This guide walks you through everything you need to know about creating, editing, and organizing FAQ questions in JoomFAQs. Whether you are adding your first question or managing hundreds of entries across multiple categories, this page has you covered.
Accessing the Questions Manager
- Log in to your Joomla administrator panel.
- In the left sidebar, expand Components and click JoomFaqs.
- Click Questions in the JoomFAQs submenu.
You will land on the Questions Manager -- the central hub for all your FAQ content.
The Questions List
The Questions Manager displays all of your FAQ entries in a sortable, filterable table. Here is what each column shows:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Checkbox | Select one or more questions for bulk actions. Use the top checkbox to select all visible items at once. |
| Ordering | Drag-handle icons that let you reorder questions by dragging and dropping. Ordering is grouped per category. This column is only active when the list is sorted by ordering (see "Sorting" below). |
| Question | The question text. Click the linked title to open the question for editing. A lock icon appears if the question is currently checked out by another administrator. |
| Date creation | The date and time the question was originally created. |
| Author | The name (or username) of the person who submitted the question, along with their IP address. Click the IP address to look it up via RIPE Whois (opens in a new window). Registered users appear in bold. |
| Published | The publishing state icon. Click it to quickly toggle between Published and Unpublished. |
| Category | The FAQ category the question belongs to. |
| Status of response | A color-coded badge showing the answer state -- see "Answer States" below for details. |
| Votes / Comments | Vote counts (thumbs-up in green, thumbs-down in red) and a comment count badge, when applicable. A dash (-) appears if no votes have been cast. |
| ID | The unique numeric identifier for the question. |
Sorting the List
Click any column header to sort the list by that column. Click the same header again to reverse the sort direction. You can sort by:
- Question text
- Date creation
- Author
- Published state
- Category
- Status of response (answer state)
- ID
The default sort order is by ID descending (newest first).
Tip: To enable drag-and-drop reordering, sort the list by the Ordering column (click the up/down arrow icon in the ordering column header). Questions are reordered within their category group.
Searching and Filtering
The search tools bar at the top of the list gives you several ways to narrow down the displayed questions.
Text search: Type keywords into the search box to filter questions by their text. You can also search by a specific question ID by typing id: followed by the number (for example, id:42).
Filter dropdowns:
| Filter | Options |
|---|---|
| Status | Published, Unpublished, Archived, Trashed, or All |
| Category | Any FAQ category (supports selecting multiple categories) |
| Access | Filter by Joomla access level (supports selecting multiple levels) |
Filters apply immediately when you change their values. To clear all filters, click the Clear button next to the search box.
Pagination
A pagination bar at the bottom of the list lets you navigate between pages. You can also change the number of questions displayed per page (default is 25).
Creating a New Question
- Open the Questions Manager (Components > JoomFaqs > Questions).
- Click the New button in the toolbar.
- Fill out the form across the available tabs (described in detail below).
- Click Save, Save & Close, or Save & New in the toolbar.
Important: You must have at least one FAQ category before you can create a question. If no categories exist, JoomFAQs will display an error message and redirect you back to the Questions Manager.
The Question Edit Form
The edit form is organized into four tabs: General, Details, Comments, and Meta data. Each is described below.
General Tab
This is where you write the core content of your FAQ entry.
| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Question | Textarea | Yes | The question text that visitors will see. This is the "Q" in your FAQ. |
| Alias | Textarea | No | A URL-friendly slug used for SEF (Search Engine Friendly) links. If you leave this blank, JoomFAQs will automatically generate an alias from the question text. Must be unique within the same category. |
| Answer | Rich text editor | No | The answer to the question. Uses Joomla's configured text editor (e.g., TinyMCE). You can include formatted text, images, links, and any content your editor supports. The "Page Break" and "Read More" editor buttons are hidden since they do not apply to FAQ answers. |
Details Tab
This tab contains publishing options, metadata about the author, and administrative fields.
| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choose icon | Icon picker | (none) | Select an optional icon to display alongside this question on the frontend. |
| Author | Text | Auto-filled | The name or username of the person who submitted the question. Automatically populated when a logged-in user creates the question. You can edit this manually. |
| Text | Auto-filled | The email address of the question author. Used for answer notifications. | |
| IP | Display only | Auto-filled | The IP address recorded when the question was submitted. |
| Notice the author | Checkbox | Unchecked | When checked and the question is published, JoomFAQs sends an email notification to the author informing them that their question has been answered. The notification is sent once at save time. |
| Author Reply | User selector | Current user | The Joomla user to display as the author of the answer. Use the user selector to choose a different user if needed. |
| Status (publishing state) | Dropdown | Published | Controls the visibility of the question. Options: Published, Unpublished, Archived, Trashed. |
| Category | Category selector | (none) | The FAQ category this question belongs to. Required -- every question must be assigned to a category. |
| Date creation | Date/time picker | Now | The date the question was originally created. Defaults to the current date and time. |
| Date of reply | Date/time picker | Now | The date the answer was written. Defaults to the current date and time. |
| Status of response | Dropdown | Pending | The answer state for this question. See "Answer States" below for details. |
| Votes | Display only | (none) | Shows the current vote tally (helpful / not helpful counts) and provides a Reset button to clear all votes for this question. |
Comments Tab
This tab displays all user-submitted comments (feedback) for this question. Comments are typically left by visitors who used the "poll" feature on the frontend to rate an answer and optionally provided additional feedback.
