adapted from the Joomla! Help site help.joomla.org

How To Access

To access the New Menu Creation wizard, navigate to the Menu Item Manager for the desired menu and press the New button on the toolbar.

Description

In this screen, you will select the Menu Item Type for this Menu Item. The Menu Item Type determines the type of page that will display when this menu choice is selected by the User.

Screenshot

NOTE: If you install one or more Joomla! extensions, these extensions may add new Menu Item Types. In this case, your list will have additional types.

Menu Item Types

Menu Item Types are organized into four groups: Internal Link, External Link, Separator, and Alias. Internal Links are the most commonly used and will display pages on your web site. External Links are used to display links to external web sites. Separators are used to place a graphic or other separator between menu options. Alias Item Types are used to point back to an already existing Menu Item.

Internal Link - Articles

When the Articles link is selected, it expands to show the following options:

Each of these is described below:

Archived Article List

Used to show a list of Articles that have been Archived and can be searched by date. Archived articles are no longer published but are still stored on the site. Articles are Archived using the Article Manager screen. Note that Articles assigned to the "Uncategoried" Section will not show on the Archived Article List layout.

Parameters - Basic This Menu Item Type Archived Article List allows you to set the sort order of Archived Articles.

The Default order is most recent first. The Order option sorts Articles by the Order column in the Article Manager.

Article Layout

Used to show a single article on the page.

Parameters - Basic The Article Layout has one Parameter, the Article to include in the layout, as shown below.

Press the Select button to select the desired Article for this layout.

Article Submission Layout

Allows users to submit an article. This only works for users who are members of the Authors, Publishers, or Editors groups. Members of the Registered or Public groups will not be able to submit articles even if this page is visible to them. If the page is visible to a user without the correct access level, they will get an error message when trying to load the page.

This type has no Basic or Advanced Parameters.

Category Blog Layout

Used to show articles belonging to a specific Category, in a blog layout. A Blog Layout in Joomla! has 3 main areas: Leading, Intro, and Links:

Articles in the Leading Area always display in one column, using the full display width. Articles in the Intro Area may display in one, two, or three columns, depending on the Columns setting. The parameters below control the number of Articles in each area and the order in which they display. If an Article has a "Read more..." break, only the text before the break (called the Intro Text) will display, along with a "Read more..." link.

Parameters - Basic The Category Blog Layout has the following Basic Parameters.

• Category. Category selected for this Layout.
• Description. Hide or Show the Category and Section Descriptions on the Layout. If 'Show' is selected, the Description will display above the first Article, just below the Page Title.
• Description Image. Hide or show the Description Image on the Layout. If 'Show' is selected, the Image for this Category or Section will display on the left or right of the Description, depending on the Image Position specified in the Category Edit Screen or the Section Edit Screen .
• # Leading. Number of Articles to show using the full width of the main display area. "0" means that no Articles will show when using the full width. If an Article has a "Read more..." break, only the part of the text before the break (the Intro text) will display.
• # Intro. Determines the number of Articles to display after the leading Article. These Articles will display in the number of columns set in the Columns parameter below. If an Article has a "Read more..." break, only the text before the break (Intro text) will display, followed by a "Read more..." link. The order order in which to display the articles is determined by the Primary Order parameter in the Parameters - Advanced section below.
• Columns. The number of columns to use in the Intro Text area. This is normally between 1 and 3. If 1 is used, the Into Text Articles will display using the full width of the display area, just like the Leading Articles.
• # Links. The number of Links to display in the 'Links' area of the page. These links allow a User to link to additional Articles, if there are more Articles than can fit on the first page of the Blog Layout.

Parameters - Advanced The Category Blog Layout has the following Advanced Parameters, as shown below.

• Category Order. Order of Categories in this Layout. The following options are available:
  
  
  • No. Order by Primary Order Only: Articles are ordered only by the Primary Order, without regard to Category.
  • Title - Alphabetical: Categories are displayed in alphabetical order (A to Z)
  • Title - Reverse Alphabetical: Categories are displayed in reverse alphabetical order (Z to A)
  • Order: Categories are ordered according to the Order column entered in the Category Manager.

• Primary Order. Order of Articles within a Category. The following options are available.
  
