What Does Snapshot Do?

Snapshot is like having a giant undo button for your site. It captures the state and position of every module on your web site and allows you to restore that state at will. This is a very powerful thing because it makes it much easier and faster to experiment with your site’s layout and functionality. Not only that, you can export your favorite snapshots and import them into other Joomla sites.

Video Overview

Installation

1. Log-in to the Joomla Administration backend (probably http://yourdomain.com/administrator).
2. Select the Install/Uninstall item from the Extensions menu.
3. Select the Browse button in the Upload Package group and navigate to your com_snapshot.zip archive, then select the Upload File and Install button.
4. If all goes well, Joomla will display an “Install Component Success” message:

Usage

A. Select the Snapshot item under the Components menu:

B. You should then see the Snapshot administration screen:

The right side of the screen is a quick bit of help along with product support and forum links. The left side is where the action is. There are three major sections:

1. Create New Snapshot – If you type a unique name in the Name text box, the component will save the state of your modules under the name you provided. Note that this doesn’t change the state of anything (you have to Apply a snapshot to do that).

If you type the name of an existing snapshot, the component will ask if you want to overwrite the old one. If you select the Yes button, then the old snapshot data will be discarded and the current state of all your modules will be saved under that name.

2. Import Saved Snapshot – If you select the Browse button and locate a snapshot you’ve exported previously, you can then import it. This just adds it to your list and stores the module information in the database—it does not make it active. You have to select the snapshot from the list and click on the Apply button.

3. Manage Snapshots – When you select an item in the list of saved snapshots, you are then able to Apply, Delete, Export, or Rename the snapshot.

Apply: When you apply the selected snapshot, all modules that existed at the time the snapshot was taken will be reset to their state at that time. All other modules will be disabled.

Delete: Deletes the selected snapshot. This cannot be undone.

Export: Saves the selected snapshot to a file. For programmers: The file type is .json, meaning it is in Javascript Standard Object Notation (JSON) format.

Rename: Renames the selected snapshot to the name you entered in the New Name field.

Owners of Snapshot can get technical support at:

http://joomlagizmos.com/resources/helpdesk

Contacting us via our support ticket system is more reliable than email because no spam filters will accidentally eat our messages. You do have to login first before you can post a new ticket.

Sincerely,

Ross W. Lambert, President
JoomlaGizmo.com