The section will help you with steps to install JA Mason template - Quickstart and Manual installation.

System requirement

JA Mason template is native with Joomla 3. Please make sure your system meets the following requirements:

Download packages

The download package includes:

• Quickstart package
• JA Mason template
• T3 Framework plugin
• JA Advanced Custom Module
• JA Masthead Module
• JA Google Map plugin
• T3 Framework
• Source file

Download now

Quickstart installation

Download JA Mason quickstart package →, upload to your server and extract it.

Step 1 - Configuration: add Site name, Admin email, Admin username and password

Step 2 - Database: select database type, host name, database username, password, database name & table prefix

Step 3 - Overview: select sample data to install, we suggest to use Default English (GB) Sample Data. You can install multilingual in the step.

Step 4 - Remove/Rename "installation" folder: for security purpose, you need to rename or remove the "installation" folder

Detail documentation with screenshots

Manual Installation

Install T3 Framework

Step 1 - Install T3 Framework

From your back-end setting panel, go to: "Extensions → Extension Manager", browse T3 plugin installation package then hit the "Upload and Install"

Step 2 - Enable T3 Framework

When you install T3 Framework, it's auto enabled by default. You can check this by going to: "Extensions → Plugin Manager" then find T3 Plugin.

Install JA Mason template

Step 1 - Install JA Mason template

From your back-end setting panel, go to: "Extensions → Extension Manager", browse JA Mason template installation package then hit the "Upload and Install"

Step 2 - Set default template style

Go to: "Extensions → Template Manager", set JA Mason template style as your default template style.

Install all supported extensions

• JA Google map plugin
• JA Advanced Custom Module
• JA Masthead Module

Template folder structure

This section is to help you understand the folder structure of JA Mason template, where to find the files you want.

JA Mason template

JA Mason template is built on T3 Framework so its folder structure is almost the same with any other JA Templates that are developed with T3 Framework.

templates/ja_Mason/
+-- less/                 /*  all LESS files */ 
¦    +-- template.less
¦    +-- style.less
¦    +-- home.less
¦    +-- joomla.less
+-- css/                     /*compiled files from less*/
¦    +-- template.css
¦    +-- style.css
¦    +-- home.css
¦    +-- joomla.css
¦    +-- rtl/
+-- tpls/             /* all layout files and block files*/
¦    +-- default.php
¦    +-- blocks/       /*block files*/
¦    ¦    +-- head.php
¦    ¦    +-- header.php
¦    ¦    +-- mainnav.php
¦    ¦    +-- masthead.php
¦    ¦    +-- slideshow.php
¦    ¦    +-- spotlight-1.php
¦    ¦    +-- spotlight-2.php
¦    ¦    +-- mainbody.php
¦    ¦    +-- vertical-line.php
¦    ¦    +-- masthead.php
¦    ¦    +-- off-canvas.php
¦    ¦    +-- section-top.php
¦    ¦    +-- section-bottom.php
¦    ¦    +-- footer.php
¦    ¦    +-- mainbody/
+-- acm/               /*JA Advanced Custom Module content type*/
¦    +-- slideshow/
¦    ¦    +-- config.xml
¦    ¦    +-- css/
¦    ¦    +-- less/
¦    ¦    +-- tmpl/
¦    ¦    +-- js/
+-- html/               /*override modules and Joomla com_content*/
¦    +-- com_content/
¦    ¦    +-- article/
¦    ¦    +-- category/
¦    ¦    +-- categories/
¦    ¦    +-- featured/

¦    +-- com_contact/
¦    +-- com_tags/
¦    +-- com_user/
¦    +-- com_search/
¦    +-- mod_eb_events/
¦    +-- mod_footer/
¦    +-- layouts/
¦    +-- ...
+-- fonts/ 
¦    +-- font-awesome/
¦    ¦    +-- css/
¦    ¦    +-- fonts/
¦    +-- ionsicons/
¦    ¦    +-- css/
¦    ¦    +-- fonts/
+-- js/ 
¦    +-- script.js
¦    +-- inview.js
¦    +-- /owl-carousel/
+-- images/
+-- language/
+-- templateDetails.xml  
+-- templateInfo.php/
+-- thememagic.xml/     /*the file is to add new group, parameters to ThemeMagic*/
+-- templateHook.php/

T3 Framework

You can find the folder structure of T3 Framewotk at: http://t3-framework.org/documentation/installation#folder-structure.

This section will help you build the pages the same as JA Mason demo site.

1. Homepage

View homepage position layout:

View Full Image

Here is instruction to create the same Homepage page

Step 1 - Create template style

The page uses default layout so we have not need to create template style. The best way to create the template is cloning JA Manos default template style. to Create the different type of Homepages like in demo you need duplicate default template style and assign Themes from Theme tab

Here is the layout structure of the page.

Step 2 - Create Home page menu item

Go to Menu » Main menu, add new menu item, select Articles » Featured Articles menu type and assign "JA Mason - default" template style.

