Server

The Server tab contains server-specific options like locale, FTP, database, and mail settings.

Server Settings

Path to Temp Folder

This is the folder Joomla uses when storing temporary files. For example, when you install an extension from an archived file, this is the folder where files are extracted before they are actually installed.

GZIP Page Compression

When set to Yes, HTML and other code are compressed before they are sent from the server to a site visitor. For large sites, this setting may improve page-loading times.

Error Reporting

Error Reporting sets the level of reporting you want when errors occur.

Force SSL

You can force your entire site or Administrator only to run under SSL. This means that all traffic to and from your site would be encrypted and not readable by hackers using packet-sniffing software. You will need to make sure that you have a valid certificate installed or end users will receive a warning from their web browser when visiting your site.

Local Settings

Time Zone

Select your time zone from the drop-down box.

FTP Settings

Enable FTP

The FTP Layer is one of the best things to happen to Joomla. It solved the problem that Joomla 1.0.x users had when Joomla created a file. The file would be owned by Apache and not the user that actually created it. This lead to permissions issues when trying to delete the file via FTP. Instead of creating a file in a directory, Joomla will actually FTP it to the folder, thus preserving file ownership.

FTP Host

This is the name of the host for your FTP server. Typically, 127.0.0.1 works.

FTP Port

The default port for FTP is port 21. However, some hosts change this for security reasons, so check with your hosting provider if it doesn’t work.

FTP Username

This is the username for the FTP account.

FTP Password

This is the password for the FTP account.

FTP Root

Typically, when you log in to your hosting account via FTP, you won’t end up in Joomla’s root directory by default. The FTP Root is nothing more than the path from FTP’s root directory to Joomla’s directory.

Database Settings

Database Type

The database type is almost always mysql. Changing this field could cause your site to stop working, so it shouldn’t be altered unless you know exactly what you’re doing. You may want to change it if you switch hosts to one with a different type of compatible database or you change the type of database on your current server.

Hostname

The hostname is where Joomla can find your database. Most often, this is localhost, but if your database is on a different server, you’ll want to enter it here.

Username

This is the username for the MySQL account that has access and write privileges to your database.

Database

This is the name of the database where your Joomla tables are.

Database Prefix

All of the Joomla tables for this installation begin with a database prefix. This is typically jos_. If you wanted to add a second installation to Joomla and not create a new database, you could just give it a different prefix like jos2_. Once this is set, you will probably never change it.

Note

You may have noticed that Password is not an option within the Database Settings. If you want to change the MySQL password, you’ll need to manually change the $password variable in the file configuration.php located in Joomla’s root directory.

Mail Settings

Mailer

When Joomla sends out an email, this determines what method to use when sending.

Mail from

When an email is sent out, this is the return email address.

From Name

When an email is sent out, this name is shown as the sender.

Sendmail Path

If you set Mailer to be Sendmail, this is the path to the Sendmail script on your server.

SMTP Authentication

If you set Mailer to be SMTP Server, this tells Joomla whether the SMTP server requires authentication.

SMTP Username

When authentication is required, you must supply a username for the SMTP server.

SMTP Password

When authentication is required, you must supply a password for the SMTP server.

SMTP Host

This tells Joomla where the SMTP server is located. If it is located on your server, you could leave this value as localhost.

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