mfSlideBar: Sliding sidebar for Joomla modules

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mfSlideBar: Sliding sidebar for Joomla modules

mfSlideBar

A common problem in web design is having a lack of space. mfSlideBar gives you a fancy Web 2.0 solution for this problem. Simply place modules in to a nice sliding side bar on your Joomla! website.

You can place any module in to this sliding sidebar and you can set your own theme / style. mfSlideBar is very flexible and comes in sliding from the left or the right of the page.

Want to have a nice Web 2.0 sliding sidebar showing your modules on your website? mfSlideBar is your solution.

mfSlideBar works with Prototype.js.

Demo (movie)

In this demo, I'm showing the "simple" and "light" theme, loading different module positions. Sorry for the bad demo, but I hope you get the idea.

Install on Joomla! 1.0.x

Log in to your back-end of the site
Go to "Installers", "Modules"
Click on "Browse" and navigate to the downloaded ZIP archive
Press "Upload File & Install"
Go to "Modules", "Site Modules"
Search for mfSlideBar and edit it
Set your parameters
Save and publish the module

Install on Joomla! 1.5

Log in to your back-end of the site
Go to "Extensions", "Install/Uninstall"
Click on "Browse" and navigate to the downloaded ZIP archive
Press "Upload File & Install"
Go to "Extensions", "Module Manager"
Search for mfSlideBar and edit it
Set your parameters
Save and publish the module

How to use

mfSlideBar allows you to add a nice sliding sidebar to your Joomla! website.

Setup

Publish this module on any position. Set the module position it should load and other paramaters and you're ready to go.

Never use the same module position as it's loaded in. For example, when you placed mfSlideBar in position "left", do not load other modules from position "left". Otherwise you'll create an infinate loop & your website will crash.

Change the "Image width" to the width of the original image in px when placing mfSlideBar on the right, otherwise it will not show up properly in every web browser.

This module is best viewed when "Show title" is set to "No".

Themes

mfSlideBar comes default with three themes: dark, light & simple. They look like this:

To create your own theme, add them in hem in the following directory:

modules/mod_mfslidebar/templates/

Now create a directory starting with your theme name and if it's placed on the left or right. Seperate those with a "-" symbol. Add your own "slide-button.gif" and "slide-button-active.gif" that fits your template. Place your template in your module parameters and you're done.

Example:

modules/mod_mfslidebar/templates/newTemplate-right/

Don't forget to publish this module!

Download

Feel free to give feedback about this module. Enjoy using it!

Tags: module free joomla webdesign

Interested in this topic? You might enjoy another article I've written called

Comments

Sergio - how to use prototype.js

2008-04-17 17:28:54

Hi,

first of all let me congratulate about all you work, this is soooo good.

Can you help me with the use of prototype.js with Joomla? how do I install this?

best regards,

srj

Himgoku - Clicking on sidebar results reloading homepage

2008-04-17 21:08:53

Hi, very nice module!

The only thing is that when I click on the sidebar the homepage reloads no matter where I am on the site.
Is this a bug or is there a fix that let me stay on the current page after clicking?

Best Regards,
Himgoku

Marco - Contact me

2008-04-17 21:35:31

Hi,

I don't know what you mean. Could you use the contact form + send me the URL of your website where it's online so I can check & give you support.

Greetings,,,

Anonymous

2008-04-18 14:08:29

GJ	2008-04-17 22:10:21

Hi Marco,

Very nice module indeed, but when i click on the open button there's nothing in the box...no matter what module position i select! Can you figure that out?

Marco - Woah!

2008-04-17 22:29:28

That's strange indeed. I also see some weird things going on on your website (reloading the front page just like Himgoku mentioned).

I can't re-create the effect, so please use the contact form and maybe we can get out & fix this problem (for Himgoku too).

Greetings,,,

Robert - Nothing loads

2009-03-08 17:57:53

Same problem here, noting won't load in the slidemenu.

Elisa

2009-04-26 19:15:24

Same problem - no content

Paul - Tried to upload Module

2008-04-18 19:05:44

Tried to upload module Joomla version 1x
and just get error
Unrecoverable error "PCLZIP_ERR_BAD_FORMAT (-10)"

shame was looking forward to trying this

Cheers Paul

Bob - Thanks

2008-04-18 20:15:04

Very nice module. Installed first time, worked first time.

Great work.

Joe - Display Module

2008-04-18 21:27:15

I'm using the 1.5 version. I only want the display module to show up inside the mfslidebar module. However, I can't get it to display when I add a new location position. The only way it displays on the mfslidebar module is if I have it in a location that is already visible on the page, which defeats the purpose as far as I am concerned. Any help that you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Joe

Thomas

2008-04-18 23:08:48

Install don�t work with Joomla 1.0! :unsure:

:unsure:

Unrecoverable error & #34;PCLZIP_ERR_BAD_FORMAT (-10)

Please update your module, it looks very fine!

Iccang - Still have bugs...