  
  • Default: Same as "Most recent first"
  • Oldest first: Articles are displayed starting with the oldest and ending with the most recent.
  • Most recent first: Articles are displayed starting with the most recent and ending with the oldest.
  • Title - Alphabetical: Articles are displayed by Title in alphabetical order (A to Z)
  • Title - Reverse Alphabetical: Articles are displayed by Title in reverse alphabetical order (Z to A)
  • Author - Alphabetical: Articles are displayed by Author in alphabetical order (A to Z)
  • Author - Reverse Alphabetical: Articles are displayed by Author in reverse alphabetical order (Z to A)
  • Most Hits: Articles are displayed by the number of hits, starting with the one with the most hits and ending with the one with the least hits
  • Least Hits: Articles are displayed by the number of hits, starting with the one with the least hits and ending with the one with the most hits
  • Order: Articles are ordered according to the Order column entered in the Article Manager.

• Multi Column Order. In multi-column blog layouts, whether to order articles Down the columns or Across the columns.
  • Down. Order articles going down the first column and then over to the next column.
  • Across. Order articles going across the columns and then back to the first column.

• Pagination. Hide or Show Pagination support. Pagination provides page links at the bottom of the page that allow the User to navigate to additional pages. These are needed if the Articles will not fit on one page. An example is shown below.
  
  The following options are available.
  • Auto: Pagination links shown if needed.
  • Show: Pagination links shown if needed.
  • Hide: Pagination links not shown. Note: In this case, Users will not be able to navigate to additional pages.
• Pagination Results. Hide or Show the current page number and total pages (e.g., "Page 1 of 2") at the bottom of each page.
• Show a Feed Link. Hide or Show an RSS Feed Link.

Category List Layout

Used to show articles belonging to one Category, in a list layout. A list layout lists each Article's Title and allows the User to link to the Article. An example is shown below:

Parameters - Basic The Category List Layout has the following Basic Parameters:

• Category. Category selected for this Layout.
• Table Headings. Hide or Show column headings above the fields for the item.
• Date Column. Hide or Show the Created Date for the Article in a column between the Title and Author.
• Date Format. The format of the Created Date. You may leave this blank to use the default date format from your Language file. This value uses the PHP strftime Command Format.
• Filter. Hide or show a Filter form. A Filter allow the user to limit what Articles are displayed:


• Filter Field. Field to use for filtering Articles. Available options are Title, Author, and Hits.
  

Front Page Blog Layout

Used to show all Articles that have been published to the Front Page, in a Blog Layout.
A Blog Layout in Joomla! has 3 main areas: Leading, Intro, and Links:

Articles in the Leading Area always display in one column, using the full display width. Articles in the Intro Area may display in one, two, or three columns, depending on the Columns setting. The parameters below control the number of Articles in each area and the order in which they display. If an Article has a "Read more..." break, only the text before the break (called the Intro Text) will display, along with a "Read more..." link.

Parameters - Basic The Front Page Blog Layout has the following Basic Parameters:

• # Leading. Number of Articles to show using the full width of the main display area. "0" means that no Articles will show when using the full width. If an Article has a "Read more..." break, only the part of the text before the break (the Intro text) will display.
• # Intro. Determines the number of Articles to display after the leading Article. These Articles will display in the number of columns set in the Columns parameter below. If an Article has a "Read more..." break, only the text before the break (Intro text) will display, followed by a "Read more..." link. The order order in which to display the articles is determined by the Primary Order parameter in the Parameters - Advanced section below.
• Columns. The number of columns to use in the Intro Text area. This is normally between 1 and 3. If 1 is used, the Into Text Articles will display using the full width of the display area, just like the Leading Articles.
• # Links. The number of Links to display in the 'Links' area of the page. These links allow a User to link to additional Articles, if there are more Articles than can fit on the first page of the Blog Layout.

Parameters - Advanced The Category Blog Layout has the following Advanced Parameters:

• Category Order. Order of Categories in this Layout. The following options are available:
  
  
  • No. Order by Primary Order Only: Articles are ordered only by the Primary Order, without regard to Category.
  • Title - Alphabetical: Categories are displayed in alphabetical order (A to Z)
  • Title - Reverse Alphabetical: Categories are displayed in reverse alphabetical order (Z to A)
  • Order: Categories are ordered according to the Order column entered in the Category Manager.

• Primary Order. Order of Articles within a Category. The following options are available.
  
