Easy Glossary 1.0 is a dictionary for your Joomla site. You write terms once. Visitors then see short tip boxes when they hover a word in an article, and they can browse a full A-Z page.

Think of it as a few pieces that work together:

• Component (Components > Easy Glossary): where you create glossaries, terms, and settings
• Content plugin (Content - Easy Glossary): finds terms inside articles and draws the tip or link
• System plugin: helps with page titles and structured data on glossary pages
• Editor button: inserts a manual term shortcode when you need full control
• Module (optional): shows A-Z letters, latest terms, featured terms, or a search box in a module position

What you can do

• Create one or more glossaries (for example Product terms, Legal terms)
• Add terms with a short tip text and an optional full page
• Auto highlight the first match (or more) inside articles
• Publish an A-Z page with search, list, grid, columns, blog, or accordion
• Let visitors suggest new terms (optional)
• Import and export terms with CSV

Built for modern Joomla

• Joomla 4, 5, and 6
• PHP 8.1 or later
• Native JavaScript (no jQuery, no CDN)

Student tip

Start with one glossary, five terms, one menu item, and one test article. When that works, add more terms and options.

Before you install

• Joomla: 4.x, 5.x, or 6.x
• PHP: 8.1 or newer
• Database: MySQL or MariaDB
• Access: a Super User (or administrator) account so you can install extensions

Not required

• jQuery
• A third-party tooltip library
• Extra paid plugins for basic tips and A-Z pages

Student tip

The package installs the component, plugins, and module together. You do not need to guess which zip to pick for a normal install.

Step 1: Download

Email: After you buy from the JoomlaX store, you get an email with the download link.

Store: You can also open the Downloads section and use the same email you used when buying.

File name: EasyGlossary_UNZIP.zip

Step 2: Unzip on your computer

1. Right-click EasyGlossary_UNZIP.zip and choose Extract (or Unzip).
2. Inside you should see:
   • pkg_easyglossary_1.0.0.zip (install this one)
   • ReadMe.txt

For a normal new install, always use pkg_easyglossary_1.0.0.zip.

Step 3: Install in Joomla

1. Log in to the Joomla administrator.
2. Go to System > Install > Extensions.
3. Click Upload Package File.
4. Choose pkg_easyglossary_1.0.0.zip and wait for the success message.
5. Open Components > Easy Glossary to confirm the Dashboard loads.
6. Clear Joomla cache: System > Maintenance > Clear Cache (or Clean Cache in the admin bar).

What the package installs

• com_easyglossary: Dashboard, Terms, Glossaries, Configuration
• plg_content_easyglossary: Content - Easy Glossary (article highlighting)
• plg_system_easyglossary: System - Easy Glossary
• plg_editors-xtd_easyglossary: Button - Easy Glossary (editor button)
• plg_finder_easyglossary: Smart Search - Easy Glossary
• mod_easyglossary: site module

Updates

Install a newer pkg_easyglossary zip the same way. Your terms and settings stay safe.

Highlighting only works when the content plugin is on. Do this right after install.

1. Go to System > Plugins.
2. In Search, type Easy Glossary.
3. Confirm these rows show a green Enabled status:
   • Content - Easy Glossary (most important for tips in articles)
   • System - Easy Glossary
   • Button - Easy Glossary (editor button)
   • Smart Search - Easy Glossary (optional, for Smart Search indexing)
4. If any are disabled, tick the checkbox and click Enable.
5. Clear cache.

Student tip

If terms exist but articles never show tips, come back to this screen first. Nine times out of ten the content plugin is off.

Follow these steps in order the first time. Most people finish in about 15 minutes.

1. Open Easy Glossary

1. Click Components > Easy Glossary.
2. You should see the Dashboard with term counts and quick links.

2. Create a glossary

1. Open Glossaries.
2. Click New.
3. Type a Title (for example Joomla or Product terms).
4. Leave Status as Published.
5. Click Save & Close.

A glossary is a folder for related terms. One glossary is enough for most sites.

3. Add a few terms

1. Open Terms.
2. Click New.
3. Fill Term (the word visitors will see highlighted).
4. Choose your Glossary.
5. Write a Short definition (one or two sentences for the tip).
6. Optional: Full definition, image, synonyms, related terms.
7. Set Status to Published, then Save & Close.
8. Repeat for 3 to 5 words you can use in a test article.

4. Create an A-Z menu item

1. Go to Menus > [Your menu] > Add New Menu Item.
2. Menu Item Type: Easy Glossary > Glossary A-Z.
3. Pick your glossary in the menu options.
4. Save.

5. Test in an article

1. Create or edit an article that contains one of your term titles as plain text (not inside a heading or link).
2. Save, clear cache, open the article on the front end.
3. Hover the word (or Tab to it). You should see the tip.

Student tip

Use a short, unique word for your first test (for example WidgetX) so you can spot the highlight easily.

Keep this simple picture in your head.

