---
title: "Frontend Editor"
description: "Documentation for Joomill Frontend Editor: install the extension, build form profiles, hide fields with a fixed value and assign profiles to menu items."
---

# Frontend Editor

Documentation for Joomill Frontend Editor, the Joomla extension that shows authors only the fields they need in the article form on the site.


## Install the extension

Before installing, check that your site meets the requirements below. Ask your web host if you're not sure, or check **System > System Information** in the Joomla backend.

 
## Requirements

 
- Joomla! 5.4 or later, or Joomla! 6
- PHP 8.1 or later

 
## Before you install

 
- Make a full backup of your website. [Akeeba Backup](https://www.akeeba.com) is a quick way to create one.
- Update Joomla to its latest version.

 
## Install the package

 
1. Go to **System > Install > Extensions** in the Joomla administrator.  
![Extensions: Install screen](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/images/documentation/general/install-01.jpg)
2. Open the **Upload Package File** tab and select the ZIP file you downloaded (`pkg_frontendeditor`). After a few moments, Joomla confirms the package is installed.  
![Upload Package File tab](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/images/documentation/general/install-02.jpg)
3. The package installs the **Frontend Editor** component and the **System - Joomill Frontend Editor** plugin, and enables the plugin for you. To confirm, go to **System > Manage > Plugins** and search for *Frontend Editor*.

 ![Plugins filtered on Frontend Editor: the system plugin and the PRO features plugin](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/images/documentation/frontend-editor/plugins.jpg)

 
## PRO edition

 The PRO package also installs the **Frontend Editor - Joomill PRO features** plugin. Keep it enabled: while it is enabled, the PRO features are available in the profile builder and on the site.

 To receive updates, enter your download key under **System > Update Sites** for Frontend Editor. You find the key in your account on joomill-extensions.com.

 
## Upgrade from Free to PRO

 Install the PRO package over the Free version. Your profiles and menu assignments stay as they are.

 Next step: see [Getting started](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/documentation/frontend-editor/getting-started) to build your first profile.


[Read more...](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/frontend-editor/install-the-extension.md)

## Getting started

Frontend Editor lets you decide which fields an author sees when they edit a Joomla article on the site. You build a **form profile** in the administrator and attach it to a menu item. Articles opened or created through that menu item use the profile; every other menu item keeps the standard Joomla form.

 
## How it fits together

 
- **Form profile**: the layout of the edit form. It holds the tabs, the columns, the fields and their order, the values for new articles and the buttons under the form.
- **Menu item**: a Category List, Category Blog or Create Article menu item. It decides which profile is used.
- **System plugin**: shows the form as the profile lays it out and applies the profile when the article is saved.

 ![Frontend Editor: Form Profiles, with the menu items that use each profile](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/images/documentation/frontend-editor/profiles-list.jpg)

 
## Your first profile in five steps

 
1. Go to **Components > Frontend Editor** and click **New**.
2. Enter a **Profile name**, for example *News*.
3. On the **Form** tab you start with the complete standard Joomla form in four tabs: **Content**, **Images and Links**, **Options** and **Publishing**. Remove what your client does not need, and drag fields back from **Available fields**. **Title** and **Category** are needed for every new article.
4. Open the **Menu Assignment** tab and tick the menu items that should use this profile.
5. Click **Save**, then **Preview on the site** in the toolbar to open the form on the frontend.

 ![The Form tab of a profile: the profile name, Available fields, the tabs and columns, and the field settings](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/images/documentation/frontend-editor/profile-overview.jpg)

 The author then gets this form on the site:

 ![The edit form on the site, laid out by the News profile](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/images/documentation/frontend-editor/frontend-news.jpg)

 
## Next steps

 
- [Create a form profile](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/documentation/frontend-editor/profile-builder): tabs, columns and buttons.
- [Field settings](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/documentation/frontend-editor/field-settings): labels, help texts, required fields.
- [Hidden fields and default values](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/documentation/frontend-editor/hidden-fields-and-default-values): give a field a value without showing it.