  
  • Default: Articles are ordered according to the Order column entered in the Front Page Manager.
    
  • Oldest first: Articles are displayed starting with the oldest and ending with the most recent.
  • Most recent first: Articles are displayed starting with the most recent and ending with the oldest.
  • Title - Alphabetical: Articles are displayed by Title in alphabetical order (A to Z)
  • Title - Reverse Alphabetical: Articles are displayed by Title in reverse alphabetical order (Z to A)
  • Author - Alphabetical: Articles are displayed by Author in alphabetical order (A to Z)
  • Author - Reverse Alphabetical: Articles are displayed by Author in reverse alphabetical order (Z to A)
  • Most Hits: Articles are displayed by the number of hits, starting with the one with the most hits and ending with the one with the least hits
  • Least Hits: Articles are displayed by the number of hits, starting with the one with the least hits and ending with the one with the most hits
  • Order: Articles are ordered according to the Order column entered in the Article Manager.

• Multi Column Order. In multi-column blog layouts, whether to order articles Down the columns or Across the columns.
  • Down. Order articles going down the first column and then over to the next column.
  • Across. Order articles going across the columns and then back to the first column.

• Pagination. Hide or Show Pagination support. Pagination provides page links at the bottom of the page that allow the User to navigate to additional pages. These are needed if the Articles will not fit on one page. An example is shown below.
  
  The following options are available.
  • Auto: Pagination links shown if needed.
  • Show: Pagination links shown if needed.
  • Hide: Pagination links not shown. Note: In this case, Users will not be able to navigate to additional pages.
• Pagination Results. Hide or Show the current page number and total pages (e.g., "Page 1 of 2") at the bottom of each page.
• Show a Feed Link. Hide or Show an RSS Feed Link.

Section Blog Layout

Used to show Articles belonging to one Section, in a Blog Layout. A Blog Layout in Joomla! has 3 main areas: Leading, Intro, and Links:

Articles in the Leading Area always display in one column, using the full display width. Articles in the Intro Area may display in one, two, or three columns, depending on the Columns setting. The parameters below control the number of Articles in each area and the order in which they display. If an Article has a "Read more..." break, only the text before the break (called the Intro Text) will display, along with a "Read more..." link.

Parameters - Basic The Section Blog Layout has the following Basic Parameters, as shown below.

• Section. Section selected for this Layout.
• Description. Hide or Show the Category and Section Descriptions on the Layout. If 'Show' is selected, the Description will display above the first Article, just below the Page Title.
• Description Image. Hide or show the Description Image on the Layout. If 'Show' is selected, the Image for this Category or Section will display on the left or right of the Description, depending on the Image Position specified in the Category Edit Screen or the Section Edit Screen.
• # Leading. Number of Articles to show using the full width of the main display area. "0" means that no Articles will show when using the full width. If an Article has a "Read more..." break, only the part of the text before the break (the Intro text) will display.
• # Intro. Determines the number of Articles to display after the leading Article. These Articles will display in the number of columns set in the Columns parameter below. If an Article has a "Read more..." break, only the text before the break (Intro text) will display, followed by a "Read more..." link. The order order in which to display the articles is determined by the Primary Order parameter in the Parameters - Advanced section below.
• Columns. The number of columns to use in the Intro Text area. This is normally between 1 and 3. If 1 is used, the Into Text Articles will display using the full width of the display area, just like the Leading Articles.
• # Links. The number of Links to display in the 'Links' area of the page. These links allow a User to link to additional Articles, if there are more Articles than can fit on the first page of the Blog Layout.

Parameters - Advanced The Section Blog Layout has the following Advanced Parameters, as shown below.

• Category Order. Order of Categories in this Layout. The following options are available:
  
  
  • No. Order by Primary Order Only: Articles are ordered only by the Primary Order, without regard to Category.
  • Title - Alphabetical: Categories are displayed in alphabetical order (A to Z)
  • Title - Reverse Alphabetical: Categories are displayed in reverse alphabetical order (Z to A)
  • Order: Categories are ordered according to the Order column entered in the Category Manager.

• Primary Order. Order of Articles within a Category. The following options are available.
  
