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Getting started with DOCman

Last updated: 23 April 2024

Installation

  1. Download DOCman from your Joomlatools Dashboard
  2. Navigate to System > Install > Extensions
  3. Open the Upload Package File tab
  4. Click Choose file to select the downloaded DOCman package
  5. Drag and drop the DOCman package or click Or browse for file to start the installation

Import data (optional)

Need to import DOCman data from another installation? Learn about Migrating DOCman to a different site.

Let's get started

Now that you know how to install DOCman, let’s start using it.

1. Create your first category

  1. Navigate to Components > DOCman > Categories
  2. Click the Add your first category button
  3. Enter a title & description
  4. Click Save & Close

Congratulations! You just added your first DOCman category, to add more just click on the New button in the toolbar, whenever you navigate to Components > DOCman > Categories, or from the Add Category button in the frontend toolbar when you're logged in as a user with category create permissions.

Learn more about document categories.

2. Create a menu item

  1. Navigate to Menus > Main Menu and create a new Menu Item
  2. Enter a title
  3. Select DOCman's (Default) Hierarchical List Menu Item Type
  4. Click Save & Close

Learn more about DOCman's various menu item types.

3. Upload your first file

DOCman turns a physical file into a virtual document. A document allows you to add additional metadata (title, description, thumbnail, icon, etc...).

  1. Visit the frontend of your website and log in as a user with upload permissions
  2. Navigate to the DOCman menu item that we set up in step 2
  3. Click Add Document in the DOCman toolbar to add a single document, or click Upload to add multiple documents
  4. Enter the document's details
  5. Click Save & Close

We're often asked what the difference is between a file and a document in DOCman.

In DOCman a physical file is turned into a virtual document to allow you to define additional metadata for the file. For instance, you can add: title, description, thumbnail, icon, access and action permissions, etc. to the document.

Learn more about adding documents.

4. Download your first file

  1. Open your website and navigate to the newly created menu item
  2. Navigate to the category that we set up in step 1
  3. Click on the document's name and the file will begin to download.

Next steps

Congrats! You’ve now taken your first step in using DOCman. There are lots of other resources to help you along the way.