[Read more...](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/frontend-editor/getting-started.md)

## Create a form profile

A form profile is the layout of the article edit form on the site. You build it with drag and drop on the **Form** tab of the profile.

 
## Create a profile

 
1. Go to **Components > Frontend Editor** and click **New**.
2. Enter a **Profile name**. The **Note** is only shown in the administrator.
3. Build the form on the **Form** tab, as described below.
4. Click **Save**.

 
## Add fields

 The panel **Available fields** lists every field you can place, grouped as **Article**, **Publishing**, **Images**, **Links**, **Metadata** and **Custom fields**. Use **Search a field** to find one quickly.

 
- Drag a field into a column, or onto a tab to add it to that tab.
- With the keyboard, select a field and press **Enter**.
- A field can be placed once. A placed field is marked *in use*.
- Joomla custom fields for articles can be placed with the PRO edition.

 ![Custom fields in Available fields and placed in the form, two of them at half width](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/images/documentation/frontend-editor/builder-custom-fields.jpg)

 
## Tabs

 A new profile starts with the complete standard Joomla form in four tabs: **Content** (title, alias, article text), **Images and Links**, **Options** (status, category, featured, access, language, tags, notes) and **Publishing** (dates, author alias, metadata). Take out what the author does not need. You can rename, add, move and remove tabs and fields:

 
- **New tab** adds a tab; **Tab title** sets its name.
- Drag a tab along the tab bar to change the order. With the keyboard: select the tab and press **Alt** with the left or right arrow key.
- The trash icon next to the **Tab title** removes the tab. Its fields go back to the available fields. A tab that holds the Title field, or the only tab, cannot be removed.

 On the site, tabs are only shown when the form has more than one tab with fields. Empty tabs are skipped.

 
## Columns PRO

 Choose the **Layout of this tab**:

 
- **1 column**
- **Main + side column**: a wide column with a narrow column next to it, for example for images and publishing fields.
- **Side + main column**: the same, with the narrow column on the left.
- **2 equal columns**

 ![The tab settings: Tab title with the remove icon, and the four layouts of a tab](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/images/documentation/frontend-editor/profile-builder.jpg)

 On a narrow screen the columns stack in the order they are shown: with Main + side column the side column comes after the main column, with Side + main column it comes first. Switching between these two layouts keeps the fields of the main column in the main column.

 
## Buttons under the form

 Choose which buttons the author gets:

 
- **Save** and **Save & Close**. At least one of the two is always shown. **Cancel** is always there.
- **Versions**: only shown when versions are enabled for articles.
- **Save as Copy** and **Move to Trash** PRO. Move to Trash only works for authors who may change the status of the article.

 
## Rules when saving a profile

 A profile can only be saved when:

 
- it has a name and at least one tab;
- the **Title** field is placed, because no article can be saved without a title;
- the **Category** field is placed, or hidden with a value, because every new article needs a category.

 
## Check the result

 Once the profile is assigned to a menu item, the toolbar shows **Preview on the site**, which opens the form on the frontend. See [Assign a profile to a menu item](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/documentation/frontend-editor/assign-a-profile).


[Read more...](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/frontend-editor/profile-builder.md)

## Field settings

Click anywhere on a placed field to open its settings in the panel on the right. The settings apply to this profile only.

 
## Width and position

 
- **Width within the column**, at the top: **Full width** or **Half width** PRO. Two half-width fields sit next to each other.
- **Position** / **Move to...**, at the bottom: move the field to another tab or column.
- **Up** and **Down**: change the order within the column.

 With the keyboard: arrow up and down move the field, arrow left and right change the column, **Delete** removes it.

 
## Required field

 Tick **Required field** to make the author fill it in. The **Title** is always required.

 A required field in the side column of a **Main + side column** tab shows a warning: on a phone the side column comes after the main column, so the author reaches it last.

 
## Only when creating an article

 Tick **Only when creating an article** to show a field only on a new article, for example the **Alias**. When the author edits an existing article, the field is not shown and its value is kept.