  
  • Default: Same as "Most recent first"
    
  • Oldest first: Articles are displayed starting with the oldest and ending with the most recent.
  • Most recent first: Articles are displayed starting with the most recent and ending with the oldest.
  • Title - Alphabetical: Articles are displayed by Title in alphabetical order (A to Z)
  • Title - Reverse Alphabetical: Articles are displayed by Title in reverse alphabetical order (Z to A)
  • Author - Alphabetical: Articles are displayed by Author in alphabetical order (A to Z)
  • Author - Reverse Alphabetical: Articles are displayed by Author in reverse alphabetical order (Z to A)
  • Most Hits: Articles are displayed by the number of hits, starting with the one with the most hits and ending with the one with the least hits
  • Least Hits: Articles are displayed by the number of hits, starting with the one with the least hits and ending with the one with the most hits
  • Order: Articles are ordered according to the Order column entered in the Article Manager.

• Multi Column Order. In multi-column blog layouts, whether to order articles Down the columns or Across the columns.
  • Down. Order articles going down the first column and then over to the next column.
  • Across. Order articles going across the columns and then back to the first column.

• Pagination. Hide or Show Pagination support. Pagination provides page links at the bottom of the page that allow the User to navigate to additional pages. These are needed if the Articles will not fit on one page. An example is shown below.
  
  The following options are available.
  • Auto: Pagination links shown if needed.
  • Show: Pagination links shown if needed.
  • Hide: Pagination links not shown. Note: In this case, Users will not be able to navigate to additional pages.
• Pagination Results. Hide or Show the current page number and total pages (e.g., "Page 1 of 2") at the bottom of each page.
• Show a Feed Link. Hide or Show an RSS Feed Link.

Section Blog Layout

Used to show Articles by Category in one Section, in a list layout. This layout shows a list Categories in the Section. Each Category links to a page that is similar to a Category List Layout, providing links to each Article in that Category:

Parameters - Basic The Section Layout has the following Basic Parameters, as shown below:

• Section. Section selected for this Layout.
• Description. Hide or Show the Section Description. If 'Show' is selected, the Description will display at the top of the page, just under the Title.
• Description Image. Hide or show the Description Image on the Layout. If 'Show' is selected, the Image for this Category or Section will display on the left or right of the Description, depending on the Image Position specified in the Category Edit Screen or the Section Edit Screen.
• Category List - Section. Hide or Show the list of Categories in this Section. Normally, you will want this set to 'Show'. If this is set to 'Hide', no Categories will display and Users will be unable to navigate to the Articles in a Category.
• Empty Categories in Section Show or Hide Categories that contain no Articles.
• # Category Items. Hide or Show the number of Articles in each Category.
• Category Description Hide or Show the Description for each Category.

Parameters - Advanced The Section Layout has the following Advanced Parameters, as shown below.

• Order. Order of Categories in this Layout. The following options are available:
  
  
  • Default: Same as "Title -Alphabetical".
  • Title - Alphabetical: Categories are displayed in alphabetical order (A to Z)
  • Title - Reverse Alphabetical: Categories are displayed in reverse alphabetical order (Z to A)
  • Order: Categories are ordered according to the Order column entered in the Category Manager.

• Article Order. Order of Articles within a Category. The following options are available.
  
  
  • Default: Same as "Most recent first"
    
  • Oldest first: Articles are displayed starting with the oldest and ending with the most recent.
  • Most recent first: Articles are displayed starting with the most recent and ending with the oldest.
  • Title - Alphabetical: Articles are displayed by Title in alphabetical order (A to Z)
  • Title - Reverse Alphabetical: Articles are displayed by Title in reverse alphabetical order (Z to A)
  • Author - Alphabetical: Articles are displayed by Author in alphabetical order (A to Z)
  • Author - Reverse Alphabetical: Articles are displayed by Author in reverse alphabetical order (Z to A)
  • Most Hits: Articles are displayed by the number of hits, starting with the one with the most hits and ending with the one with the least hits
  • Least Hits: Articles are displayed by the number of hits, starting with the one with the least hits and ending with the one with the most hits
  • Order: Articles are ordered according to the Order column entered in the Article Manager.

• Show a Feed Link. Hide or Show an RSS Feed Link.

