Hi Alex I am designing a new site that requires a subscription capability like amember. I will be using a CMS (either Joomla or E107 or another if you have a suggestion) My question is which does amember integrate the best with? I need to have 3 or 4 levels of subscription which will allow access to defined areas of the site in addition to a free subscription. The site will also feature a coppermine gallery which will need integration with the CMS and amember. Is this all possible? Thanks in advance for your help.
I believe integration is on the same level - it is not full but works. Additional details about Joomla integration you can find here: http://www.amember.com/p/Integration/Joomla It is possible to integrate with Coppermine as well.
Jooma's latest stable version is 1.0.2 and they started to offer v.1.5 Beta. How compatible is this plugin with these two versions? Thanks
Hi! >> Jooma's latest stable version is 1.0.2 No, the latest version is you may find it here: http://forge.joomla.org/sf/frs/do/viewRelease/projects.joomla/frs.joomla_1_0.1_0_12 This is what I am using. The Joomla plugin works very good, especially after the staff sent me the changes of the latest plugin including the deletion of sessions immediately after someone logins in. However, the problem with Joomla is that you cannot have endless levels like in Xoops, where you could have endless groups restricting acces to users.
I don't want to use entire Joomla, just a few features. Is it possible to hide Joomla's registration and use only aMember, while still allowing members to access Joomla's functionality? If not, currently I already have aMember users, if i add Joomla and aMember plugin to allow integration will I have to copy my current members into Joomla's db? Release notes for 3.0.8 say: Joomla plugin fixed. http://www.amember.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5428&highlight=joomla Does 3.0.8 come with that plugin? If yes, i'd be happy to go ahead and upgrade from 3.0.7 I use now.
Hi! I think I have played with the new Joomla plugin enough and can say something about it before Alex does! OK, this will function _EXACTLY_ as you suggested. Simply use the Joomla plugin, import all the existing users into joomla and get going. All the members that are in joomla database shall have an access to all the joomla function. The integration will recognise common logins. Hence if your user is logged in aMember and that user is subscribed to a joomla access, then it will automatically enter those session details into joomla database as configured. So you can use some minimum functions or even all functions. By using not many functions, aMember will not install a mini cookie, as a matter of joke! So for the aMember users there is no change basically except some new functions offered to them because of their account status as registered, free, paid, etc. users. Obviously users need to be added if they are given access to a new (/the joomla) database. Hence you have aMember database. If you wanna offer your aMember Users to have access of a new integration, then you need to create an acces to this new database i.. Joomla by _CREATING_NEW_SUBSCRIPTION_ and rebuilding the database. With the rebuild all the users will get into the joomla database automatically as the plugin scripts are designed to find the following sequence: 1. Find if a User has a product i.e. subscription for joomla database. 2. Find if that particular user exists in the joomla database. 3. If it does not exists, then create a new record in the joomla database _FROM_aMEMBER_DATABASE_ that is existing. It will get the subscription level that has been configured i.e. Access to Joomla as Registered user, Editor, etc... and add it accordingly. 4. If record in joomla exists then update with the relevant data including subscription level. 5. Be Happy. Ask Alex for the latest joomla plugin. The latest is very good. If you see the date then it is already a bit in the past. Alex and his staff works very, very hard to make it better and better, with success... It was fixed at that time. Then came some more modification, some very small changes and thereafter an entirely new plugin in the basics, which I have thoroughly and vigorously tested. Now it is bug-free, although my bug-smelling-sense forbids me to say such things ever in life. Now it is fixed again and works perfectly. So ask Alex for the newest plugin as this is much better, nicely designed, and works superb... Moreover, the new joomla plugin works with different database with different username and a seperate database server configuration. So this is much better and you could have your joomla database seperately and your users will never notice. Upgrading is something what I would recommend, regardless of joomla plugin. A basic installation never comes with paid plugins that are listed on the website. So if a lugin is fixed, it means that it was actually fixed. A message like this would simply inform the users of that plugin that there is a update.
Great, thanks. I love aMember myself. I bought it for three separate sites. Two questions: 1. Since I do not have any Joomla members yet, I suppose I do not need to reconcile the databases. However, I will been to replicate my current membership to Joomla, right? Is there a utility of I actually have to export my current db and then import into Joomla? 2. And the second question is: Do I have to install Joomla tables into the same database as aMember or is it possible to put those into a separate db? Joomla just has way too many tables and I'm trying to keep the rest of my site's db fairly clean.
Hi! 1. The utility is inbuilt! Just Rebuild the database on a live Site and it will get all your user records and insert silently below the table into joomla database before your users notices and you wake up, provided you start the rebuild before midnight. (Joking...) 2. Not with the latest plugin as it does have fields where you can mention different database, username, password... I am very surprised about your questions. As a user, you would have seen mostlikely all this, hanvt you? May be you are scared to play with it. Well, if so, just install an extra database and make a test subscription. No problem.
Thanks DRAJ. I'm not scared to try, I'm severely short on time. Your answers help a lot. I'll go ahead and get the plugin. Thanks a bunch.
Hi! I understand about the problem of time... You are welcome. I beleive that Joomla plugin is one of the very best of all plugins due to the recent development of multiple databases and I am looking forward to the same architecture to be applied to all others, a suggestion I gave earlier and has been applied rather very quickly changing the fundamental basis of connections. What I also did like very much is the way how Alex and the staff handles the support, in a very co-operative, friendly and constructive manner (by changing the whole joomla plugin on my suggestion of multiple databases) which however is no point repeating here as this is not new to this forum at all. It would be shocking to many, if otherwise.
Hey, I got the plugin and ran into a problem with keeping Joomla in a separate db, because when I setup new db I have to create a new user and password. Apparently aMember is trying to hit my new db using the username and password of the db where aMember is setup. It appears that these two fields need to be included along with the new db name and table prefix, or appended to those as well. I use Plesk and it does not allow me to have same users under differend databases... I submitted a ticket to aMember Support. They are smart and I'm sure will come up with a quick solution.
Hi! I smell that this is due to the area of plugin.config, which I already reported. Try de-activating and _THEN_ reactivating the plugin again, for once. Only by ths, the new config.inc.php infos will get in. However, itis possible that my suggestion may not work for you as you start fom scratch, unlike myself. I myself have not tested with different database and have only seen that they did comeup with this solution, which I personally find it to be a very correct and good one.
Noup, did not work. aMember Support sent me a new plugin, which does ask if Joomla is on a different db, but it appears it still tries to hit it with the same username and password, which here is not a case. I'm sure there's a bunch of thers like me out there. Afterall a lot of people use Plesk.
Hi! Made it work? If not, i would be willing to prepone my schedule and test it on seperate databases to see if it is your Cpanel problem or something else.
Everything works now. These guys were very patient with my constant requests, but now it's a work of art. Recommend this plugin.
Hi! Good for you! So the earlier plugin did not work? And now does it work with different databases with different mysql users on different hosts? Then I also need a new one! What could be very helpful is a versioning system in each plugin file. Eachtime I have to create a directory with their respective dates to store the development of plugins and not to make a mistake, howevere deleting them would be ofcourse a better option.
Yes, the new Joomla setup screen has a few new fields, and yes, now it works even if your Joomla setup in a separate db with a separate set of login variables. Very cool!