Tutorials for Magento and Joomla! - Yireo

Using MageBridge modules

The MageBridge suite installs a lot of different modules within Joomla!. Here's an overview of which modules are available with a brief description of what they do.

MageBridge Menu module

[mod_magebridge_menu] This module generates a menu based upon Magento product-categories. The parameters to configure this module are:

• Root catalog: The category from which show all the subcategories
• Levels: How many levels of subcategories do you want to see?

The HTML of this menu-module can be overridden using Joomla! template overrides.

MageBridge Custom Block module

[mod_magebridge_block] This block is actually one of the most flexible of all. It allows you to put Magento blocks easily into Joomla!. However, you will still need to dive in the Magento XML Layout, because every Magento theme or module could apply different names for modules.

• Block/Custom Block: You can choose a predefined blockname from the dropdown list or add your own block through the input-field.
• Load CSS: By default, the Magento CSS might conflict with the Joomla! CSS. There for you might want to disable the CSS coming from Magento. On the downside this CSS might be needed to display the Magento block correctly. You will need to resolve these theming issues yourself.
• Load JS: What applies to CSS, also applies JavaScript. More advanced blocks require JavaScript to function correctly, which means you should beware of a JavaScript conflict with other Joomla! extensions.
• Module layout: Just like with regular Joomla! modules, you can apply a module chrome to modules. This option adds extra HTML-code around each Magento block.

To change the HTML in this module, you will need to modify the corresponding PHTML-template in the Magento theme.

MageBridge CMS Block module

[mod_magebridge_cms] Instead of showing a structural block as defined in Magento XML-files, you can also choose to show a content block - also known as a CMS-block or a Static Block. The block needs to be configured in Magento, and the identifier can be copied to this module.

MageBridge Products module

[mod_magebridge_products] This module allows you to display a listing of products. This listing can be ordered in various ways (newest products, most popular products, random products), while it also possible to select the parent-category from which these products should come. Through multiple parameters you can configure to show or hide the title, the short description, the thumbnail image, etcetera. The HTML of this products-module can be overridden using Joomla! template overrides.

MageBridge Cart module

[mod_magebridge_cart] This is actually the same functionality of the MageBridge Custom Block module, except that the block-name of the shopping cart is already configured.

MageBridge Newsletter module

[mod_magebridge_newsletter] This is a simple copy of the original newsletter-block from Magento, except that the JavaScript code has been removed, thus removing the dependency with JavaScript. The HTML of this module can be overridden using Joomla! template overrides.

MageBridge Customers module

[mod_magebridge_customers] This module shows you the latest customers in the Joomla! Administrator backend on the homepage. To enable this module, publish it on the position "cpanel".

MageBridge Orders module

[mod_magebridge_orders] This module shows you the latest orders in the Joomla! Administrator backend on the homepage. To enable this module, publish it on the position "cpanel".