Announcements let you broadcast important news, updates, and notices to your helpdesk users. Whether you need to inform customers about scheduled maintenance, a new product release, or a policy change, announcements provide a dedicated, structured channel that sits alongside your support tickets, knowledge base, and FAQs.
This guide covers everything from creating your first announcement to configuring comments, using the announcements module, and tuning settings for your workflow.
Table of Contents
- Overview
- Managing Announcements in the Admin Backend
- Creating and Editing Announcements
- Frontend Display
- Announcements Module (mod_joomhelpdesk_announce)
- Comments on Announcements
- Settings Reference
- Tips
1. Overview
The announcements system gives helpdesk administrators a way to publish informational posts that are separate from support tickets. Common uses include:
- Maintenance notices -- inform users about upcoming downtime or system updates.
- Product updates -- announce new features, releases, or version changes.
- Policy changes -- communicate changes to support hours, SLA terms, or procedures.
- General news -- share company news or community updates relevant to your users.
Announcements support rich-text content with a Read More break, optional commenting, RSS feeds, glossary term highlighting, Joomla content plugin processing, and multi-language/access-level filtering. They can be displayed on a dedicated page, embedded anywhere on your site through a module, or consumed via RSS.
2. Managing Announcements in the Admin Backend
Announcements are managed from the Joomla administrator panel through the JoomHelpDesk sidebar.
Navigating to the Announcements List
- Log in to your Joomla admin panel.
- Go to Components > JoomHelpDesk.
- In the left sidebar, click the Announcements entry (identified by a megaphone/volume icon).
This opens the Announcements list view at index.php?option=com_joomhelpdesk&view=announces.
List View Features
The announcements list shows a table with the following columns:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| # | The announcement ID. |
| Checkbox | Select announcements for bulk actions. |
| Title | The announcement title. Click to edit. |
| Description For Module | The short subtitle/description used in the announcements module. |
| Added | The date and time the announcement was created. |
| Author | The Joomla user who authored the announcement. |
| Published | Toggle the published state directly from the list. |
| Language | Shown when multi-language is enabled. |
Toolbar Actions
- New -- create a new announcement.
- Edit -- open the selected announcement for editing.
- Delete -- remove the selected announcement(s).
Filtering and Sorting
- Search box -- filter by title or article ID, then click Go. Click Reset to clear the filter.
- Published filter -- dropdown to show all, published only, or unpublished only.
- Language filter -- shown when multi-language is enabled; filters by content language.
- Column sorting -- click any column header (Title, Description For Module, Added, Author, Published) to sort.
Frontend Content Management
Staff members with appropriate permissions can also manage announcements from the frontend. When viewing announcements on the frontend, authorized users see an edit panel with publish/unpublish toggle buttons and edit links. This allows content management without needing to access the Joomla admin panel.
3. Creating and Editing Announcements
Click New from the announcements list toolbar, or click an existing announcement title to edit it.
Available Fields
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Yes | The headline of your announcement. Maximum 250 characters. This appears as the main heading on both the list and detail views. |
| Alias | No | A URL-friendly slug auto-generated from the title. You can override it manually. Used in SEF URLs. |
| Description For Module | No | A short subtitle or summary (maximum 250 characters). Displayed alongside the title in the announcements module and in the list view. Use it as a teaser or brief description. |
| Language | Yes | The content language for this announcement. Set to "All" to show it regardless of the active language. Only shown when multi-language is enabled in Joomla. |
| Access | Yes | The Joomla access level (Public, Registered, Special, etc.). Only users in the selected access level can view this announcement. Defaults to Public. |
| Description (Body) | Yes | The full content of the announcement using the Joomla WYSIWYG editor. Supports HTML formatting, images, and embedded media. |
Using the Read More Break
The body editor supports a Read More break (the <hr id="system-readmore" /> separator). Content above the break appears as the introduction in list views. Content below it is the extended text that visitors see when they click "Read More" to open the full announcement.
