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[csolar Friend csolarJoin date: July 2009Posts: 24Downloads:0Uploads:5 Thanks: 2]

#143276

Can anyone tell me what criteria JA News Frontpage uses to order articles for display? I’m not seeing the pattern — at first I thought it was just chronological, with the most recent articles toward the top, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Adjusting the Joomla position property in the Article Manager seems to have no impact either.

I’d really like to understand this so that I have some way of influencing the article layout, especially so I can control which articles get the “featured” treatment. Right now it all seems random, and not very useful.

Thanks!

[cgc0202 Friend cgc0202Join date: August 2007Posts: 2244Downloads:0Uploads:3 Thanks: 206 Thanked: 262 times in 1 posts]

#313526

Hi csolar,

The default is chronological. However, if you go to the Administrator page

Content => go down to Frontpage Manager => click to open

you may then use the arrows to move the articles up and down, the way you want to order them.

Cornelio

<em>@csolar 139753 wrote:</em><blockquote>Can anyone tell me what criteria JA News Frontpage uses to order articles for display? I’m not seeing the pattern — at first I thought it was just chronological, with the most recent articles toward the top, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Adjusting the Joomla position property in the Article Manager seems to have no impact either.

I’d really like to understand this so that I have some way of influencing the article layout, especially so I can control which articles get the “featured” treatment. Right now it all seems random, and not very useful.

Thanks!</blockquote>

2 users say Thank You to cgc0202 for this useful post

1. csolar
2. joeflynn

[csolar Friend csolarJoin date: July 2009Posts: 24Downloads:0Uploads:5 Thanks: 2]

#313527

Front Page Manager…I never noticed! (slaps forehead)

Thanks for the tip, that’s just what I needed.

[cgc0202 Friend cgc0202Join date: August 2007Posts: 2244Downloads:0Uploads:3 Thanks: 206 Thanked: 262 times in 1 posts]

#313573

<em>@csolar 139758 wrote:</em><blockquote>Front Page Manager…I never noticed! (slaps forehead)

Thanks for the tip, that’s just what I needed.</blockquote>

I stand corrected.:) I do this so many times, I don’t even look at the proper terms already in the drop down menu. Their locations have just been imprinted in my mind.

I corrected my initial response to include the proper terms for the benefit of other readers:

Content and Front Page Manager

Cornelio

[caracol Friend caracolJoin date: July 2009Posts: 4Downloads:0Uploads:0]

#314746

Hello,
I’m looking for a simple way to assign a single content category (or section) to JA News Frontpage.
JA News display contents from other categories.
Any idea? Thanks in a lot…
Caracol

[cgc0202 Friend cgc0202Join date: August 2007Posts: 2244Downloads:0Uploads:3 Thanks: 206 Thanked: 262 times in 1 posts]

#314752

<em>@caracol 141288 wrote:</em><blockquote>Hello,
I’m looking for a simple way to assign a single content category (or section) to JA News Frontpage.
JA News display contents from other categories.
Any idea? Thanks in a lot…
Caracol</blockquote>

caracol.

I do not understand what you mean? Please clarify.

Did you mean like this:
*******************************
Section: Frontpage
=> Category: Latest Additions

Add JA News Frontpage articles to the category Latest Additions. Note the Section and Category names are just examples. You may call it anything you want.
*******************************

You may do that. However, no article goes to the JA News Frontpage Module — unless you click the check icon, in the column the “Frontpage” — as I indicated in my first response here.

Cornelio

[caracol Friend caracolJoin date: July 2009Posts: 4Downloads:0Uploads:0]

#314833

Hello cgc0202,
Let me make thinks clearer.
Currently when I add a new article to the site frontpage it appears on JA News Frontpage (this is the purpose of the module!), no matter if the new article belongs to the category (or section) “A”, “B” or “C”.
I would like to have this new article on JA News Frontpage only if it belongs to the category “A” (for example). I don’t want other frontpage articles to pollute my JA News Frontpage. Do you know if I absolutely need to change to code to do that?

[questbg Friend questbgJoin date: May 2008Posts: 1912Downloads:0Uploads:1 Thanks: 146 Thanked: 339 times in 197 posts]

#314839

Only mark articles in Category “A” as ‘Front Page” and then use Front Page Manager to organise the layout.

That way, only one category will appear in that area. The other categories will automatically appear below each time you add a new one.

[caracol Friend caracolJoin date: July 2009Posts: 4Downloads:0Uploads:0]

#314841

The pb is I also need category B articles on the frontpage, as they appear in JA News below JA News Frontpage (I use JA Teline ii template).
Thanks anyway;)

[cgc0202 Friend cgc0202Join date: August 2007Posts: 2244Downloads:0Uploads:3 Thanks: 206 Thanked: 262 times in 1 posts]

#314858

Hi caracol,

Read my first response very carefully, and what Chris just reiterated. Chris would you consider providing the images, where to check or edit to specify or remove articles in the frontpage?

No, you do not have to change anything. And, you can do anything you want, as you stated, using the existing set up.