2008-04-19 05:48:32

hi marco..

Nice module.. but, if the site use mootools.js, it's will not working. I mean, the module that use mootools.js not working. your's still work.

Another bugs is : if I choose right position (left/right), your module will show a big box on the top page. if I choose the left position, is normally.

my question is : how to put another module into your sliding module??

best regard,
============

fabs - Not working at all :(

2008-04-19 14:24:23

For some reason the slidebox does not appear at all on my site

too bad
was looking forward to this

fabs - partially working only

2008-04-19 19:39:33

on http://www.deutsche-in-spanien.net the module does no work at all. probably some incompatibility with some other module

on http://www.ffaabbiiaann.de it only works partially. the problem is that when i am on any other page then the homepage and click to opnen the slieder it defaults back to http://www,ffaabbiiaann.de/# so that i can only use the slider effectifly on my homepage otherwise my visitor will unwillingly leave the current page on opening the slider...
I am using sh404sef.. any idea how to solve that?

thanks
fabs

reno - validation

2008-04-19 23:29:13

I like it really much, can the bots read the content of slider and can you make it w3c compliant?

alen - Peljesac

2008-04-20 07:12:49

I'm impression with this staff. :cheer:

:cheer:

Brian - Great ob

2008-04-20 11:16:10

Worked like a charm on i.x Installed and got it working in less than 5 minutes

Rasulo - teh Hole

2008-04-21 11:36:53

Hi

The module is just what I have been looking for - unfortunately I cannot get it to display anything. My site - still under construction - uses a Rockettheme template, 'Replicant' which has javascript features. These features malfunction when I try to use the module. When I disable the theme features, your module just displays a black box. I would like to display the login / register box, or an auxiliary menu using it - I hope you can help me

Thanks in advance

Rasulo

Rasulo - Oops

2008-04-21 11:41:38

forget to say - I'm using J 1.5

Al - re: Blank Box

2008-04-22 06:44:08

GJ wrote:

Hi Marco,

Very nice module indeed, but when i click on the open button there's nothing in the box...no matter what module position i select! Can you figure that out?

Same for me, where can I set the module to display?
Thanks

Michael

2008-04-23 00:26:29

I can't get it to install either:

Unrecoverable error "PCLZIP_ERR_BAD_FORMAT (-10)"

Marco - UnZIP, Repack, Upload

2008-04-23 09:15:46

- Unzip the file on your local machine.
- Repack the file
- Upload the new file

Should work, good luck!

Tom - modules not shown

2008-04-28 12:06:13

hi marco!

thx for that great module. there's been no problem installing it, but it doesn't show any module in it.
it's published in module position 'top' and included modules should be shown in position 'user1'. but on the frontpage it is blank.
using joomla 1.5.3 and template "siteground-j15-25".
hope u can help.

be prepared

greetings from a austrian scouter

Tom	2008-04-29 13:41:08

ok, got it workin

changed the module position and created an extra module posiiton with attribute visible where mfslidebar shows some modules.
but there are other problems:
1. doesn't seem to work with lightbox (tested with phoca gallery) - lightbox works, when mfslidebar is not activated
2. no module titels are shown in mfslidbar (allthough activated) - tested on 2 different sites under joomla 1.5.3

hope, this info is usefull
greetings

Admtkc - Module not show !

2008-05-05 07:22:38

I use template s5eden of Shape5.com. When i use mfslidebar in J 1.0.15 it's okey. But when use mfSlidebar in J 1.5.3 , it cannot show any module i publish. Can help me plz ?

Sliver - Load module position...

2008-05-05 15:29:27

If i understand right, i cant give it an ID, but have to add user1, left or something into "load module position".
Right? Or how do i get my loginscreen in there?

:?:

ElopE - same error

2008-06-26 12:36:34

same error when installing..
Unrecoverable error "PCLZIP_ERR_BAD_FORMAT (-10)"

David - nice module

2008-07-17 19:46:50

easy to use, helpfull, is all i was looking for to login module in my website.

David - re: Contact me

2008-07-18 19:28:10

Marco wrote:

Hi,

I don't know what you mean. Could you use the contact form + send me the URL of your website where it's online so I can check & give you support.

Greetings,,,

I have same issue... check it out at http://www.estrategiasweb.com.mx

Thanks.

Anonymous

2008-10-22 23:46:52

Hi. nice lil` module, installed it,got what i hae to do,but i cant get it working

even added a new position..but still no results. using J 1.5

Rioserver

2008-11-27 02:12:43

Error on joomla 1.0

Unrecoverable error & #34;PCLZIP_ERR_BAD_FORMAT (-10)

volker - Problem with Joomla 1.58

2009-01-18 23:02:10

Hi ,
first thanks for the great work , but no modul is loaded.
I cannot see anything in the modul field.
The button is very nice to handle but no content.
Can you give some help ?