 
## Label and help text PRO

 
- **Label on the site**: the name the author sees, for example *Photo* instead of *Intro image*. Leave it empty to keep the Joomla label.
- **Help text for the author**: a short explanation under the field, for example *At least 1200 px wide*.

 ![Field settings of the Intro image: required, label Photo and a help text](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/images/documentation/frontend-editor/field-settings.jpg)

 On the site the author sees the label and the help text:

 ![The Photo field with its help text in the side column on the site](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/images/documentation/frontend-editor/frontend-news.jpg)

 
## Editor options PRO

 For the **Article text** and for custom fields of the type editor:

 
- **Hide the editor buttons**: removes the buttons under the editor, such as Article, Image, Page Break and Read More.
- **Hide the editor tabs (JCE)**: hides the Editor, Code and Preview tabs of JCE.

 
## Remove a field

 **Remove from the form** takes the field out of the profile. It goes back to the available fields. Existing articles keep the value of a removed field.

 Want to give a field a value without showing it? See [Hidden fields and default values](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/documentation/frontend-editor/hidden-fields-and-default-values).


[Read more...](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/frontend-editor/field-settings.md)

## Hidden fields and default values

In **Field settings** you can give a field a **Value**. What happens with that value depends on whether the field is shown or hidden.

 
## Default values for shown fields

 A shown field with a value is prefilled for new articles. The author can change it. Existing articles keep their own value.

 Values for **Category**, **Status**, **Access**, **Language** and **Featured** are chosen from a list and work in both editions. The lists follow the permissions and languages of your site.

 Values for text fields, image fields, links and custom fields are PRO PRO.

 
## Hide a field with a fixed value PRO

 
1. Place the field in the form and click it.
2. Choose a **Value**, for example the category *Vacancies*.
3. Tick **Hide from the author**.

 ![The Category field hidden from the author with the value News](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/images/documentation/frontend-editor/hidden-field.jpg)

 The author no longer sees the field. The value is set on the server for new articles and for copies made with Save as Copy, so it cannot be changed from the browser. Existing articles keep their own value.

 ![The vacancy form on the site: no category or status field, custom fields at half width](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/images/documentation/frontend-editor/frontend-vacancy.jpg)

 A hidden field is never required. A hidden **Category** needs a value, because every new article needs a category.

 
## Fields without a value

 The Title, Alias, the date fields, Tags, the workflow transition and the "no description" switches of the images cannot get a value.

 
## What the author cannot change

 Fields that are not in the profile, or that are hidden, are removed from the save request on the server. This protects the form against changed requests. It does not replace Joomla's permissions; see [Troubleshooting & FAQ](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/documentation/frontend-editor/troubleshooting-faq).


[Read more...](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/frontend-editor/hidden-fields-and-default-values.md)

## Free Text blocks

PRO Available since version 0.1.1.

 A Free Text block shows information to the author inside the form: an instruction, a warning or a sub-heading. It sends nothing with the article.

 
## Add a Free Text block

 
1. In **Available fields**, open **Layout elements**.
2. Drag **Free Text** into a column. You can use it as often as you like.
3. Click the block and fill in the **Text**.
4. Optionally enter a **CSS class**, for example `uk-alert uk-alert-primary` in YOOtheme or `alert alert-info` in Cassiopeia.

 ![Field settings of a Free Text block with HTML text and a CSS class](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/images/documentation/frontend-editor/free-text-settings.jpg)

 ![The Free Text block as an info box next to the fields on the site](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/images/documentation/frontend-editor/frontend-event.jpg)

 
## Text and translations

 
- The text may contain HTML, such as paragraphs, bold text, lists and links.
- Scripts, styles, embeds and forms are removed.
- Enter a language key (for example `MY_FORM_INSTRUCTION`) to show a translated text per site language.

 Like a field, a block can be placed at full or half width.


[Read more...](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/frontend-editor/free-text-blocks.md)

## Assign a profile to a menu item

A profile is used for articles that are opened or created through a menu item of the type **Category List**, **Category Blog** or **Create Article**. A menu item has one profile. A menu item without a profile shows the standard Joomla form.