To insert a Read More break, use the Page Break editor button or manually place the separator in the HTML source.
Toolbar Actions (Edit View)
- Apply -- save the announcement and stay on the edit screen.
- Save -- save and return to the announcements list.
- Save & New -- save the current announcement and open a blank form for a new one.
- Cancel / Close -- discard changes and return to the list.
4. Frontend Display
Announcements List Page
The announcements list view (index.php?option=com_joomhelpdesk&view=announce) displays all published announcements as Bootstrap cards, ordered by date (newest first). Each card shows:
- Title and subtitle (if set) in the card header.
- Body text (introductory content before the Read More break) in the card body.
- Extended text (content after the Read More break) in a blockquote footer within the card.
- Author name, date, and comment count in the card footer with icons.
- A Read More link to the full announcement detail page.
The list page supports pagination. The number of announcements per page is controlled by the announce_per_page setting.
When no announcements exist, a "There are currently no announcements" message is shown.
Single Announcement Page
Clicking "Read More" or a direct link opens the single announcement view, which displays:
- The full title with an Announcements breadcrumb.
- The subtitle (if set) as muted text.
- The complete body and fulltext content.
- The author name and date at the bottom right.
- Comments section (if enabled in settings).
- An edit panel for authorized staff members.
Glossary Integration
If the glossary_announce setting is enabled, glossary terms found in announcement text are automatically highlighted with tooltip definitions. A glossary footer is also rendered at the bottom of the page.
Content Plugins
When announce_use_content_plugins is enabled, Joomla content plugins (such as email cloaking, load module, or third-party plugins) are processed on single announcement pages. The announce_use_content_plugins_list setting does the same for the list view.
RSS Feed
An RSS feed of announcements is available at:
index.php?option=com_joomhelpdesk&view=announce&feed=rss
An RSS icon appears in the top-right corner of the announcements list page. The feed includes the title, body (HTML), publication date, and a direct link for each announcement. This is useful for users who want to subscribe to announcements in their RSS reader.
Menu Item Types
You can create Joomla menu items that link directly to announcements:
- Announcement List -- displays the paginated list of all published announcements.
- Single Announcement -- displays a specific announcement selected from a dropdown of existing announcements.
To create a menu item, go to Menus > [Your Menu] > New, set the Menu Item Type to JoomHelpDesk, and choose either "Announcement List" or "Announcements Show Single."
5. Announcements Module (mod_joomhelpdesk_announce)
The mod_joomhelpdesk_announce module lets you display announcements in any Joomla module position on your site, such as a sidebar, footer, or homepage.
Module Parameters
| Parameter | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Which Announcements | Most Recent | Choose between All Published (shows every published announcement) or Most Recent (shows only the N most recent). |
| Number of Recent Announcements to Display | 3 | When set to "Most Recent," this controls how many announcements appear. |
| Maximum Height | 0 (auto) | Sets a maximum pixel height for the module content area. When content exceeds this height, the module auto-scrolls up and down continuously. Set to 0 for auto height (no scrolling). |
| Click the Announcement for More Details | Yes | When Yes, each announcement includes a "Read More" link to its full detail page. When No, links are hidden. |
| Show More Announcements Button | Yes | When Yes and in "Most Recent" mode, a "Show All Announcements" link appears at the bottom, pointing to the full announcements list page. |
| Module Class Suffix | (empty) | An optional CSS class suffix appended to the module wrapper for custom styling. |
Template Variables
The module uses the JoomHelpDesk template parser system. The following variables are available for custom templates:
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
{title} |
Announcement title |
{subtitle} |
Short description / module description |
{date} |
Formatted date |
{time} |
Formatted time |
{body} |
Announcement body content |
{link} |
URL to the full announcement |
{readmore} |
"Read More" text (when enabled) |
{author} |
Author display name |
{author_username} |
Author username |
Language and Access Filtering
The module automatically filters announcements by:
- Language -- only announcements matching the current site language or set to "All" are shown.
- Access level -- only announcements the current user is authorized to view are shown.
