Overview
Bible Study is a Joomla!® 1.5 and 2.5 component written by a team of webservants to further the teaching of God's Word. The component displays information about your church's Bible Studies or sermons in a wide variety of ways. JBS is flexible, customizable, and powerful. Easy to configure templates give you the maximum amount of choices. Show only what you want in whatever way you want.
Embed YouTube videos, play audio, show study notes - even create your own html display pages. You can have multiple locations, series, podcasting, and sharing with social media sites. Please see the example pages for just some of what Bible Study can do for your church - and the best part is the component is completely free. Support is top notch, and also free. Bottom line: we want to help you spread the gospel.
Want to help out developing Joomla Bible Study? Just request to join the project.
Media Files
The Media Files Tab allows the user to associate a media file with a study. There may be multiple media files associated with one study.
- Click on the Media Files Tab.
- On this screen, you may click on the desired icon - delete, publish, unpublish, edit or new.
- Columns may be sorted by clicking on the column heading name.
- Player: Choose one of the options from the drop-down menu.
- Direct link to file will open and play the media file in the current window.
- Use internal mp3 player will ************* do what?
- Use AllVideos Reloaded will play the media file using AVR (note: you must have the component AllVideos Reloaded installed in your Joomla installation) is this a true statement? Also, you must insert the appropriate code in #9 AllVideos Reloaded.
2. Published: Choose yes to have this media file appear with the study listing.
3. Create Date: Date will appear automatically.
- You may enter a different date if you choose.
- You may click on the calendar to choose a date
- Entering the hours, minutes and seconds are optional.
- Dates must appear in the format YYYY-MM-DD so a date such as May 30, 2010 should be entered as 2010-05-30.
4. Study: Click on the drop-down arrow to choose which study to associate with this media file. Helpful note: You must have previously entered a study name to associate a file. You may save this media file entry without a study name, go back and add the study and return to associate the media with the study. The media file will not appear on the front end until a study is associated with it.
5. Order: Enter the order in which this media file should appear in relation to other media files associated with the same study. Note: The order may not be changed when entering a new study, but can be changed in the EDIT mode.
6. Use DocMan: Optional. DocMan must be previously installed in the Joomla installation. DocMan is a document management system which allows easy upload and management of files across multiple categories. See DocMan's website at http://www.joomlatools.eu for more information
7. Use Article: Optional. This media file can contain a link to a previous posted article in Joomla's content management. Choose the appropriate section and the available categories and article names will appear.
8. Use VirtueMart: Optional. VirtueMart must be previous installed in the Joomla installation. VirtueMart offers a shopping cart/ecommerce ability if desired. See VirtueMart's website at http://www.virtuemart.net for more information.
9. All Videos Reloaded: Optional. Before putting any coding in this entry, the setting for #1 - Player must be set to Use AllVideos Reloaded. Clicking on the AVR Media button will allow choice of the appropriate coding to insert. For further information, see All Videos' website at http://allvideos.fritz-elfert.de/documentation/documentation-en-gb.html
10. Image: Select an image for the media type. This image will appear as an icon on the front-end allowing users to see what types of media are available for each study.
11. Filesize: Optional. Enter the filesize in bytes. Click on the converter to change from Mb to bytes.
12. Server: Select the desired server from the drop down list. Please see the Server Guide for more Information.
13. Path or Folder: Select the desired server from the drop down list. Please see the Server Folder Guide for more Information.
14. Filename: Enter the name of the media file. It is very important that this is entered exactly. Missing even a single character will cause the program to fail to play/open the file.
15. Upload File: Optional. Browse to choose the filename to upload. Please note that some files may be too large to upload via this screen and must be uploaded via ftp.
16. Target: Optional. Enter _self, or _blank to set the target window for opening the file.
17. Podcast: Optional. Select a podcast from the drop-down list. Podcasts must have been previously entered through the Podcast Tab. See the Podcast Guide for more information.
18. Choose Mime Type: Optional. Select a mime type from the drop-down list. Mime types must have been previously entered through the Mime Type Tab - although it is worth noting that many types come pre-installed with the Bible Study component. See the Mime Type Guide for more information.
