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March 28, 2013, March 28, 2013 WIB
Last Updated 2013-03-28T14:09:08Z
Joomla

Using the Joomla! Contact Component

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Using The Joomla! Contact Component as a Business Directory
Note: This tutorial assumes that you have administrative access when logging into the Joomla! back end.
step 1 Using the Joomla! Contact Component
Log Into Joomla!’s back end:
Go to your Joomla! website and log into the back end by typing in your user details.(Figure 1)
figure 1 Using the Joomla! Contact Component
step 2 Using the Joomla! Contact Component
Create a New Category in the Contacts Component:In Joomla!’s back end menu, go to the components menu. In the list of sub menu’s that drop down you will see the contacts manager. The contacts anager also has sub menus that pop out to the right. Select the categories menu. (Figure 2)
figure 2 Using the Joomla! Contact Component
Click new to create a new contacts category. (Figure 3)
figure 3 Using the Joomla! Contact Component
In the contacts category editor you will have to create a title for the contact category, and then ptionally an alias. (Figure 4)
Note: Category Aliases are totally optional, but strongly recommended for Joomla! 1.5 default Search Engine Optimized URLs. (SEO URLs)
figure 4 Using the Joomla! Contact Component
While it isn’t required, you might want to go ahead and put in a description of the contact category you’ve created. (Figure 5)
figure 5 Using the Joomla! Contact Component
Once you have a title, alias and description you can save the contact category. Saving the category will take you back to the contact category manager. (Figure 6)
figure 6 Using the Joomla! Contact Component
step 3 Using the Joomla! Contact Component
Create a C ontact Entry:Now that you have a contacts category, you can add to it with entries, such as businesses, organizations, etc… Go back to the contacts menu, and rather than clicking categories, click contacts. (Figure 7)
figure 7 Using the Joomla! Contact Component
Once you are in the contacts manager, click new to create a new contacts entry. (Figure 8) 
figure 8 Using the Joomla! Contact Component
The next screen will display a title, which is required, and optionally an alias. The last area we need to check is the category. This is going to be the category we just created. Click the drop box and select the appropriate category. (Figure 9)
figure 9 Using the Joomla! Contact Component
Once you’ve finished adding all the information you want, you can also change parameters on the right to suit. Save the contact, you will be taken back to the Contacts Manager. (Figure 10)
figure 10 Using the Joomla! Contact Component
step 4 Using the Joomla! Contact Component
Create a Contact Category Layout: Go to the menus menu, for the purpose of this demonstration, we will be creating a menu item (specifically a contact category layout item) in the main menu menu. (Figure 11)
figure 11 Using the Joomla! Contact Component
Once you reach the menu manager for the main menu, on the right there are several icons, click new to create a new menu. (Figure 12)
figure 12 Using the Joomla! Contact Component
On the next screen you need to choose why type of menu to create. Select the Contacts type. (Figure 13)
figure 13 Using the Joomla! Contact Component
The next screen shows the two different types of contact menu items you can create. For the purpose of a ‘business directory’, you should should select the contact category layout type. (Figure 14)
figure 14 Using the Joomla! Contact Component
The menu Item Editor will give you the opportunity to insert a menu Item title, as well as an alias, and then select which menu you want the item to be displayed on. (Figure 15)
figure 15 Using the Joomla! Contact Component
There is one last step before you can save the menu item and return to the menu manager, and that is to select the category of contacts you want this menu item to be driven to. This is done through the parameter tab on the right. Select the same category that we created and entered a contact item into. (Figure 16)
figure 16 Using the Joomla! Contact Component
The final step will be to save the menu item. (Figure 17)
figure 17 Using the Joomla! Contact Component
This method of using the Joomla! Contact Component gives Joomla! 1.5 a nice ‘business directory’ like function. A nice addition to any business directory is showing all the ‘categories’ in once place, so that people can see them all. So, keep reading if you’d like to find out how to do this little extra ‘trick’ to spice up your Joomla! directory.

Additional Trick: Create An Article Displaying All Your Contact Categories