You can pick any specific article from any category, you have to specify that it will go to the FrontPage by clicking (checking the option) Frontpage — otherwise if you do not check the “FrontPage” radiobutton it will not go to the FrontPage module.

When you add new article:

Content => clicl Article Manager => (in Article Manager window) click New (green icon top right) => new Article window appears with this head “Article (new)” =>

Just to the middle (from “Title” and “Alias”), there is a radiobutton

Front Page: No (default) Yes => unless you click Yes, the article will not go to the Frontpage.

In case you change your mind, after saving

Let’s say you saved the article already. What happens is that the window will revert back to the

Article Manager window

from this window, you have as the first three columns
<blockquote>
“Title” “Published ” “FrontPage” </blockquote> (and more)

if you examine the FrontPage column, only the Articles where there is a check in the FrontPage will appear in the Frontpage.

In the Frontpage column, you may check and uncheck any Article, whether you want them to appear or not appear in the Frontpage, respectively.

Similarly, you may check and uncheck any article to either publish or unpublish, respectively.

The Article Manager window though is best for other editing purposes (publish and unpublish or placing unwated articles in the trash)

Front Page Manager

After you have already created the articles, the best place where you may edit what should and should not be in the Front Page is the Front Page Manager window

Content => (scroll down to, highlight and click) FrontPage Manager => the Front Page Manager window appears

This is the heart where you edit the articles that are already in the Front Page Manager window, based from what you specified previously when creating the articles (see options above).

Note that there should only be so many articles in the Front Page Module.

[You specify the number of articles and other features of presentation in the Frontpage, using the JA News Frontpage module: Extensions => Module Manager => find and click JA News Manager }

Thus, it is necessary to “remove” old articles. My experience, I am not sure if this is the cause, if there are too many articles there more than the quota, in my earlier Teline II, sometimes the JA News FrontPage module. So, I always make sure that I remove the excess articles.

Anyway, the main purpose of accessing the Frontpage Manager window is as I outlined in my first response — to arrange the order of how the Articles will appear in the Frontpage module.

Another critical use though is to remove the Articles that you do not want to appear in the FrontPage module.

From FronPage Manager window

1. Click the Article Title you want to remove
2. This will go to the Article (edit) window
3. Uncheck FrontPage radio button

and if you check either rhe Front End, or the FrontPage Manager module, the article that was so edited will no longer be in the Front Page module.

If you request Chris (questbg) very nicely, he can easily present nice tutorials for this with images (he has photoshop and a graphic designer) to make the above even much clearer for those not familiar with this procedure. He is Engish also, so he usually can present it more succintly. We used to collaborate creating simlar tutorials.

Cornelio

<em>@caracol 141398 wrote:</em><blockquote>Hello cgc0202,
Let me make thinks clearer.
Currently when I add a new article to the site frontpage it appears on JA News Frontpage (this is the purpose of the module!), no matter if the new article belongs to the category (or section) “A”, “B” or “C”.
I would like to have this new article on JA News Frontpage only if it belongs to the category “A” (for example). I don’t want other frontpage articles to pollute my JA News Frontpage. Do you know if I absolutely need to change to code to do that?</blockquote>

<em>@caracol 141407 wrote:</em><blockquote>The pb is I also need category B articles on the frontpage, as they appear in JA News below JA News Frontpage (I use JA Teline ii template).
Thanks anyway;)</blockquote>

[caracol Friend caracolJoin date: July 2009Posts: 4Downloads:0Uploads:0]

#314894

Thanks a lot fo this very detailed explanation, Cornelio.
There’s something I could have realized earlier : JA News display articles on the front page even if you remove it from the Front Page Manager. That’s fine by me.
The point is that when someone publishes a new article, he/she still has the option to “Show it on frontpage”, then the article will appear on JA News Frontpage untill someone else removes it from the Front Page Manager (or change the order).>:(

[cgc0202 Friend cgc0202Join date: August 2007Posts: 2244Downloads:0Uploads:3 Thanks: 206 Thanked: 262 times in 1 posts]

#315016

<em>@caracol 141470 wrote:</em><blockquote>Thanks a lot fo this very detailed explanation, Cornelio.
There’s something I could have realized earlier : JA News display articles on the front page even if you remove it from the Front Page Manager. That’s fine by me.
The point is that when someone publishes a new article, he/she still has the option to “Show it on frontpage”, then the article will appear on JA News Frontpage untill someone else removes it from the Front Page Manager (or change the order).>:(</blockquote>

Indeed caracol;

Moreover, if you do not want duplication, i.e., if anarticle is included already in the JA News Frontpage and you do not want it to appear also in one of the Sections in the JA News module, it is possible also by checking (or unchecking) an option I believe in the JA News module.

The alternative is possible also, for it to appear in both the JA News Frontpage module and a Section in the JA News module. I prefer this option. Assuming you keep on adding new articles, there is little chance that those featured in the JA News Frontpage module, will also be the lead feature in a Section in the JA News module.

Cornelio

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