 
## From the profile: Menu Assignment tab

 
1. Open the profile and go to the **Menu Assignment** tab.
2. The tab lists all eligible menu items per menu, published and unpublished.
3. Tick the menu items that should use this profile, or use **Select all**.
4. Click **Save**.

 ![The Menu Assignment tab of a profile, with the profiles other menu items use](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/images/documentation/frontend-editor/menu-assignment.jpg)

 
- Ticking a menu item that another profile uses moves it to this profile. The item shows the other profile's name, so you see it before you save.
- Menu items that someone is editing are skipped and reported after saving.
- Menus you may not edit are shown, but cannot be changed.

 
## From the menu item

 
1. Open the menu item in **Menus**.
2. Go to the **Frontend Editor** tab.
3. Choose the **Form profile**, or **- Standard Joomla form -**.
4. Save the menu item.

 ![The Frontend Editor tab of a menu item with the Form profile list](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/images/documentation/frontend-editor/menu-item-profile.jpg)

 Both ways change the same setting, so they always agree.

 
## Edit buttons that skip the menu item

 Some edit links do not lead through the menu item with the profile, such as the edit button in YOOtheme Pro. Frontend Editor then uses the profile of the Category List or Category Blog menu item of the article's category, or of its nearest parent category.

 
## Which profile does an article use?

 The profile is chosen when the author opens the form and is remembered on the server for that article. Saving always uses that profile, even when the request points at another menu item.


[Read more...](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/frontend-editor/assign-a-profile.md)

## Configuration

Frontend Editor has one screen with options. The plugins have no settings of their own.

 
## Open the options

 Go to **Components > Frontend Editor** and click **Options** in the toolbar.

 ![Frontend Editor options with the CSS Framework setting](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/images/documentation/frontend-editor/options.jpg)

 
## Site: CSS Framework

 Sets the classes of the buttons, tabs and input fields of the edit form on the site.

 
- **Automatic** (default): UIkit with YOOtheme Pro and its child templates, Bootstrap with every other template.
- **Bootstrap (Cassiopeia)**
- **UIkit (YOOtheme)**

 With UIkit, the tabs, buttons, icons and input groups of core and JCE fields are styled for YOOtheme.

 
## Permissions

 The **Permissions** tab sets who may create, edit and delete profiles. Who may edit which articles is still decided by the Joomla permissions of your articles and categories.

 
## Override the edit layout

 The form uses its own grid, so it works in Cassiopeia, YOOtheme and templates without a grid. To change the markup, copy

 `plugins/system/frontendeditor/tmpl/frontendeditor.php`

 to

 `templates/[your template]/html/plg_system_frontendeditor/frontendeditor.php`

 and edit the copy. Check your override after each update.


[Read more...](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/frontend-editor/configuration.md)

## Free vs PRO

The Free edition gives every section of your site its own simple form. PRO adds layouts, hidden fields and more control over each field.

 
| Feature | Free | PRO |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlimited form profiles | ✓ | ✓ |
| Drag and drop builder with tabs | ✓ | ✓ |
| Profile per menu item and Menu Assignment tab | ✓ | ✓ |
| Default category, status, access, language and featured | ✓ | ✓ |
| Required fields and create-only fields | ✓ | ✓ |
| Versions button on or off | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bootstrap and UIkit output, template override | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hide fields with a fixed value | – | ✓ |
| Default values for every field and custom field | – | ✓ |
| Main and side column, two columns, half-width fields | – | ✓ |
| Joomla custom fields in the form | – | ✓ |
| Own labels and help texts | – | ✓ |
| Free Text blocks | – | ✓ |
| Hide editor buttons and JCE tabs | – | ✓ |
| Save as Copy and Move to Trash buttons | – | ✓ |
| Updates and personal support | – | 1 year |

 
## Opening a PRO profile in the Free edition

 When the PRO plugin is not enabled, a profile with PRO settings is shown in one column without them. The builder warns you before you save: saving it in the Free edition removes the PRO settings from that profile.

