New Install and no Articles or content showing up.

[cniehaus]

Newbee to the whole JA Templates and the JAT3 Extensions and system. VERY familiar with Joomla and other templates.
Basic Problem - When I write articles they never seem to show up. It is like the content area is either covered over or is being hidden.

Using the JA_Bistro template.
JA Extension Manager Installed

Modules Installed:
mod_jaslideshow2
mod_jatwitter
mod_ja_contentslide

Plugins Installed:
JA T3 Framework

All enabled


I have one article right now that I want to display but it will not. I did find the "hide content" and it was set to NO. (Can't remember where I found that now - but I DID find it.)
I have a customer that needs a SIMPLE way to post articles in the content area - no adding to modules - sliding content in the main content area etc. Also MUST have the Bistro Template.

SIMPLE is what I need

Also - Talk to me like a 5th grader when you give advice on how to fix this. Don't ASSUME I know how to do anything with the JAT3 Framework or extensions. I understand the basic Joomla system pretty well - that is why this is messing with my head. Every other system - you post an article and it shows up in the content area. nothing over the top - etc.
BTW - Tried all the other templates I have on this Joomla install and content showed up fine on them. It has something to do with the Bostro template I would guess.
To look at the site and the positions see:
http://www.cooksnook.biz/

Thanks in advance.

[TomC]

Out of curiosity, is there any reason why you would not have utilized the quickstart+sample data installation - so that you can start with a virtual clone of the demo and, basically, not have to try to "reinvent the wheel" with various elements? If you're just getting started, might I suggest wiping the slate clean and starting over - this time following the steps outlined within THIS TUTORIAL.


In the alternative, you can utilize JA's DEMO BUILDER to review the settings/configurations of our demo version against your own - just in case there may be a certain setting you may have configured incorrectly.

[cniehaus]

Thanks for the idea.

I may look at the Demo Builder.

As for the question on not installing the sample data, I was following previoius Joomla experience and I am working on a host company install of Joomla. I have set up Joomla a number of times and in those cases it was install Joomla, acquire the Template and install the template. When I installed Joomla with the standard Joomla sample data it took a while to delete those samle articles and adjust modules I did not need. Also in some cases, as in this one, I am working for a client that has purchased hosting from a hosting company, and as part of the host company system the Joomla installation is automated and the end result is a Joomla installation with no data and a few of the default templates installed. Not sure I can even do a custom install of a Joomla system on their server without a LOT of work.

I know the conten can show up - I saw it once when I was changing stuff, but I turned off a module and the content went away. When I turned the module back on the content did not come back. A bit frustrating!

[TomC]

Also in some cases, as in this one, I am working for a client that has purchased hosting from a hosting company, and as part of the host company system the Joomla installation is automated and the end result is a Joomla installation with no data and a few of the default templates installed. Not sure I can even do a custom install of a Joomla system on their server without a LOT of work.

Actually . . . all you would need to is ask the web host Technical Support to remove the pre-installed Joomla script from teh hosting/server account, and then install the quickstart . . . which installs the full Joomla CMS script for you.

As for taking time to delete/unpublish/modify sample data content . . . .
How much time, comparatively, do you suppose you've spent trying to figure out how to configure certain things like the demo version from scratch, versus how much time it would have taken to delete/unpublish/modify some of the sample content.

[cniehaus]

Well it is what it is.
I am not trying to be confrontational or start a flame war.
I guess what I am getting at is if you have the template and modules available for download then users should be able to download the modules, install them on an existing compliant Joomla installation and get them to work. If you only want them to be able to download a quickstart and install that - then only offer the quickstart.

But - we have strayed from my original problem which still remains - no articles in the content block are showing up when the Bistro template is active. I am looking for settings and conditions that make that happen so I can correct it.

Don't got me wrong - I think the template is great and very powerful. My client is the one that was shopping and picked it out and purchased it. My job is to get the template working on her hosted Joomla account and make the customizations she requires. If there is no way to do that other than wipe the whole Joomla install out then we may have to go there. I am just assuming it is a simple "turn this module on", "you need to have this module as well" or "change this setting" that should fix the thing, and that is what I am after.

Thanks for the help so far. I am going to keep playing with it and see if I can stumble across the fix, if for no other reason for the fact that if I or my client happens to "turn off the content" down the road I don't want to have to do a total restore of Joomla and the data to fix an incorrect setting.

[cniehaus]

Maybe just another piece to the puzzel. If I make a menu item (on the Main Menu) that is a category blog display of the category with the articles I want to show up on the Front page (Using Version 1.5.26) the content does show up when that menu item is clicked. So it appears that the problem has something to do with making these articles appear on the FRONT page. My guess it is related to a module or something that is active on the front page only.

[cniehaus]

Maybe this will help Newbees to JA Templates like me.

1. After playing with the Template Demo I see that this particular template (Bistro) does not really have a position for "content" on the Front Page. You can get the content from stories in different categories / sections to show up in content sliders and other modules, but as for the normal operation of a Joomla placing articles that are set to appear on the Font page, it does not happen. If you are looking for a template that allows a client or user to post news type stories that publish the newest article on the top (or any of the other ordering options) in an area near the center of the page like other templates, then this may not be the template for you.

2. If you are going to make a site that looks just like the demo site on the website then your choices really are:
A. Do the quickstart install (Which will install Joomla AND set up the template)
or
B. Install all the modules, set up a demo stite (http://www.joomlart.com/demo/#templa...ja_bistro?tp=1) and then compare your install to the demo install and place your modules in the same position as they are in the demo and set the parameters in your install to the same module parameters in the demo. Yes this probably WILL take longer than the qucikstart demo - but if you do not have the ability to do a custom Joomla install with the quickstart because you are using a Joomla that has data in it already or it is an automated install from a hosting site then this may be your only answer.

Good luck!