Thx
Volker

recusant - jdoc:include rendering in html

2009-01-21 17:46:04

Hi Marco,

fresh install of 1.5.9 with the default rhuk_milkyway template - same problem - no module is loading (should be user9) but, in the mfslideBarContentsInner div, " " is being written to the html.

Marco - Contact me

2009-01-21 17:47:38

Hello recusant,

Sorry I had to delete your comments - The commenting system doesn't allow HTML tags since they can screw up the layout of this page

.

Anyway, please contact me (use the contact form) and we can maybe work it out. Have to admit that for some people this module worked great, while for others it didn't render and I seriously don't have a clue why.

recusant

2009-01-21 17:46:25

not doing to well here - lol.

All I was trying to say is that jdoc:include type="modules" name="user9" is not being executed; it's being written to the html.

OKawa - Also problems to take thins in the sidebar

2009-02-22 21:43:24

Hy Marco,
i have also the problem that nothing is displayed in the Sidebar. I ve done all so like you told here, but nothing works. Have you a new solution for me?

Andy` - login form

2009-03-18 12:36:15

Hey
how do i put my login form in the slide bar?

chriddo - This module stops the Gavick

2009-03-24 13:00:50

I think this module is really worth developing :cheer:

:cheer:

I however would like to use it but can't because of some conflict with Gavick's free "News Image 6" component (see www.gavick.com).

As soon as I enable the mfSlideBar the News Image stops working.

Hope this can be fixed in the future!

Keep up the good word!

jose - opinion

2009-03-29 09:21:32

Great job!

Csurulya Laszlo - test

2009-03-31 20:33:46

It opens, it closes nicely but.... No content.
and about the gavick and other elements ...
Conflicting somewhere.
Please let me know if u'r improving it 'couse it is realy nice
tHaNx

sven - how it works for me

2009-05-18 12:53:47

hi @ all,
the module works fine (open and close) but there was no content in it. so i tried it this:

published the module (with my moduleparameter)
then i open pagesourcecode and copied the modulepart into my template (index.php) and it works perfect. (you even can unpublish the module)

the problem seems to be that joomla ignores
when its in the module.

thx for the nice module
hope i could help someone.

cheers
sven

DougABC123 - ActiveKidzSports.com

2009-05-31 09:39:58

I am very interested in the sliding side bar. So far, very good.

The side bar hides itself as desired, but the then there is simply empty space where those modules were located. Maybe I'm missing something, but isn't the point of the sliding side bar - to then allow the content (in the middle of the web site, e.g. articles), to expand in to the space where the side bar was located (prior to hiding it)?

Please send a link to a web site where this can be more fully seen in action.

DougABC123
ActiveKidzSports.com (under development)

Web Hosting - not working

2009-06-26 00:44:13

I installed this module but can�t make it work correctly...

http://www.hosteris.com

lj - it

2009-06-26 17:02:42

Hi,
I like the sliding effect, but i can't display any content on the slide page. that's on joomla 1.5.11. I wish it was possible to grab a menu to display.

kad - kad

2009-07-15 11:56:58

Thank you. Great module.

Gary - Jdoc in the template...

2009-07-20 21:46:18

Congrat! on the nice module and i believe this is a very good concept. Like everyone else, I am experiencing problem getting the module working correctly.

Well, but this module is too good to give up. So I went ahead and did some troubleshooting on the module.

Look like what happened is the JDOC statement within the module did not get render properly. It did not get process before the page get render and shows within the final html document.

The questions will be, how can we make sure the JDoc statement get properly render before the page? I believe if we can solved that, we can bring this awesome module back to live.

Will do more research regarding this template, and hopefully can share my solution with you guys sometime soon.

If you have any other ideas or suggestions, please feel free to contact me. I would love to get this module to work! Tooo good to give up, right?!

Best,
Gary

Marco Giorgetti

2009-08-04 12:53:10

Please, could you use CDATA tag for increase compatibility and pass xhtml validation?

In particular in /modules/mod_mfSlideBar/mod_mfslidebar.php I've add CDATA as follows:

[code]px;height:px;" id="mfslideBarContents">
px;padding:px;" id="mfslideBarContentsInner">

Marco Giorgetti - re:

2009-08-04 12:54:04

Sorry, it seems comments are limited in lenght...the code shown on my previous comment is not entirely shown!

Marco Giorgetti - re: re:

2009-08-04 15:03:49

Unfortunately CDATA is not necessary. In fact JDOC:INCLUDE statement does not work in my case.
I've replaced it with the following generic code for Joomla! 1.5 to include module inside another module:

jimport('joomla.application.module.helper');
$mods = JModuleHelper::getModules('user1');
echo JModuleHelper::renderModule($mods[0]);

Ambar Patil

2009-08-23 15:05:40

I have installed this module but the box is blank .
I want the registration module to open in this box .

How can i do it ?

Carsten - Fix #1

2009-08-26 23:34:08

Fix for the jdoc issue.
Replace the line

[code][/code]

jai - Module Position

2009-09-15 12:34:46

How can I show my login module in mfSlideBar? Please help, It's urgent

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