From this tab you can:
- View all comments with their text and submission date.
- Delete individual comments by clicking the delete icon next to each one.
Comments cannot be edited from the admin panel -- they can only be reviewed or removed.
Meta Data Tab (SEO)
This tab provides fields for search engine optimization.
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Meta Description | Textarea | A short description of this question/answer for search engines. This text appears in search engine result snippets. Keep it under 160 characters for best results. |
| Meta Keywords | Textarea | Comma-separated keywords related to this question. While most modern search engines no longer use meta keywords for ranking, some specialized search tools may still reference them. |
Editing an Existing Question
- Open the Questions Manager.
- Click the question text in the list to open it for editing.
- Alternatively, select the checkbox next to the question and click the Edit button in the toolbar.
- Make your changes across any of the tabs.
- Click Save, Save & Close, or Save & New.
Checked-out items: If another administrator is currently editing a question, you will see a lock icon next to the question title. You cannot edit a checked-out question until the other user closes it or an administrator with check-in permissions releases the lock (see "Check In" under Bulk Actions below).
Publishing and Unpublishing Questions
There are two ways to change a question's publishing state:
Quick toggle (single question)
In the Questions Manager list, click the status icon in the Published column for any question. This instantly toggles it between Published and Unpublished.
From the edit form
- Open the question for editing.
- Go to the Details tab.
- Change the Status dropdown to your desired state (Published, Unpublished, Archived, or Trashed).
- Save the question.
Bulk Actions
Select one or more questions using the checkboxes in the list, then use the toolbar buttons to perform actions on all selected items at once.
| Action | Toolbar Button | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Publish | Publish | Sets all selected questions to the Published state, making them visible on the frontend. |
| Unpublish | Unpublish | Sets all selected questions to Unpublished, hiding them from frontend visitors while preserving all data. |
| Trash | Trash | Moves selected questions to the Trash. Trashed questions are hidden from the frontend and from the default list view. |
| Delete (permanent) | Empty Trash | Permanently removes selected questions from the database. This button only appears when you have the Status filter set to Trashed. A confirmation dialog will appear before deletion proceeds. This action cannot be undone. |
| Check In | Check In | Releases the lock on selected questions that are checked out. Useful when another administrator left a question open without saving and closing. |
Working with Trashed Questions
Trashed questions are not permanently deleted -- they are simply hidden. To manage trashed items:
- Set the Status filter dropdown to Trashed.
- The list now shows only trashed questions.
- To restore a question, select it and click Publish (or open it and change the status).
- To permanently delete questions, select them and click the Empty Trash button that appears in the toolbar.
Answer States
Every question has an answer state that indicates whether it has been answered. This is separate from the publishing state and helps you track which questions still need attention.
| State | Badge | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pending | Yellow "Pending" badge | The question is awaiting an answer. This is the default state for new questions. |
| Answer | Green "Answer" badge | The question has been answered. Set this after you write the answer in the General tab. |
| No answer | Dark "No answer" badge | Explicitly marked as not going to be answered (for example, a duplicate or off-topic question). |
To change the answer state:
- Open the question for editing.
- Go to the Details tab.
- Select the appropriate value in the Status of response dropdown.
- Save the question.
Tip: You can sort and quickly scan the Questions Manager by the "Status of response" column to find all questions that are still pending an answer.
Vote Tracking
JoomFAQs includes a built-in voting system that lets frontend visitors indicate whether an answer was helpful or not. Vote data is displayed in two places:
In the Questions Manager list
The Votes column shows:
- A green badge with a thumbs-up icon and the "helpful" vote count.
- A red badge with a thumbs-down icon and the "not helpful" vote count.
- A grey comment badge with the number of comments, if any comments have been submitted.
- A dash (-) if no votes have been cast on the question.
In the question edit form
Open a question and go to the Details tab. The Votes field shows the current tally and provides a Reset button. Clicking Reset clears all vote data (both helpful and not helpful counts) for that question. Use this if you have significantly revised an answer and want to start collecting fresh feedback.
Vote data is stored in a separate database table (#__joomfaqs_votes) and tracks the last IP address that voted to help prevent duplicate votes.
Notifying Question Authors
When someone submits a question through the frontend form, JoomFAQs records their email address. You can notify them when their question is answered:
- Open the question for editing.
- Write the answer in the General tab.
- Go to the Details tab.
- Check the Notice the author checkbox.
- Make sure the publishing Status is set to Published.
- Save the question.
JoomFAQs will send an email to the author's recorded email address with a link to view the published answer. The notification is sent from the email address configured in your Joomla Global Configuration (Server > Mail Settings).
Tips and Best Practices
- Use meaningful aliases. While JoomFAQs auto-generates aliases from the question text, you can write a shorter, cleaner alias for better-looking URLs. Aliases must be unique within each category.
- Set the answer state. Always update the "Status of response" field when you answer a question. This makes it easy to filter the Questions Manager and find unanswered items.
- Review votes regularly. Questions with a high "not helpful" count may need their answers revised or expanded.
- Use categories effectively. Assign every question to an appropriate category. This improves frontend navigation and lets you use the category filter in the admin to manage large FAQ collections.
- Check the Comments tab. Frontend visitors can leave feedback comments when they rate an answer. Reviewing these comments can help you improve your answers.