How to display Joomla modules conditionally using MetaMod

Sometimes, it might be useful for you to be able to display Joomla modules only when certain conditions are met. By default, articles can be published in Joomla for a specific range of dates, but that's the limit to what you can do

MetaMod is an extension that brings that same functionality -- and more -- to modules. It includes other Joomla modules, so it will work transparently with any type of module

As with all extensions we'll be showing you, start by going to extensions.joomla.org. Then, navigate to the Access & Security / Frontend Access Control category and find the MetaMod page

1) Click Download

You'll be taken to the MetaMod site

2) Click download

3) Save the file to your computer

4) Now, install the module as you would any other extension

For assistance with finding or installing extensions, watch the first two tutorials in this series

5) Once the module has been successfully installed, go to Extensions

6) Click Module Manager

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7) Click New

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8) Click MetaMod

MetaMod is a pretty versatile extension, with many conditions that can be used to determine whether or not it will display a particular module

We'll go over everything briefly. If you ever question the purpose of a setting, consult the detailed documentation that can be found on the extension's website and on each option's hover description

For this module, we're going to be recreating our User Menu so that it contains some admin links, too. Ordinarily, the links would show up to all registered users; with MetaMod, we'll be able to allow only admins to see them

9) Type a title for this module

10) Set the Access Level to Registered

11) Since this module is acting as a main menu module, type _menu here to give the module the curved edges main menus typically have

There are two ways to include modules with MetaMod: by using "quick" mode and by manually typing PHP code. Unless explicitly stated, all settings you enter will apply to both quick module includes as well as regular module includes

If you want a module to only show up for a certain date range, that can be specified here

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Here, you can choose to whom the quick modules you'll specify below will be displayed

You can also allow or disallow people from specific countries or other geographical areas to see the modules

This requires that you download and install one of three databases, as described here

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The final condition allows you to display the modules only to people whose preferred language is in the list

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This list is important; it specifes the IDs of all enabled modules. You'll need them when specifying the modules you want to include in the fields that follow

With Quick module id include, you can specify a list of modules to include after applying all of the conditions you've entered above. Quick modules will be included before any you manually enter below

When listing quick modules, you should separate each ID by a comma

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Here is where you manually enter PHP code to choose which modules to display. All conditions above will apply in addition to any you add here

For a list of examples and a list of the PHP variables you can use, scroll down

Read over the description and examples carefully

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Here is a list of all the PHP variables that can be accessed in the box above. Their only purpose is to further extend what sort of conditions you can apply

Again, the documentation is quite clear, so read over it carefully if you're thinking about using any of these more advanced conditions

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...the list continues

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We're going to be including the existing User Menu without any further conditions

12) Type its ID here

13) Next, use code similar to the examples below to include any additional modules

Note that a return statement will end PHP execution, so it's not possible to have multiple return statements in your code. If you want to specify multiple module IDs, you must do so using a comma separated list or a PHP array

In this case, we'll be including the Admin Menu for only Administrators (and Super Administrators)

14) Clear the sample code

15) Type the new code

The variable $user->usertype is described below

Be sure to use double equal signs as shown here and in the examples below

| This means "or" in most programming languages. The pipe symbol is used, and can typically be typed by pressing SHIFT and backslash

This is the ID for Admin Menu, as listed up here

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16) For this MetaMod module, we'll be changing the style for the included modules to Naked. This will prevent each individual module from displaying its title