I am looking for some general help here. I want to build out a site that allows surfers to come to the site and look for skills and skillsets. They would use several dropdown boxes to build a search criteria and hopefully they get a hit. The dropdown boxes looks like the attached image.

Getting the info to the site is done either by an admin or a registered user. So the common fields first name, last name, email, photo, skillset...etc However a person cannot register on the site, their credentials are sent to them via email. Which section of templates should I start looking to get this kind of usability

Of course I'm gonna have my rotating banner etc. But I am focused on the dropdown search criteria functionality. The prettying up will come by default with a template.

Hi Danon,
That kind of functionality isn't handled in Joomla via the template. What you are after is a component that can store and filter that kind of data. I think you would need a custom solution for that kind of thing - unless anyone knows of a component that might work. Components like Fabrik are good at building custom form based things like that.
extensions.joomla.org/extension/fabrik

Hope that helps.

Anthony

Hi Danon

What you are looking to do appears rather simple but to do correctly is rather complex, so first you need to scope the project and prepare a detailed specification for your whole project/site.

As Anthony says this is not a template solution, and if you want to do properly will need custom coding,at some point, in order to store and retrieve data, then automate the management. It would take a fair bit of time and investment to produce a solid solution. Joomla may not even be the best solution here, but that is going way off track.

On a smaller budget you could try a quick and dirty approach to get things up and running. K2 could be used along with extra fields to input data. You would then need to display the output via k2. Your search could then be filtered, there a number of components for this, we use this one.
styleware.eu/store/item/52-filter-for-k2
This would work for you, but the database structure is not very pure.

Alternatively you could build your own form, as Anthony suggested, we use breezingforms however there is a bit of a learning curve.
crosstec.org/en/
The forms can then be used with content builder from crosstec.org to store in the db and extract data. A more robust approach than k2 but you need a deeper understanding of what is happening.

For me a custom written solution is what you require but you would need a lot of traffic to see a return. The k2 solution may be enough to prove the concept for you. You could also search the jed for something you could use or adapt.

I hope that gives you some ideas to consider. If you wanted something custom coded, and don't want to do it yourself, Anthony may be able to quote you, but i suspect it would not be cheap and run into thousands of dollars.

Regards Ian

Thanks Ian

Cheers
Paul

Is it possible for me to use a normal template and using the 'view html' toggle button input my own php scripts or code blocks?

I have a developer subscription, does that get support with what I would like to do?

The developer subscription covers - I took this from the membership signup page

What is customisation support?
Customisation support refers to the level of help we provide for customising your Joomla template. This support is provided via our forum and ticket system and is available for all developer level subscribers. This support is limited to help with changes to html and css and does not extend to customising deeper php or javascript implementation.

So I'm afraid it doesn's cover what you need

Cheers
Paul

what about my previous question of using the toggle html button and inputing php code blocks? I could create my own form etc on any page by including in the php blocks in the respective article.

Hi Danon

It is possible to insert code into Joomla articles but not always simple for a number of good reasons including security. It depends on the editor you use and is a Joomla/editor question rather than anything controlled by the template.

Here are a few resource to help you:
www.ostraining.com/blog/joomla/use-javascript-or-php-in-a-joomla-article/
extensions.joomla.org/extension/sourcerer
www.nonumber.nl/extensions/sourcerer

A good form component is probable an easier and better approach though, as touched on above in this post. Alternatively adding code is better done via a custom build module or component. Joomla docs will give you some guidance on this.

I hope that helps you out a bit.
Regards Ian

Hi Danon

If you wanted to dive in and code for Joomla here are some links to get you started from the Joomla docs to save you hunting.

docs.joomla.org/J3.x:Developing_an_MVC_Component/Introduction
docs.joomla.org/J3.x:Creating_a_simple_module/Developing_a_Basic_Module
and here is link to good basic book,
www.packtpub.com/web-development/learning-joomla-3-extension-development-third-edition

There are other frameworks for developing in joomla/php but the above will give you a steer to get going.

Regards Ian

Thanks Ian

Appreciate it

Cheers
Paul