Learn all about the exciting RocketTheme exclusive extensions that are included in the SolarSentinel template release. Here you can find instructions for installation and configuration for each of the custom extensions/addons.

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Step One: Installing the Extension

[list class=bullet-1][li]Download the solarsentinel-extensions-j15.zip archive from the SolarSentinel download section of the RocketTheme Joomla! Club. Unzip the archive and inside you will find individual zip files for each of the extensions.[/li] [li]Login in to your administrator console on your Joomla! website and navigate to the Extensions menu item, and select Install/Uninstall from the dropdown menu. [/li] [li]In the Upload Package File section, click the Choose File button and select one of the extension_name.zip that was inside of the zip file you downloaded earlier. Next click the Upload File & Install button to install the module.[/li][/list]

Step Two: Publishing the Module/Plugin

[list class=bullet-1][li]Now the module is installed it must be published in the appropriate module position and configured to suit our needs. From the top menu, select Extensions → Module Manager[/li] [li]This will take you to the Site Module Manager which allows you to configure the placement and configuration of all modules in your Joomla website.[/li] [li]Locate the module from the list. Remember there could be a few pages. Once you have found it, you can publish in 2 ways: The first is selecting the cross next to the title or clicking the title then set Publish to Yes followed by Save.[/li] [li]Plugins behave in a similar way, simply go to Extensions → Plugin Manager and enable the plugin. You can also configure it from the same manager.[/li][/list] [clear][/clear] [span class=alert]In order for the new SolarSentinel modules to function, you must install com_rokmodules. This component facilitates the modules, as Roknavmenu does for the integrated menu. Follow the instructions below:-

1. Download solarsentinel-extensions-j15.zip from RokDownloads. 2. Extract the zip onto your computer. 3. Go to Extensions then select the Upload File & Install button. 4. Find com_rokmodules.zip and install it.
Now all the new modules are functional[/span]

What Extensions accompany the SolarSentinel release?

[list class=bullet-3][li]RokMicroNews Module
RokMicroNews is a new module, perfect for displaying your content. Your content (plus auto loaded image) are displayed adjacent to your article titles and the hover or click of these titles triggers a javascript transition to another article. Perfect for showcasing news items in a small, but structured spaced. [/li] [li]RokWeather Module
RokWeather, as the name suggests, is a weather module, using the Google API. You can easily display weather data from regions across the globe. This includes temperature, climate, wind speed as well as being configurable from the frontend via the user. Perfect for any news site. [/li] [li]RokGzipper Plugin
RokGZipper is a plugin whose primary aim is to improve the performance and speed of your site. It does this by compressing your CSS (stylesheets) and JavaScript files. For javascript files, it compresses them altogether (via GZip) and places them in the cache folder. It differentiates between the pages so if you have a particular combination of scripts on one page, and a different combination on another, two files will be created and loaded independently. A similar method is used for the CSS but is based on path. To exemplify, all the CSS files in template's /css directory are combined into one file, with the module CSS files being combined elsewhere. Compressing all these files means your site can load faster. [/li] [li]RokNewsPager Module
The module is an article previewer and rotator. It displays content articles, in a summarised form and, using mootools based javascript transition, rotates through a series of pages displaying articles in a contracted list format. [/li] [li]RokNewsflash Module
RokNewsFlash is a custom mootools module that displays your newsflash tidbits at the top of your site. The RokNewsflash also includes small buttons allowing your visitors to toggle through the different newsflash items you have set up. See it in action on the frontpage. [/li] [li]RokStories Module
RokStories is a great module to display your articles and accompanying images as a featured item. The module itself is facilitated by Mootools to transition between images and articles seamlessly. Perfect for showcasing featured articles on your site, as seen on the frontpage. [/li] [li]RokStock Module
RokStock, is a Stocks module for your site. It has been finely tuned to give stocks character such as a coloured line graph, coloured indexes, draggable indexes, tooltips and much more. The module fits seamlessly into the template and is perfect for any news site. [/li] [li]RokAjaxSearch Module
RokAjaxSearch brings fantastic search functionality to Joomla, using the powerful and versatile javascript library, Mootools.

So, what does the module do? The best description is an example, simply type test in the search box in the upper right of SolarSentinel and wait ... and a popup shall materialise, showcasing the Joomla search results for you. [/li] [li]RokTabs Module
RokTabs, the fully independent and incredible flexible standalone version of the former RokSlide.

The module itself is installable into Joomla and can be easily utilised on any template, not just SolarSentinel. As its name implies, it is a tabbed based module to efficiently showcase your content to your visitors. [/li] [li]RokNavMenu Module
RokNavMenu is now an essential ingredient of RocketTheme templates. It provides various functions which are above and beyond what the mainmenu, and the subsequent template overrides can do. Therefore, a much more sophisticated menu can be constructed providing you with a much greater degree of usability. This makes the incredible advanced multiple-dropdown menu possible. It is an essential install for the integrated menu systems to operate. [/li] [li]RokCandy Component
The popular plugin from RocketTheme which allows you to implement typography easily, without fear of the WYSIWYG editor ruining your formatting and allows you, and/or your clients to add them to your content with ease. This is through a method similar to BBcode (as seen in a forum). WYSIWYG friendly syntax can be used, or even custom configured that will transform a set snippet to the correct HTML when it is parsed by Joomla. [/li] [/list]