1. Glossary: a named dictionary (Joomla, Legal, Shop).
2. Term: one entry inside a glossary (title, short tip, optional full page).
3. Content plugin: scans article HTML and wraps matching words.
4. Configuration: global defaults for tip style, layouts, SEO, and submit.
5. Menu item: the public A-Z page visitors browse.
6. Module (optional): a sidebar or footer strip of letters or terms.

Simple rule

• Create and edit words: use the component
• Make tips appear in articles: keep Content - Easy Glossary enabled
• Give visitors an A-Z page: add a Glossary A-Z menu item

Open Components > Easy Glossary. The Dashboard is your home screen.

What you see

• Counts for terms, published terms, featured terms, and glossaries
• Quick links to add a term, add a glossary, or manage terms
• Sidebar links to Terms, Glossaries, and Configuration

Student tip

If Published terms is 0, tips will not appear. Publish at least one term before testing articles.

Open Components > Easy Glossary > Glossaries.

List tools

• New: create a glossary
• Publish / Unpublish / Delete: change status for selected rows
• Search: find a glossary by title
• Configuration: jump to global settings

When to use more than one glossary

• Product help vs legal definitions
• Different languages or brands on one site
• The same spelling with different meanings in different article categories

Most sites need only one glossary at the start.

Click a glossary title (or New) to open the edit form.

Details tab

• Title (required): for example Joomla
• Alias: leave blank unless you need a fixed URL name
• Description: optional intro text for the A-Z page
• Alphabet: letters shown in the A-Z strip (default A to Z)
• Article categories: optional comma list of category IDs. When set, this glossary only auto-highlights inside those article categories

Publishing

• Status: Published or Unpublished
• Access and Language: usual Joomla fields

Click Save or Save & Close.

Student tip

Leave Article categories empty until you need scoping. Empty means the glossary can highlight site-wide (unless the content plugin excludes pages).

Open Components > Easy Glossary > Terms.

List tools

• New: create a term
• Publish / Unpublish / Delete
• Export CSV: download terms
• Import CSV: upload a spreadsheet of terms
• Search and filters: find terms by title

Columns

• Title: the word that can be highlighted
• Glossary: which dictionary it belongs to
• Letter: A-Z bucket for the public list
• Status: green means it can run on the site

Student tip

Unpublish a term while you edit the wording. Publish it again when the short definition looks right.

Click a term title (or New). The form has three tabs plus helpful side panels.

Content tab (main fields)

• Term (required): the exact word or phrase to match
• Alias: used in the term page URL
• Abbreviation: optional short form (also matched)
• Glossary (required): pick the parent dictionary
• Short definition: text shown in the tip (keep it short and clear)
• Full definition: longer HTML for the term detail page
• Synonyms: other spellings that should match the same tip
• Related terms: multi-select See also links
• Tags and Image: optional

Highlight tab

• Highlight mode: Inherit (use Configuration), Tooltip and link, Tooltip only, Link only, or Off
• Case sensitive: usually No
• Max highlights: 0 means use the global page limit

Publishing tab

• Featured: Yes to show in featured lists
• Status, Access, Language
• Meta title / Meta description: for the term page SEO

Side panels

• Usage map: lists articles that already contain this term (check before rename or unpublish)
• Wikipedia: optional helper to fetch a short extract, then copy into short or full definition
• Live preview: sample of how the highlight can look

Click Save when finished.

The content plugin finds published term titles (and synonyms) in article text.

Modes (global or per term)

• Tooltip and link: tip on hover, click opens the term page
• Tooltip only: tip only
• Link only: link to the term page, no tip
• Off: no auto highlight for that term (or globally)

What is never wrapped

• Headings, links, buttons, form fields
• Code and preformatted blocks
• Any HTML with class egloss-skip

Turn auto highlight off for one article

Put this shortcode near the top of the article:

{glossary off}

Manual insert

When auto highlight is off, use the editor button Easy Glossary to insert:

{glossary term="YourTerm"}

Replace YourTerm with the exact term title.

Student tip

Write the term as normal words in the article body. Do not put it inside a heading if you want a tip there. Headings are skipped on purpose.

Open System > Plugins > Content - Easy Glossary.

Main switches

• Enable highlighting: keep Yes
• Status: Enabled

Where it runs

• Contexts: usually Articles and Easy Glossary A-Z. Add Category blog or Featured only if you need tips there too.

Skip lists (searchable fancy selects)

• Skip these menu items: pages that should never highlight
• Skip categories and Skip articles
• Skip components: other components that should stay clean
• Limit to glossaries: empty means all published glossaries; pick IDs to limit

Click Save & Close, then clear cache.

Student tip

Use Skip menu items for landing pages, checkout, or login where tips would distract people.

Open Components > Easy Glossary > Configuration (also linked from toolbars).

Highlight

• Highlight mode, first occurrence only, max per page, minimum match length
• Term link target (same tab or new tab)
• Tooltip theme, Read more link, HTML in tips, synonyms in tips
• Super User debug strip (turn Off on a live site)

Glossary page

• Default layout (list, grid, columns, blog, accordion)
• Visitor layout switcher, search, terms per page
• Columns for desktop / tablet / mobile
• Pagination: Load more, Pages, or Both
• AJAX listing, related terms, previous/next, card and term images

Design

• Accent and surface colours, radii, card style, density, font scale

SEO

• DefinedTerm JSON-LD
• Basic Open Graph (turn Off if Easy Meta already owns OG tags)

Frontend submit

• Enable Suggest a term, optional create ACL, auto publish, notify email

Social

• Share buttons on term pages, optional Disqus shortname

Click Save after changes.