Step 3 - Assign content to the Home page

Content of Homepage is loaded from modules. Here is the detail configuration of each module.

1. Modules on Header

The sections include multiple modules: search

1.1 Head Search module

Module position: head-search
Module Suffix: NOT USED

2. Modules on Homepage

2.1 Slideshow - JA ACM Module

Module position: Slideshow
Module Suffix: NOT USED
Full Width: Yes
Alternative layout: default

• General settings

2.2 Mason Studio - JA ACM module

Module position: section-top
Module Suffix: NOT USED

• Module settings
• Module options

2.3 Design with Distinction. - JA ACM module

Module position: section-top
Module Suffix: NOT USED

• Module settings
• Module options

2.4 Inspring Built Space. - JA ACM module

Module position: section-top
Module Suffix: NOT USED

• Module settings
• Module options

2.5 Team. - JA ACM module

Module position: section-top
Module Suffix: NOT USED

• Module settings
• Module options

2.6 Clients. - JA ACM module

Module position: section-bottom
Module Suffix: NOT USED

• Module settings
• Module options

2.7 Contact. - JA ACM module

Module position: section-bottom
Module Suffix: NOT USED

• Module settings
• Module options

2. Blog page

A special page for JA Mason template.

Here is instruction to create the same blog page

- Create Blogs menu item

Go to Menu » Main menu, add new menu item, select Articles » Category blog menu type and assign "JA Mason - Default" template style.

• Blog settings
• Blog Layout
• Blog options

3. Project page

A special Project page for JA Mason template to display Joomla articles.

Here is instruction to create the same Project page

- Create project menu item

Go to Menu » Main menu, add new menu item, select Articles » Category Blog menu type and assign "JA Mason - Default" template style.

In the Articles, please make sure you have added details in Extra fields to use Project page

• Project settings
• Project Category

Supported Layouts

JA Mason supports default layouts by default. Here is the structure of the supported layout.

• "default" layout screenshot

Assign Layout for a template style

To assign a layout for a JA Mason template style, open the template style » Layout setting panel » assign layout for the template style.

You can create multiple templates style for JA Mason template, each template style is assigned to one layout and the template style is assigned to specific menu items so that in one site, you use 1 template but you can use as many layouts as you want Also, you can choose different theme for different template styles.

Layout configuration

Once you assign layout for a template style, you can start configuring the layout. There are 2 configuration panels: Layout Structure configuration and responsive layout configuration.

1. Layout Structure configuration

The layout structure allows you to change position for any position in the layout, configure number of positions in spotlight block.

2. Responsive Layout configuration

In the "Responsive Configuration", select the responsive layout you want to configure layout for.

Theme Setting

The theme setting panel includes setting for theme, logo and logo link.

For theme, JA Mason supports multiple themes, you can select any theme for the template style.

For logo, you can select to use image logo or text logo. You can also select different logo for mobile view and Vertical Menu.

2. Menu Configuration

This template support Two types of Menu, Horizontal and Vertical. You can enable vertical menu and effects from Theme tab in template style options

Desktop Menu configuration - Megamenu

Enable Megamenu option - open the Navigation setting panel, enable Megamenu and assign Menu.

Off-canvas menu

Step 1. enable off-canvas option in template setting.

Step 2. create menu module and assign to position off-canvas

Copyrights info modification

To change the copyrights info, open the templates/ja_mason/html/mod_footer/default.php file, find the following info and change to what you want.

<small><?php echo $lineone; ?> Designed by <a href="http://www.joomlart.com/" title="Visit Joomlart.com!" <?php echo method_exists('T3', 'isHome') && T3::isHome() ? '' : 'rel="nofollow"' ?>>JoomlArt.com</a>.</small>

	<small><?php echo JText::_( 'MOD_FOOTER_LINE2' ); ?></small>

Disable T3 Footer Logo

You can disable the T3 Footer Logo in the template style manager, open the General setting panel, disable the Show T3 Logo option.

Template upgrade

1. Set up JA Extension Manager Component

The best method to upgrade JoomlArt products is using JA Extension Manager. The FREE extension brings a new way to manage extensions: upgrade, roll back, remote install, internal repository and compare versions.

From back-end, go to: Components → JA Extension Manager then select Service Manager, now set JoomlArt as your default service. Next, hit the "Edit" button then add your Username and Password that you signed up in JoomlArt.com.

2. Upgrade JA Mason template

Step 1 - check the new version of JA Mason template. Using the filter to find the JA Mason template then hit the "Check Update" button.

Step 2 - Upgrade JA Mason template to latest version. You should compare the changes before upgrading. We only pay attention to conflicted files - files that have been modified by both user and developer. When upgrading, the conflicted files will be overridden by files in new version, that means what you customized in the files will be lost.

3. Upgrade T3 Framework and other JA extensions

Using the filter to find the extensions you want to upgrade (JoomlArt products only), hit the "Check Update" button to check for new version then hit the Upgrade Now to upgrade the extension to latest version.