you want to) and a plugin to let you design your own contact page with content and images, this is all you need. You can even use it as a module!

Just one very important point - read the manual and you'll find everything you need to know. It works - beautifully!

This extension is well designed, easy to install and customise but best of all it does exactly what the description says. It combines simplicity with functionality and has immense potential as a jukebox, an album library and a general player. The reviews are good (which is always encouraging) and the documentation good. There is only one thing that stops ne using it, namely the download feature. It opens a Quicktime window and not the usual download dialogue so downloading is not straighforward or practical for my purpose.

Nevertheless, it is a superior extension that I can recommend for anyone wanting a simple yet versatile music player.

I very seldom write a negative review and before I wrote this review I believe I exhausted any potential for resolving the issues described with the developer who categorically declines to support it without prior payment - even though he has already been paid...

I bought this extension to provide a single sign-in for a group of websites with different domains. Having followed the less-than-adequate instructions provided with the extension and having tried various combinations of settings as described therein, it quickly became clear that this extension is not what it claims to be.

The documentation advises that it is necessary to share the jos_user and jos_sessions database fields in the respective databases and also the same 'secret' word in the configuration.php file. It explains that the table prefixes must be the same and having carefully done exactly as instructed, nothing happens. Even Firebug showed nothing to suggest what was wrong - which leads me to believe that the extension actually does nothing useful.

I am not quite a Joomla novice so I understand that the jos_core_acl_aro and jos_core_acl_groups_aro_map tables are also essential when manipulating user data - something not mentioned in the documentation and a very serious oversight which means that it is not possible to make this extension work by following the instructions.

I asked for support and was advised that my very detailed query was 'ambiguous' and thatI should consult the forum or register for paid support.

Being unable to find anything relating directly to my problem in the forum I once more asked for some advice by submitting full details of the procedures and settings I used when using the extension with a request for suggestions as to what might be the problem, especially if I had overlooked something - I am not inclined to blame an extension for my own shortcomings so this seemed a reasonable request in view of having paid £20+ to the developer already.

The dismissive response was to the effect that if I wanted the extension installed for me I must order paid support.

That is not what I wanted - what I wanted was to get the extension working, know how I did it, then write a glowing review here.

I have tried to use it with separate TLDs, subdomains and even different servers - it doesn't work and I am beginning to suspect that this is little more than a device to sell paid support and/or other extensions from which it appears this utility was extracted.

Reading the 'small print' the developer also claims that the payment is NOT for the extension - that is free - but for the facility to download it. Does this mean that Belgium is outside the scope of EU regulations for fair trade? I think not!

I am not impressed with the extension or the developer and would advise extreme caution when considering this particular plugin. It is not what it claims to be!

This has just saved me hours of work. I needed to organise a group of websites to share a single login. To do this, all the databases must share the identical user data including the prefix and secret code. It was so so easy to do the database and config update using this extension - flawlessly. Full marks and an essential part of my toolkit from now on :-)

This was not quite what I had in mind as an events calendar but only because I didn't see the potential immediately.

My application for a Greeting Card & Gift Shop required a list of public holidays or events throughout the year together with some brief information and the ability to link to more information if required.

This extension does the job easily and elegantly. There is some work involved entering the information and replacing the stock images with your own but it is well worth the effort and for the pittance they charge for it, I rate this as possibly the best extension for the job.

Support? Because it is a Flash extension, I was unable to change the colour to match the template so I meekly inquired with the vendor about having this done. Considering it was Sunday the response was astoundingly fast and I had a reply together with an attached file to my specification by the time I had taken the dog for a walk.

They didn't charge me (although I offered) and best of all, it installed over the existing one without losing any of the settings or data.

On the basis of my experience in the last 24 hours there is no hesitation giving BJ Calendar with Tooltips full marks - it does exactly what it claims - beautifully. Thank you!

Easy to install and works exactly as intented. Thank you!

Sometimes the extensions that look the least promising turn out to be the best and this is one of those.

