Mod VM Flash 3D Slideshow Documentation Print

This package consists of two extensions: com_vmgalleryxml, and mod_vmflash_slideshow.

You need to install both for the slideshow module to work. The com_vmgalleryxml extension generates the xml data that the slideshow uses. It has no other uses, you do not need to configure it, just install it using the Joomla installer.

To set up the slideshow, install the mod_vmflash_slideshow package using the Joomla installer, then configure it using the module manager.

Options for the Slideshow

The options are available through the module manager, and are shown in the screenshot below.

  • Category ID - Use this parameter to select the categories of products that you wish to feature. It can be blank for all categories, a single number to feature a single category, or a comma separated list (eg 3,5,6,7) for multiple categories.
  • Use Request Category - Set this to 'yes' to use the current category when the shop category browse page or product flypage is being viewed.
  • Description - Use this to optionally display some text above the module.
  • Images Folder - The folder in which the product images are stored. This is normally components/com_virtuemart/shop_images/product/ - there is normally no reason to change this parameter.
  • Layout - Choose the Flash movie layout.
  • Thumb Size - The thumbnail size in pixels. You will need to make allowance for the fact that the gallery is rotated in 3D when setting this number. If the gallery rotation is negative then you will generally need to set larger thumbnail sizes, while if the rotation is positive then you will need smaller sizes.
  • Thumb Spacing - The spacing between thumbnails in pixels. This will normally be negative, because the thumbs are rotated in 3D
  • Background colour - background colour of the module, this must be specified as 6 digit hex values, eg #ffffff
  • Text colour - the text colour, this must be specified as 6 digit hex values, eg #ffffff
  • Gallery Rotation - rotation of the gallery in the Z-axis, this can give a variety of 3D effects, if a negative number is used then the images will appear to change from back to forwards facing. A number greater than about (+ or -) 35 may give some undesirable effects.
  • Reflection Height - the height in pixels of the reflection effect
  • Reflection opacity - a number between 0 and 1 for the opacity (transparency) of the reflection effect
  • Frame Size - the size of the frame appearing around the image
  • Frame Color - the color of the frame around the image, this must be specified as 6 digit hex values, eg #ffffff
  • Info Pane Color - the color of the pane showing product information, this must be specified as 6 digit hex values, eg #ffffff
  • Flash Window Mode - the window mode parameter for the Flash movie. If 'opaque' is chosen the Flash movie will appear on top of the rest of the page, if 'transparent' is chosen it will be integrated with the rest of the page content.
  • Javascript enabled - choose 'yes' to enable javascript Flash detection, use 'no' to have the movie embedded through the html object tag.
  • Auto start slides - choose whether you want the slideshow to start on page load
  • Slide speed - the duration of a slide in seconds
  • Show type - the module type. The options available are: random products, top products, most recent products, or featured products
  • Show price - choose whether to show the price in the image caption
  • Maximum number of products - maximum number of products to display.
  • Movie Scale - use this parameter to scale the size of the movie. It is best to choose the layout closest to the size that you want first, then use this parameter to make small adjustments.

The module is straightforward to set up, however one thing that you should bear in mind is that it will need to load all the main images for the products featured. This can take some time if you have a lot of products or the images are large. It is a good idea to make sure that you keep the total download size to a reasonable level, the module will function better.