 [Get Frontend Editor PRO](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/extensions/frontend-editor)


[Read more...](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/frontend-editor/free-vs-pro.md)

## Troubleshooting & FAQ

## The standard Joomla form is shown instead of my profile

 
- Check that the menu item has the profile: open the **Frontend Editor** tab of the menu item.
- Check that the profile is published.
- Check that the author opened the article through that menu item. An edit link through another menu item without a profile shows the standard form.
- Check that the system plugin **System - Joomill Frontend Editor** is enabled.

 
## Is a profile a permission?

 No. A profile shapes the form; the Joomla permissions still decide who may edit what. An author who opens the edit form under a menu item without a profile gets the standard Joomla form. If you rely on a profile, make sure those authors cannot reach a Category List, Category Blog or Create Article menu item without one.

 
## What happens to fields the form does not show?

 They keep their value. Tags, the other images, links, the category and the featured dates of an existing article stay as they were. Custom fields that are not in the profile keep their stored value.

 
## Save as Copy does not copy everything

 A copy does not take over the values of custom fields that the profile does not show, and it does not copy the publishing dates.

 
## A new article cannot be saved

 A field from another extension that is required and not placed in the profile makes the save of a new article fail. Place that field in the profile, or make it optional.

 
## The form looks wrong in my template

 Set the **CSS Framework** in the options to the framework of your template. See [Configuration](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/documentation/frontend-editor/configuration).

 
## An author has many articles open at once

 Frontend Editor remembers the profile for up to 50 open articles per session. With more, the oldest article falls back to the standard Joomla form when it is saved.

 
## Still stuck?

 [Contact us](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/contact) with your Joomla version, template and a short description, and you get an answer from the developer.


[Read more...](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/frontend-editor/troubleshooting-faq.md)

## Changelog

## 0.1.1

 
- A new profile starts with the complete standard site form in four tabs: Content, Images and Links, Options and Publishing.
- PRO: Free Text blocks: an instruction, a warning or a heading inside the form, with an optional CSS class.
- PRO: a Side + main column tab layout, with the narrow column on the left.
- Tabs are put in order by dragging them, or with Alt and the left or right arrow key.
- A calmer builder: the tab layouts as four tiles, the remove tab button as an icon, a click anywhere on a field selects it, and Position with Up and Down at the bottom of the field settings.
- Save as Copy gives the copy of a profile its own title, such as News (2).
- Custom fields assigned to a category that the profile sets as a hidden field are shown on new articles.
- PRO: Hide the editor buttons also hides the YOOtheme button next to the article text.
- Security: saving an article is held to its profile in every way the save can be reached, and values in profiles and free texts are filtered.
- Fixes: the title of the Options screen is translated, and sorting the profiles list is hardened.

 
## 0.1.0

 First release. Requires Joomla 5.4 or later, including Joomla 6, and PHP 8.1 or later.

 
- Form profiles with a drag and drop builder: tabs, the order of the fields, default values for new articles for category, status, access, language and featured, required fields and fields shown only when creating an article.
- A profile per Category List, Category Blog and Create Article menu item, plus a Menu Assignment tab in the profile.
- Edit links that skip the menu item, such as the YOOtheme edit button, use the profile of the category's menu item.
- Saving keeps what the form does not show: tags, the other images and links, the category and the featured dates.
- Security: fields a profile leaves out are removed from the request on the server, hidden values are set on the server, and the profile an article was opened with is remembered on the server.
- Every drag in the builder has a keyboard equivalent, and moves are announced to screen readers.
- Bootstrap or UIkit output, automatic for YOOtheme and Cassiopeia, and a template override for the edit layout.
- The Versions button can be switched off per profile.
- PRO: hide fields with a fixed value, default values for every field and custom field, main and side column or two equal columns, half-width fields, custom fields, own labels and help texts, Save as Copy and Move to Trash, and editor options for the editor buttons and the JCE tabs.
- Languages: English and Dutch.


[Read more...](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/frontend-editor/changelog.md)