Parameters - Component for Articles

All Articles Layouts have the same options under Parameters - Component. For each of these components, you may select one of three options: No/Hide, Yes/Show, or Use Global. An example of this section is shown below:

These values work with the values set in the Article Manager/Parameters and the values set in the Article Manager New/Edit to determine the action on the page. The parameters in all three places work together in a hierarchy, as follows:

1. The value from the Parameters - Advanced section of the Article Manager New/Edit is examined. If this value is set to Yes/Show or No/Hide, then that action is taken and no further checking is done.
2. If the value above is set to "Use Global" then the value from the Parameters - Component section of the Menu Item Type (this screen) is examined. If this value is set to Yes/Show or No/Hide, then that action is taken and no further checking is done.
3. If both of the values above are set to "Use Global" then the value from Article Manager/Parameters is used to determine the result.

The individual Parameters are described below.

• Show Unauthorized Links. (No/Yes/Use Global). Whether or not to show links that the User is not authorized to access. If set to No, Users will only see Menu Items that they may access. If set to Yes, every User will see all Menu Items, whether or not they can access them. In this case, if an unauthorized user selects a Menu Item that they cannot access, a Login screen will display.

• Show Article Title. (No/Yes/Use Global) Whether or not to show the title of the article.
• Title Linkable. (No/Yes/Use Global) Whether or not the Title of the Article will be a hyperlink to the Article.
• Show Intro Text. (Hide/Show/Use Global) Whether or not the Intro Text will display.
• Section Name. (Hide/Show/Use Global) Whether or not the Section Name will display.
• Section Title Linkable. (No/Yes/Use Global) Whether or not the Title of the Section will be a hyperlink to the Section page.
• Category Title. (Hide/Show/Use Global) Whether or not the Category Title will display.
• Category Title Linkable. (No/Yes/Use Global) Whether or not the Title of the Category will be a hyperlink to the Category page.
• Author Name. (Hide/Show/Use Global) Whether or not to display the Author Name.
• Created Date and Time. (Hide/Show/Use Global) Whether or not to display the date and time the Article was created.
• Modified Date and Time. (Hide/Show/Use Global) Whether or not to display the date and time the Article was last modified.
• Show Navigation. (Hide/Show/Use Global) Whether or not to show a navigation link (e.g., Next, Previous) between Articles.
• Read More... Link. (Hide/Show/Use Global) Whether or not to show the "Read More..." link to link from the part of the Article before the "Read More..." break to the rest of the Article.
• Article Rating/Voting. (Hide/Show/Use Global) Whether or not to display the Article Rating/Voting module.
• Icons. (Hide/Show/Use Global) Whether the PDF, Print, and E-mail buttons for the Article will display as Icons or Text. If set to Hide, these buttons will display as Text ("PDF", "Print", and "E-mail"). If set to Show, they will display as Icons. Note that these buttons only display if the individual options are set to Show.
• PDF Icon. (Hide/Show/Use Global) Whether or not to display a button to allow the Article to be rendered in a new window in PDF format. This allows the User to view, print, or save the Article as a PDF file.
• Print Icon. (Hide/Show/Use Global) Whether or not to display a button to allow the Article to be printed. This allows the User to print the current Article in a printer-friendly format.
• E-mail Icon. (Hide/Show/Use Global) Whether or not to display a button to allow a link to the Article to be e-mailed. This displays a form that allows the user to send an e-mail with a link to the current Article.
• Hits. (Hide/Show/Use Global) Whether or not to display the number of hits for an Article.
• For each feed item show. (Hide/Show/Use Global) If set to Hide, only the intro text of each feed item will display. If set to Show, the full text of the feed item will display.

Internal Link - Contacts

When the Contacts link is selected, it expands to display the options shown below.

Contact Category Layout

Used to show all of the published Contacts in a given Category. Note that Contact Categories are separate from Article Categories. Contacts and Contact Categories are entered by selecting Components/Contacts. See Contact Manager and Category Manager for more information.

Standard Contact Layout

Used to show the details of a single Contact.

Parameters - Component for Contacts

All Contacts Layouts have the same options under Parameters - Component. An example of this section is shown below.

Internal Link - News Feeds

When the News Feeds link is selected, it expands to display the options shown below.

Category List Layout

Used to show a list of all News Feed Categories.

Category Layout

Used to show a list of News Feeds in a Category.

Parameters - Component for News Feeds

All News Feed Layouts have the same options under Parameters - Component. An example of this section is shown below.