19. Show Download Icon: Choosing YES will place an icon on the studies list which allows users to download the media. Choosing NO mean the icon will not appear and the only option available to users is to listen/view the media on the website.
20. Comment: Optional. Comments entered here will appear on the front end when users place their cursor over the media icons.
Studies Guide
The Studies Tab allows the user to enter information about an individual Bible study.
Add a new "BIBLE STUDY"
- Go to the pull-down menu COMPONENTS, Choose BIBLE STUDY and STUDIES.
- Choose NEW from the icon toolbar.
- Enter the details for the Bible Study.
Submitted by: Your name will appear here automatically.
Published: Choose "YES" if you are ready for the Bible Study to be published on your website. If "NO" is chosen, this Bible Study will not appear in the list of studies which are viewable by the public.
Study Date: the date will appear automatically.
- You may enter a different date if you choose
- You may click on the calendar to choose a date
- Entering the hours, minutes and seconds are optional.
- Dates must appear in the format YYYY-MM-DD so a date such as May 30, 2010 should be entered as 2010-05-30.
Study Number: Optional.
Title: Enter the study title. You must enter a title here.
Description: Optional. Enter a short description or teaser about this Bible Study.
Scripture: Optional. Choose the book of the Bible used in this study. -- You may choose to only enter the book or you may also enter chapters and verses as desired.
Scripture 2: Optional See Scripture description above
Secondary References: Optional. List any other references for this study here.
Note: For information about adding book reference names, see the Books Guide.
Teacher: Optional. Choose the teacher/speaker from the drop-down list for this study. If you have not yet entered any teachers into the component, please see the TEACHERS GUIDE.
Location: Optional. Choose the location from the drop-down list for this study. If you have not yet entered any locations into the component, please see the LOCATION GUIDE.
Series: Optional. Choose the appropriate series from the drop-down list if this study is part of a series. If you have not yet entered any series into the component, please see the SERIES GUIDE.
Topic: Optional. Choose the appropriate topic from the drop-down list for this study. If you have not yet entered any topics into the component, please see the TOPIC GUIDE.
Message Type: Optional. Choose the appropriate type from the drop-down list for this study. If you have not yet entered any types into the component, please see the MESSAGE TYPE GUIDE.
Duration: Optional except for podcast. This is optional unless the media associated with this study will be a podcast format.
note: these are options that allow your user to filter the studies on the front end.
Allow comments: Choose Yes to allow entry of comments. Global settings for comments can be found in the tab TEMPLATE DISPLAY SETTINGS under the DETAILS VIEW setting. Choosing NO means comments won't show for this study, but will still be allowed for other studies if comments are allowed in the global settings.
User level to show: Choose the type of user who will be allowed to view this study. Note: this is a setting for this study only.
- Everyone - anyone who looks at the website will be able to see this study
- Registered Users - only those registered on your site will be able to see this study
- Other options: authors, editors, publishers, managers, administrators
Thumbnail: Optional. Choose an image that will be associated with this study.
@TODO: NEED INFO HERE ON WHERE TO CHANGE DEFAULT TEMPATE SO THAT IMAGE APPEARS - or just post this documentation and make note to add-to later.
Study Image: the image chosen under #18 Thumbnail will appear here.
Study Notes: Enter study notes or more detailed information about your message. These can be formatted, then copied and pasted from Word or another program. It can include pictures, tables or anything else the Joomla text editor of your choice allows.
Media Files: If this is a new study, there will not be any media files associated, yet, with this study. After adding a media file under the MEDIA tab, and associating that media file with this study, then those media files will be listed here at the bottom of the study.
Quick Start Guide
For those who want to start using Bible Study without reading directions or who want to see how Bible Study performs before spending time on customization.
Enter a STUDY
- In the Joomla Administrator, go to Components | Bible Study and choose Studies.
- Choose the NEW button on the right icon toolbar and click to open.
- Enter a STUDY DATE - click on the calendar to choose a date.
- Enter a TITLE
- Select a book in the SCRIPTURE field.
- You may enter any of the rest of the information if you desire.
