Related Downloads

As its name suggests the Related Module lists Downloads that are 'related'. But what does 'related' mean?  In jDownloads terms "Related Downloads" are those in the same category and optionally together with those Downloads in Child categories.  As noted later the Related Downloads may be organised in several ways, including by popularity, Title, Created Date, Modified Date and so on.

The module is designed to be shown on the Downloads Details page only.  However it may also be shown as part of the Download Description but it is only visible when the Description is being shown on the Download Details page. If you would like to use the Related module elsewhere then it is worthwhile looking at the NoNumber 'Modules Anywhere' plugin.

There are several items to setup:

1. the module setup;
2. some jDownloads Configuration items;
3. the Downloads Details layout.

Additional sections are

4. Adding Related Module in Description
5. Multiple Related Modules
6. Appendix with a modified layout

The Related Module would appear in a very simple Downloads details page without any additional styling as shown opposite. In this case there was no description, no preview images or similar. For people less familiar with jDownloads, showing to the Download Details page is a configuration option. As shown in article  Download Actions you need to set the Configuration - FrontEnd tab field 'View Download detail page?' to Yes. And then click on title as shown below.
1. Setting Up the Module
The principle parts to set up are in the Module tab the Menu Assignment tab and the Filter tab
Module tab The most important items on the Module tab are listed below. Leave the Position field blank as shown. This is because the actual page is unknown and the Related Module is only shown where the {loadmodule} plugin is used. Use a Page Title.  This is not absolutely necessary but is recommended. Do not show the Module title as it is better to keep the words 'jDownload' and 'Related' in the Module Title. Again this is not absolutely necessary but is recommended, particularly if you are using multiple copies of the module as discussed later.. Some useful 'hints' are given in the images immediately below for the other parts of the Module tab.
Menu Tab  The next important step is to set the module to show on all pages. This is on the module Menu Assignment tab. This does not actually show the Module on all pages as this module only shows on the Download Details page.  But it is difficult to know the exact name of the Download Details page.  Also of course if one uses the Nonumber 'Modules Anywhere' then that is difficult to predict.  Another situation is when a Download is actioned through the Content plugin.
Filter Options Tab  The final stage in setting up the module is to select which of the Related Downloads are shown. These are set in the module Filter Options tab. As indicated opposite one can choose to only include those Downloads in the same category as the present Download being downloaded.  Alternatively one may select to include Child categories, and the 'depth' of the child categories to include.
The 'Download Field to Order By' determines how the Downloads in the Related set are selected.  To show the most popular Downloads then use the 'Hits' setting.  Also remember to set the 'Ordering Direction' field to Descending otherwise it will show the Downloads that have been downloaded the least number of times! The Created and Modified Date options basically allow the most recent uploads to be shown. If you use the Modified Date' option then remember that the modified date is not set by default when editting or updating a Download. Essentially just experiment!
After Publishing and Close & Save, the Module Manager should show look like the picture opposite Note that for the jDownloads Related module the 'Position' field shows a greyed 'None' entry and the 'Pages' field shows 'All'.
2. jDownloads Configuration Setup
In the jDownloads Configuration - Frontend tab it is essential that the View Download detail page? is set to Yes as otherwise the Related Module will not appear because the Download Details page will not be shown! It is also probably preferable to set the Use files title as download link? field to Yes as well but this is not essential. The article  http://www.jdownloads.net/documentations/item/download-actions-direct-via-summary-page-or-via-download  may be helpful .
Two other essential settings in the jDownloads Configuration - Frontend tab are the Activate support for all Joomla content plugins? and the Activate support for all Joomla content plugins? fields.  These should be set as shown opposite.  This is because support for the standard Joomla! {loadmodule} plugin is required as noted later, and it needs to be shown on the Download Details information.
3. Download Details Layout
If you are editing a Default layout please first make a copy!  Otherwise at some time a revised Default layout may overwrite your one. In order to show the Related Module all that is necessay is to add a line such as shown opposite to the Active Download Details layout. Thats it! The result is like that shown in the first picture at the start of this article.  Not very pretty as it needs CSS to be added, but that is for another time. What we can do is also show a Related Module in the  normal Download Description.   A more comprehensive example is given below in the Multiple Related Modules Section
4. Adding Related Module in Description
It is equally straightforward to add a Related Download into the Description section of a Download.  In this example the desription that was added is shown opposite.  Note that this involved copying the first jDownloads Related module and modifying parameters such as the Page Title, Filter section and so on as appropriate.   The result when shown on a regular download listing as as opposite.  Note that the Related module is not showing. However when the Download Details page is displayed the result is as directly below. Alongside that picture is a view of the two modules in the Module Manager.
5. Multiple Modules
The picture below shows a screen shot with three instances of the Related Modules in use.  Two of the modules are in the layout and one is in the particular Description associated with the Download Details of the changes made to the Layout are listed in the Appendix at the end of this article.

Appendix

Listing of modified Download Details Layout "Standard Details Layout v2.5 - Full Info (2)"

There are two instances in this layout where the Related module is called. They are highlighted. One of these uses the standard Joomla! {loadmodule} plugin and the other uses the NoNumber 'modules anywhere' plugin

Note: Because this web site interprets plugins then the tag names have been preceded by an *  for example {*module...}.  The * needs to be removed.