Setup
- Go to Content > Site Modules in the Joomla admin panel.
- Click New and select MOD_JOOMHELPDESK_ANNOUNCEMENTS.
- Configure the parameters as described above.
- Assign the module to one or more menu items and a module position.
- Set the status to Published and save.
6. Comments on Announcements
The announcements system supports three commenting modes, configured through the announce_comments_allow setting.
Disabled (value: 0)
No comments are shown on announcements. This is the default.
Built-in Comments (value: 1)
JoomHelpDesk's own commenting system is used. Comments appear below the announcement content on the single announcement detail page. Features include:
- Paginated comments, with the number per page controlled by
announce_comments_per_page. - Comment submission and moderation through the built-in comment handler.
JComments Integration (value: 2)
If JComments is installed on your site (com_jcomments), this option delegates commenting to JComments. Comments are associated with the component com_joomhelpdesk_announce and the announcement title. This option only appears in the settings dropdown when JComments is detected on the site.
Comments are only displayed on the single announcement detail page, not on the list view. The list view shows a comment count icon for each announcement.
7. Settings Reference
All announcement settings are configured in the Joomla admin panel at Components > JoomHelpDesk > Settings, under the Announcements Settings section.
| Setting | Values | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Allow Article Comments (announce_comments_allow) |
Disabled / Enabled / JComments | Disabled | Controls whether comments are shown on single announcement pages. "Enabled" uses the built-in comment system. "JComments" uses the JComments component (only available when JComments is installed). |
Use Content Plugins (Single) (announce_use_content_plugins) |
Checkbox | Off | When checked, Joomla content plugins are triggered on the single announcement detail page. Enable this if your announcement body uses shortcodes, module loading, or other content plugin features. |
Use Content Plugins (List) (announce_use_content_plugins_list) |
Checkbox | Off | When checked, Joomla content plugins are triggered on the announcements list page body content. Enable only if needed, as it adds processing overhead for every listed announcement. |
Comments Per Page (announce_comments_per_page) |
Number | 10 | The number of comments displayed per page on the single announcement view when built-in comments are enabled. |
Announcements Per Page (announce_per_page) |
Number | 10 | The number of announcements displayed per page on the frontend announcements list. |
8. Tips
Keep Announcements Focused
Each announcement should cover a single topic. If you have both a maintenance notice and a product update, create two separate announcements. This makes them easier to find, link to, and manage.
Use the Read More Break
Place a concise summary above the Read More break and the full details below it. The list page only shows the introduction, keeping the page scannable. Users who want the details click through to the full announcement.
Use the Subtitle Field
The "Description For Module" field serves as a subtitle shown in the module and list views. Use it for a one-line summary like "Scheduled downtime on Feb 15" so users get the key information at a glance without clicking.
Set Proper Access Levels
Use Joomla access levels to control who sees each announcement. For example, set internal operational announcements to "Registered" or "Special" so only logged-in staff see them, while public-facing news stays at "Public."
Enable Content Plugins Selectively
Only enable content plugins when you actually need them. The "Use Content Plugins (List)" setting runs plugins on every announcement body in the list, which can slow down page loads if you have many announcements. Enable the single-page option first and only add the list option if you find you need it.
Leverage the RSS Feed
Share the RSS feed URL with users or embed it in other applications. The feed updates automatically as you publish new announcements, providing a low-maintenance notification channel.
Use the Module for Visibility
Place the announcements module in a prominent position (such as a sidebar or above the ticket submission form) so users see important notices before submitting a ticket. This can reduce support volume for known issues.
Multi-Language Sites
On multi-language sites, create a separate announcement for each language and set the language field accordingly. Announcements set to "All" appear regardless of the active site language, which is useful for language-neutral content like version numbers or dates.
Frontend Management
Staff members with content editing permissions can publish, unpublish, and edit announcements directly from the frontend without logging into the Joomla admin panel. This is especially convenient for support team leads who need to quickly post or update announcements.