- Click on the SAVE icon at the top right.
View your study from the front-end of your website.
- Bible Study has the ability to sort and filter your studies listings - see the TEMPLATES DISPLAY SETTINGS Guide for further information.
Now add a media file to your study.
- In the Joomla Administrator, go to Components | Bible Study and choose Media Files.
- Choose the NEW button on the right icon toolbar and click to open.
- Select the study you just entered in from the drop-down menu STUDY.
- Look a little further down the page and find the MEDIA FILE section. In FILENAME, enter the following www.JoomlaBibleStudy.org/media/test.mp3 This will link a small mp3 file located on JoomlaBibleStudy.org's servers with the study you entered above.
note: EUGEN - This might have to be downloaded - adding this in the filename adds underlines for the slashes. Maybe this has been fixed in the current beta. I think it's the same issue that was covered in the 6.1 bugs entry in the forum. I've just been waiting to see how it works.
- You may enter any of the rest of the information if you desire.
- Click on the SAVE icon at the top right.
View your study from the front-end of your website.
This gives you a basic overview of the Bible Study component. You may choose to make your settings in Bible Study very simple or more complex as suits your needs. We recommend adding your SERVER settings on the Servers Tab and Servers Folders Tab (see the Server Guide for more information) as this will save typing and also possible errors and also adding TEACHERS on the Teacher Tab (see the Teacher Guide for more information.)
Template Display Settings
TEMPLATE DISPLAY SETTINGS TAB
NOTE: THIS GUIDE IS A WORK-IN-PROGRESS
The Templates Tab sets the parameters for the display of studies and series on the front-end. Changing any settings is optional.
Published: Set to yes for the template to be used.
Template Name: Give a descriptive name for this template if using multiple templates.
Details Link Image: The image selected will appear on the listing of studies.
PDF Image: Select an image to appear for a pdf of the study.
Note: Images selected for the Details Link and Pdf, as listed above, will not appear unless Details Text and/or Pdf are listed as an Item to Display in the Study List Row 1,2,3 or 4. (see diagram: template-10)
Number of Studies to Display: This number sets how many studies will appear in the studies list.
Note: The larger the number of studies to display, the longer the page will take to load.
Use a different template when ...
?Eugen - when/how would someone use a different tempate?
A Template may be set for each of the following:
-
Studies List
-
Studies Detail
-
Teachers
-
Series List
-
Series Detail
Note: Most users will use the default template for each view.
Selecting a Filter will limit the studies which will appear. Only those studies which match the filter will appear in the studies list. If multiple filters are desired, enter the id numbers found by clicking on the appropriate tab. For example: To filter out the studies for 3 teachers, go to the teachers tab and find the id number for each of those teachers. Enter those numbers separated by a comma.
NOTE: if a single item is selected fom the drop-down filter menu, then that filter box will not appear on the front end. If multiple ids are selected, though, the filter box will still appear on the front end allowing users to further filter the list of studies.
Show Front Page Image: Show or hide the image that appears at the top of the studies listing next to the title. Choose which image will appear in the Administration Tab - under Default Study List Image. The title can be set in this template settings tab under the List Items section, Title for Listing Page setting (see diagram: template-8 ).
Show Tooltip: Show tooltips when cursor is passed over selected items. Select tips and items in ToolTip Items (see diagram: template-9).
???? Eugen - I don't know if it is just my computer, but tooltips always show a js error when I look at any of the studies.
Chapters/Verses: Show scripture references using both chapter and verse, or just chapters when listing all the studies.
Path:
Date Format: Select from the drop-down menu.
Hours/Min/Sec: Select from the drop-down menu.
Message Types
The Message Types Tab allows studies to be classified and sorted under specific types of studies.
Click on the Message Types Tab.
On this screen, you may click on the desired icon - delete, edit or new.
Click on the green checkmark to either publish or unpublish a study.
Note: When a type is unpublished, all the information is still stored in the database, but that type will not appear in the drop-down lists of types.
Use of Message Types is optional.
Enter a descriptive name for each category. Using a message type is another way to allow users to sort and filter the studies they would like to view.