<table border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="5" width="100%">
    <tbody>
    <tr>
        <td colspan="1" height="38" valign="top"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">{file_pic} {file_title} {pic_is_new} {pic_is_hot} {pic_is_updated}</span></td>
        <td> </td>
        <td style="text-align: center;">{rating}</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td height="auto" valign="top" width="60%">
            <p>{description_long}</p>
            <div id="thumbs">
                <ul id="jdmain">
                    <li>{screenshot_begin}<a href="/{screenshot}" rel="lightbox"> <img src="/{thumbnail}" alt="" align="right" border="0" hspace="10" vspace="0" /></a>{screenshot_end}</li>
                    <li>{screenshot_begin2}<a href="/{screenshot2}" rel="lightbox"> <img src="/{thumbnail2}" alt="" align="right" border="0" hspace="10" vspace="0" /></a>{screenshot_end2}</li>
                    <li>{screenshot_begin3}<a href="/{screenshot3}" rel="lightbox"> <img src="/{thumbnail3}" alt="" align="right" border="0" hspace="10" vspace="0" /></a>{screenshot_end3}</li>
                    <li>{screenshot_begin4}<a href="/{screenshot4}" rel="lightbox"> <img src="/{thumbnail4}" alt="" align="right" border="0" hspace="10" vspace="0" /></a>{screenshot_end4}</li>
                    <li>{screenshot_begin5}<a href="/{screenshot5}" rel="lightbox"> <img src="/{thumbnail5}" alt="" align="right" border="0" hspace="10" vspace="0" /></a>{screenshot_end5}</li>
                    <li>{screenshot_begin6}<a href="/{screenshot6}" rel="lightbox"> <img src="/{thumbnail6}" alt="" align="right" border="0" hspace="10" vspace="0" /></a>{screenshot_end6}</li>
                    <li>{screenshot_begin7}<a href="/{screenshot7}" rel="lightbox"> <img src="/{thumbnail7}" alt="" align="right" border="0" hspace="10" vspace="0" /></a>{screenshot_end7}</li>
                    <li>{screenshot_begin8}<a href="/{screenshot8}" rel="lightbox"> <img src="/{thumbnail8}" alt="" align="right" border="0" hspace="10" vspace="0" /></a>{screenshot_end8}</li>
                    <li>{screenshot_begin9}<a href="/{screenshot9}" rel="lightbox"> <img src="/{thumbnail9}" alt="" align="right" border="0" hspace="10" vspace="0" /></a>{screenshot_end9}</li>
                    <li>{screenshot_begin10}<a href="/{screenshot10}" rel="lightbox"> <img src="/{thumbnail10}" alt="" align="right" border="0" hspace="10" vspace="0" /></a>{screenshot_end10}</li>
                </ul>
            <div style="clear: both;"> </div>
            </div>
<p><b style="font-size: 14pt;">Now another Related set</b></p>
<p>{*module 96}</p> <--!  * should be removed -->
        </td>

        <td valign="top" width="10"> </td>
        <td valign="top" width="37%">

        <table style="border-style: solid; border-width: thin; border-color: #CECECE; padding: 5px; background-color: #efefef;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%">
            <tbody>
            <tr><td colspan="2" height="25" valign="top"><p style="background-color: #cecece; padding: 2px;" align="center"><strong>{details_block_title}</strong></p></td></tr>
            <tr><td height="auto" valign="top">{release_title}</td><td style="text-align: right;" valign="top">{release}</td></tr>
            <tr><td height="auto" valign="top">{filesize_title}</td><td style="text-align: right;" valign="top">{filesize_value}</td></tr>
            <tr><td height="auto" valign="top">{hits_title}</td><td style="text-align: right;" valign="top">{hits_value}</td></tr>
            <tr><td height="auto" valign="top">{language_title}</td><td style="text-align: right;" valign="top">{language_text}</td></tr>
            <tr><td height="auto" valign="top">{license_title}</td><td style="text-align: right;" valign="top">{license_text}</td></tr>
            <tr><td height="auto" valign="top">{author_title}</td><td style="text-align: right;" valign="top">{author_text}</td></tr>
            <tr><td height="auto" valign="top">{author_url_title}</td><td style="text-align: right;" valign="top">{author_url_text}</td></tr>
            <tr><td height="auto" valign="top">{price_title}</td><td style="text-align: right;" valign="top">{price_value}</td></tr>
            <tr><td height="auto" valign="top">{created_date_title}</td><td style="text-align: right;" valign="top">{created_date_value}</td></tr>
            <tr><td height="auto" valign="top">{created_by_title}</td><td style="text-align: right;" valign="top">{created_by_value}</td></tr>
            <tr><td height="auto" valign="top">{modified_date_title}</td><td style="text-align: right;" valign="top">{modified_date_value}</td></tr>
            <tr><td height="auto" valign="top">{modified_by_title}</td><td style="text-align: right;" valign="top">{modified_by_value}</td></tr>
            <tr><td colspan="2" height="60" align="center" valign="middle"><p align="center">{url_download}</p></td></tr>
            <tr><td colspan="2" height="auto" align="center" valign="middle">{mirror_1} {mirror_2}</td></tr>
            <tr><td colspan="2" height="auto" align="center" valign="middle"><small>{report_link}</small>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td  style="background-color: bisque;" colspan="2">{*loadmodule mod_jdownloads_related,jDownloads Related}</td></tr>  <--!  * should be removed -->
            </tbody>
        </table>
        </td>
    </tr>
    </tbody>
</table>
{tags}

Colin Mercer Sept 2015