I wanted a fairly comprehensive contact form that looks good and will render well with mobile devices. This one includes a Google map, a business card and an email form so I had doubts but decided to try it regardless.

It installed perfectly and the few user setting required were easily completed. As with most extensions I had to do some 'code tweaking' to make it show the address in UK format and I tidied up the appearance to suit my needs - such is the beauty of open source.

I had a couple of questions for Support and I got helpful and honest answers back very quickly the same day. They even advised me that it was not designed to work with mobile websites but I believe there is no reason why it shouldn't with some judicious tweaking.

From this point of view I have to score this extension top stars for quality and support.

There are a couple of things that would be useful and having mentioned them to the vendor I believe they could be in the next upgrade version. One is to permit the user to enter map co-ordinates rather than trust Google to set the location based on address - not often accurately. The other is to permit the user to set the zoom factor for the map although this is easily done by changing a number in the php code.

Apart from that, the 'Miscellaneous Description' field sets the width of the whole contact screen so if you leave it blank, or use only a few words, the form will not span the screen width. The fluid page width has great merit but there should be a means to override it because if you use a smaller screen width, the Info Bubble on the Google map will be wider than the map which looks very untidy.

These are just minor niggles and for anyone with a little php or html experience, it is totally configurable - which is perfect for my application.

It also has huge potential and has been nicely thought-out so for that reason I recommend it and declare it well worth the $5 it costs to download.

I wanted something simple and affordable that would allow a registered JomSocial user to make a token payment using PayPal. The main reason is to verfy that the member is an adult with access to a credit/debit card plus a valid email address.

This extension does it admirably and is worth the £13 it cost just for the simplicity, convenience and extensive customisation. I love the Translate feature that permits the wording to be amended and the excellent support available through the Forum. Highly recommended!

So simple to install and configure. It does what it says and no fuss. Five stars!

This extension took some time and effort in order to get the best from it but it really is worth the effort.

Once I worked out how the various settings work and the numbers that relate to them, the module did exactly what I wanted. The ability to add a background image is also useful and the amount of control is impressive.

However, the very basic instructions are helpful to get started but they don't offer much help with the finer points which is a pity - a brief manual would make it much more appealing.

For instance, the INI file holding titles, descriptions and links must be in the same folder as the images - there are no instruictions for this. Similarly the speed is set between 0 and 0.3 whereas the numbers relating to offset and radius are in (?) pixels so you need to keep this in mind when positioning the carousel since they default to 0 for automatic setting.

This extension has huge potential and it is good to have such an extension that doesn't use Flash, especially now that websites are starting to leant towards handheld devices - Android etc.

I give this full marks because it does exactly what it claims and it works :-)

I'm not sure why this extension is described as a 'menu' when it is much more than just that. Equally I cannot understand why it hasn't been reviewed previously!

Having used it for considerably more than a year, it has proved itself to be stable and reliable. It provides an excellent interactive showcase for products (or anything else you choose) and permits you to link them to whatever you wish. In a way I suppose it is a 'menu' but it could also be a showcase for a photo gallery or a collection - imagination seems to be the only constraint.

Use the module and tailor it to fit any position. The versatility of the settings and options makes it the perfect choice. I used the plugin to introduce it into a front page article.

If you're planning a gallery or even a business website where you want to direct customers to various options such as different products or departments whilst allowing them to glimpse the item of choice, this is well worth spending some time getting to know it.

Support? I've never required it because it works flawlessly and with some trial & error I managed to make it fit my needs perfectly. Highly recommended and full rating for this one.

To the developer, thank you for an excellent extension.

This extension is easy to install and configure to suit whatever contact details you wish to provide. Being a separate component, it does not conflict with the built-in contact feature so you could provide minimal contact for guests whilst having an extended contact page for registered users. The free-text layout gives it flexibility and I love the image based spam filter. I am happy to recommend it and like another reviewer exclaimed, stop reading reviews and just install it with confidence. Thank you for an excellent extension.