Visitors need a menu item to open the public glossary.

1. Go to Menus > [Your menu] > New.
2. Click Select next to Menu Item Type.
3. Choose Easy Glossary > Glossary A-Z.
4. Set Menu Title (for example Glossary).
5. In the menu options, pick the Glossary to show.
6. Optional: override layout, pagination, or columns for this page only.
7. Save and open the menu link on the front end.

What visitors get

• Letter navigation (A to Z)
• Search (contains, begins, exact, and more depending on setup)
• Term cards or rows with short definitions
• Pagination or Load more

Student tip

After saving the menu item, clear cache once. SEF URLs need a clean cache to look neat.

Each published term can have its own detail page (opened from A-Z or from a tip link).

Typical content

• Title, image, full definition
• See also related terms
• Previous and next term in the same glossary
• Optional share icons (X, Facebook, LinkedIn, email)

SEO notes

• Fill Meta title and Meta description on the term Publishing tab when you care about search snippets
• DefinedTerm JSON-LD can be enabled in Configuration > SEO

Optional: let logged-in visitors suggest new terms.

1. Open Components > Easy Glossary > Configuration > Frontend submit.
2. Set Enable frontend submit to Yes.
3. Choose whether create permission is required, whether submissions publish at once, and whether to email an editor.
4. Create a menu item: Easy Glossary > Suggest a term (or the Submit menu type shown in your install).
5. Save, clear cache, open the form while logged in.

Guests usually see a Log in button with a return URL.

Student tip

Keep auto publish Off until you trust submissions. Review new terms in the Terms list first.

Optional sidebar or footer strip.

1. Go to Content > Site Modules (or System > Site Modules on some installs).
2. Click New and choose Easy Glossary.
3. Pick a position your template supports.
4. Choose a layout mode:
   • A-Z letters
   • List
   • Featured
   • Random
   • Slider
   • Search
5. Optional: limit to one glossary and set how many items to show.
6. Assign the module to All pages or selected menu items.
7. Publish and save.

On Components > Easy Glossary > Terms:

• Export CSV: download your current terms for backup or editing in a spreadsheet
• Import CSV: upload rows to create or update terms in bulk

Safe workflow

1. Export a small CSV first so you can see the column names.
2. Edit offline (keep titles unique inside each glossary).
3. Import, then check Status on a few terms.
4. Clear cache and test one article.

Try the live demo hub: demo.joomlax.com/demo/utilities/easy-glossary

Tabs to open

• Overview: feature grid and how-to
• List / Blog / Columns / Accordion: A-Z layouts
• Featured: featured terms only
• Tooltips: hover highlighted words in article text
• Suggest a term: frontend submit form

Click any term title to open a term page and check share icons when enabled.

• No tips in articles

  • Enable Content - Easy Glossary. Publish the term. Confirm the word is plain text (not inside a heading or link). Clear cache and hard-refresh (Ctrl+F5).

• Tips on the wrong pages

  • Use plugin Skip menu items / categories / articles, or add {glossary off} to that article.

• Too many highlights

  • Turn on First occurrence only, or lower Max highlights per page in Configuration.

• Tip invisible on Helix

  • Update to the latest 1.0 package, clear cache, hard-refresh. Tips use Bootstrap show so Helix does not hide them.

• A-Z page looks empty

  • Confirm the menu item points at a published glossary that has published terms.

• Load more and page numbers both show

  • Set Pagination to Pages or Load more (not Both) in Configuration or on the menu item.

• Old CSS after update

  • Clear Joomla cache and hard-refresh the browser.

• Site error after SQL enable of plugins

  • Delete administrator/cache/autoload_psr4.php (Joomla recreates it) or reinstall the package, then clear cache.

• Plugin name shows as PLG_CONTENT_EASYGLOSSARY

  • Reinstall the zip so language files are in place, then clear cache.

• Which Joomla versions are supported?

  • Joomla 4, 5, and 6 with PHP 8.1 or later.

• What file do I install?

  • Unzip EasyGlossary_UNZIP.zip, then install pkg_easyglossary_1.0.0.zip from System > Install > Extensions.

• Do I need the content plugin?

  • Yes, for in-article tips. The package installs it. Keep it Enabled.

• Can I run more than one glossary?

  • Yes. Scope by article categories on the glossary, or limit glossaries in the content plugin / article options.

• Does it need jQuery?

  • No. Easy Glossary uses native JavaScript.

• Where can I get help?

  • Visit support.joomlax.com. Include your Joomla version, PHP version, page URL, and what you expected versus what you saw.

Documentation: joomlax.com/documentation/easy-glossary

Demo: demo.joomlax.com/demo/utilities/easy-glossary