Internal Link - Polls

When the Polls link is selected, it expands to display the Poll Layout. This is used to show the results of a Poll, as shown below.

Internal Link - Search

When the Search link is selected, it expands to display the Search layout. This is used to show the Search form and the Search results as shown below.

Internal Link - User

When the User link is selected, it expands to display the options shown below.

Default Login Layout

Allows a user to login to the site.

Default Registration Layout

Allows a user to register for the site.

Default Remind

Allows the user to receive an e-mail with their username.

Default Reset Layout

Allows the user to reset their password.

Default User Layout

Shows a welcome message when the user enters the regsitered zone.  This layout has no unique Parameters.

User Form Layout

Allows a user to edit their account details, choose a new password, change the language for both the Back-end and Front-end, and modify their time zone. Users with publishing permissions may choose a text editor. Users with administrator permissions may choose the Help Site they want to use in the back-end. The layout for users in the Registered and Author groups is shown below.

Internal Link - Web Links

When the 'Web Links' link is selected, it expands to display the options shown below.

Web Link Category List Layout

Shows a list of all the Web Link Categories. The User may click on a Category to see the links for that Category.

Category List Layout

Shows a list of all the Web Links in a Category.

Web Link Submission Layout

Shows a form that allows a Registered User to sumbit a Web Link.

Parameters - Component for Web Links

All Web Links Layouts have the same options under Parameters - Component. An example of this section is shown below.

Internal Link - Wrapper

When the Wrapper link is selected, it expands to display the Wrapper layout. This is used to show an external web site inside a page in your web site, using an HTML IFrame. The external web site is contained inside the Wrapper. You can navigate to different pages in the wrapped web site, all inside the page of your web site. The example below shows the Joomla! web site inside a Wrapper.

External Link

This Menu Item Type is used to create a menu choice that links to an external web site or page.

Parameters - Basic The External Link has one Basic Parameter.

• Menu Image. Optional image to display to the left or right of the Menu Item. Image must be in the folder "images/stories".
  

Separator

This Menu Item type creates a Menu Placeholder or a Separator within a Menu. These can be used to break up a long Menu.

Parameters - Basic The Separator has one Basic Parameter.

• Menu Image. Optional image to display to the left or right of the Menu Item. Image must be in the folder "images/stories".
  

Alias

This Menu Item Type creates a Link to an existing Menu Item. It allows you to have identical Menu Items on two or more different Menus without duplicating the settings. So, for example, if you change a parameter of a Menu Item that has an Alias linked to it, the Alias will automatically acquire the same change.

Parameters - Basic The Alias has one Basic Parameter.

• Menu Item. The Menu Item that this Alias links to. Select the Menu Item from the drop-down list box.
  

Menu Item Details and Parameters - System

When any of the Menu Item Types listed above are selected, a details screen similar to the one below displays.

Quick Tips

• Parameters for Articles and Contacts can be set at 3 different levels:
  1. the individual Article or Contact New or Edit screen (Article:[Edit] or Contact:[Edit]).
  2. the Menu Item that displays the Article or Contact (this screen).
  3. the Global Configuration screen, accessed using the Parameters button on the Article Manager and Contact Manager screens.
  The parameter set for the individual Article or Contact always takes first priority. If the individual parameter is set to "Use Global", then the parameter set in the Menu Item takes priority. If both of these are set to "Use Global", then the parameter in the Global Configuration takes priority.

Parameters for News Feeds, Search, and Web Links work in a similar way, except that they are only set in this screen and in the Global Configuration screens. No parameters are set for individual items of these types. As with Articles and Contacts, the Menu Item setting takes priority over the Global Configuration setting.

Use the Global Configuration parameters whenever possible. This way, if you want to change a parameter setting for all content items, you can just change it once in the Global Configuration and it will automatically be reflected in all affected content items.

Often on the Front Page component, Joomla! users do not want their Articles to display in 2 columns, which is the default value. The first Article displays in one column (using the full width), but subsequent Articles display in 2 columns. This can be adjusted by changing the values of the Parameters - Basic for the Front Page.

If you are trying to manually change the order of articles on the Front Page or in a Blog or List Layout, make sure that you have the Primary Order and Category Order parameters set correctly in the Parameters - Advanced Section. If these parameters are set incorrectly, changing the order manually will have no effect on the order on the web page.