notice_iconThe current manual concerns the Starter version of the CF suite. The PRO version encloses pdf manuals for the Module and the Component
Custom Filters Manual
About

This document offers the basic knowledge for installing , configuring and using the extensions that consist the Starter version of the custom filters suite.
This document is copyrighted © 2012 Sakis Terzis / breakdesigns.net. The document is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/]. You can distribute it freely as long as you do not modify it and state its source and/or author. You cannot use this document or any portion of it for commercial purposes. If you require such use, for example to deliver it to your clients as part of your site building service,please email the author in order to acquire such a license and the source to this document.

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About cf filtering module

The module displays the filtering form in the Fron-end of the site. It contains the necessary functionality for displaying the desired filtering options, used for filtering the products of a Virtuemart eshop.

About Custom Filters Component

The PRO version of the component is used for generating filters from the custom fields of Virtuemart. It is also used for managing their display in the module.
In the front-end the component is responsible for the filtering process and the results display.


 
Minimum Requirements
  1. Joomla >1.7.0 , Joomla 2.5
  2. Virtuemart 2
  3. PHP > 5.2
  4. MySQL 5+

 
Installation

After downloading the package from our site, uncompress it using any of the available software (winzip,winrar,7zip etc.).
The folder contains 2 zips. The Custom Filters component and the cf filtering module.
Just install the 2 files using the joomla installation.

install


 
Module Configuration

After the installation you have to configure the module. So go to the Module Manager and select the cf filtering module.
As with every module, set its position in the template and publish it. Also set it to be displayed on the pages you want.

Basic Settings

Some settings that regard all the filters.

Empty Options Display. Some options won't return products if selected. With this parameter you can set, how these options will be handled.
a. Show as disabled. Displays the options but the user cannot select them.
b. Hide.
c. Show as enabled. The user can select them even if they will return no products.

Index options by search engines. This actually ads or not a “nofollow” to the created links. Links with “nofollow” are not indexed by the major search engines.

Use the varriables from Virtuemart pages.The module can use variables from the pages of Virtuemart. For example can use the category id from the category page or the productdetails page or use the manufacturer id from the manufacturer page. This is like auto selecting options from the appropriate filters using variables from the VM pages.


Common settings in all filters (Categories, Manufacturers, Custom filters)

The cf filtering settings are built in a way that offers control over the functionalities and the display of every type of filter. Each filter has its own pane with its own settings.

cat mod settins Starter

Published
A filter has to be published to be displayed in the module. An unpublished filter won't be displayed no matter how the other parameters are set.

 

Display type
How the options of a filter will be displayed

1.Drop-down list (Single)
2.Radio buttons(Single)
3.Link (Single)

notice iconThe only way to select multiple options from a filter is to use checkboxes. (PRO package)


Categories Filter settings

Order of Categories
With this setting you can define how the categories will be ordered in the module.


The available options are:
1.Category ordering (No tree) → The categories will be ordered using the ordering numbers you are using in VM.
2.Category Names → Orders the categories by their names in ascending direction.
3.Category Tree → Displays the categories as tree.

Display specific Categories
You can display only specific categories using that setting. All you have to do is to write the ids of those categories separated by comma in the Displayed Categories input.


 
Component Configuration

The free version of the component offers some settings that concerns the results page display in the Front-End.
So if you want to do changes to the results page display press the "Options" Button placed at the top right corner.

config 2

Results page title : The title of the results page.

page title

Choose a layout : This allows the layout overrides. If there are alternative category page layouts for Virtuemart in the template (template overrides).

Products per row : How many products will be displayed in each row.


 
I Need more Help!

If you get stuck and you need more help you can use our support services.
Our subscribers (excluding free subscriptions) are entitled to personalized , private support through our ticket system. They have also access to more resources and documents offered in our knowledge base.
To use the support area of our site, you have to login and click the “support” link, placed in the top menu of our site http://breakdesigns.net. Support tickets are usually answered within 24hrs during office hours (GMT+2).

To get a subscription just visit our subscription page http://breakdesigns.net/component/acctexp/?task=renewsubscription and select the desired subscription plan.

If you have noticed any bug or you have any suggestion, feel free to write an email at support[at]breakdesigns.net