Template Toolbar
Version
0.9.3.2 (last update on Dec 30, 2012)
Rating
Compatibility
Reviews
8
License
GPLv2 or later
Non-Commercial
Type
Date Added
26 October 2007
Thank you for using JTT!
Program has been updated to version 0.9.3.2!
New in this version?
[New] Project moved to SourceForge.
[Upd] Code rewriting.
System Requirements
Joomla! Template Toolbar requires Microsoft .NET Framework to be installed on your Windows system, version 3.5 or above is recommended. It has been reported that Joomla! Template Toolbar works on Linux and Mac OS X operating systems with mono Framework installed, although this has not been officially confirmed.
Installation and Uninstallation
Program does not require any special installation.
Note that earlier versions of Joomla! Template Toolbar (< 0.8.4) used to save program settings into Windows Registry (HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JTT). If you have been using those earlier versions of the program, and want full uninstallation, you might consider deleting the created entries from your Registry.
Usage
Program GUI control layout is intended to be self-explanatory. The main window consists of four main buttons, first button from the left (Insert Module) opens a pop-up menu displaying the most common Joomla! template modules. By clicking on a selected module, program copies certain Joomla! PHP code to clipboard, once copied it can be pasted into your favorite text editor. Likewise, second button (Insert Joomla! 1.5 CSS) copies basic Joomla! 1.5 CSS code. Third button (XML Editor) enables you to open templateDetails.xml file editor or create sample templateDetails.xml files. XML Editor should aid in creating and editing templateDetails.xml files from which Joomla! is reading the general template information. Fourth button (Options) displays a pop-up menu from which you can either change program options or display the Help and About window.
License Agreement and Disclaimer
This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.
Refer to Readme.txt file within the program distribution archive for more info.
Images
It's obviously been a while since someone submitted a review for this nifty little app. I have been using it for a couple of years now and I must say, it is absolutely fantastic! Thank you to the developer! Simply put, this small little app makes converting a static html template to a fully functioning Joomla! template take literally only a matter of a few minutes. I use it all the time.
Five stars!!!
@chusa83: It does run just fine on Mac and Linux with Mono.
Five stars!!!
@chusa83: It does run just fine on Mac and Linux with Mono.
I had tried another Joomla! 1.5 template tool in mxp format for Dreamweaver MX, but it can't be installed into my Dreamweaver CS3. So I gave it up. This one can work with ANY editor since it only generate code and put them into the clipboard, then user can paste the code into any editor.
Cool! Now I can use some OpenSource HTML/php editor to design my Joomla! 1.5 template.
Thanks to the author!
Cool! Now I can use some OpenSource HTML/php editor to design my Joomla! 1.5 template.
Thanks to the author!
Excellent. Only had a small problem with the mainbody insert so had to re code that (seems to be over complex but that could be just me)
I've just switched to Joomla 1.5 and working hard to get my head around the new templating system so I can make my own from scratch. This wonderful tool is going to save me so much time I am doing a happy dance after taking it for a test drive.
I haven't given it the full rating yet because there is one small thing (not sure if it is a bug or a feature) where the templateDetails.xml has generated some module positions that are not present in my index.php file and missed two custom positions I coded into it.
I would be interested to know how it generates module positions, does it scan the index.php file and extract them from there? Or does it just insert a generic list of default positions from the Joomla core template system? If it could be made (or fixed, if this is a bug rather than a feature) to generate only those present in the index.php then it would get my 5-star rating.
Also, I am just curious to know where the blank list of CSS styles is generated from? Do you use the list from a known Joomla template or template designer (eg: Barrie North's J1.5 templating tutorial sample CSS) or is this your own list? It would be a very interesting possibility for a new feature if we were able to create our own CSS master code, or even import one from a known "sample template".
The downside of that idea of course would be that the application would loose its standalone portability, by needing to have an app directory to save custom user CSS templates. But, being the huge lover of portable apps that I am, I'm not sure if sacrificing the standalone nature of the .exe would be worth an additional user feature. Hrmmmmm.
I hope word gets out around the Joomla communities that such a brilliant concept-of-a-tool exists and you get the credit you deserve for developing this for our use. Good luck in your future developments.
Cheers!
Zana
I haven't given it the full rating yet because there is one small thing (not sure if it is a bug or a feature) where the templateDetails.xml has generated some module positions that are not present in my index.php file and missed two custom positions I coded into it.
I would be interested to know how it generates module positions, does it scan the index.php file and extract them from there? Or does it just insert a generic list of default positions from the Joomla core template system? If it could be made (or fixed, if this is a bug rather than a feature) to generate only those present in the index.php then it would get my 5-star rating.
Also, I am just curious to know where the blank list of CSS styles is generated from? Do you use the list from a known Joomla template or template designer (eg: Barrie North's J1.5 templating tutorial sample CSS) or is this your own list? It would be a very interesting possibility for a new feature if we were able to create our own CSS master code, or even import one from a known "sample template".
The downside of that idea of course would be that the application would loose its standalone portability, by needing to have an app directory to save custom user CSS templates. But, being the huge lover of portable apps that I am, I'm not sure if sacrificing the standalone nature of the .exe would be worth an additional user feature. Hrmmmmm.
I hope word gets out around the Joomla communities that such a brilliant concept-of-a-tool exists and you get the credit you deserve for developing this for our use. Good luck in your future developments.
Cheers!
Zana
Owner's reply
Hi, thanks for your in-depth reply!
JTT uses it's own built-in routine for writing the templateDetails.xml file (if you're familiar with C++/C# you can always check the source code), at this point it does not scan the index.php file (but you throw me a good hint for future development). As for CSS, I used my own "gatherings" which I collected from various resources (sometimes by reverse engineer templates, and sometimes in Joomla! code).
I'm sorry I don't have more spare time to write better reply, but I simply had to write this short reply to your post.
Once again, thank you all for using JTT!
