This guide walks you through every global configuration option in JoomFAQs. These settings control how your FAQ sections look, behave, and interact with search engines across your entire site. Individual categories can override many of these settings -- see Category-Level Overrides at the end of this guide.
Accessing Global Configuration
- Log in to the Joomla administrator panel.
- Navigate to Components > JoomFAQs from the main menu.
- Click the Options button in the toolbar (top-right corner of the JoomFAQs dashboard or Questions manager).
This opens the JoomFAQs Configuration screen, which is organized into six tabs:
Template Tab
The Template tab controls layout-related settings for how FAQ content is rendered on the frontend. These settings apply globally unless overridden by a specific menu item or category.
| Option | Description | Values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom Fields Layout | Controls how Joomla custom fields are displayed alongside FAQ answers. "Default" renders fields inline, while "Table" arranges them in a structured table format. | Default, Table |
Default |
| Category Layout | Selects which layout template to use for the category view. You can choose from installed layout alternatives or menu-item-specific overrides. | Available component layouts for the category view | default |
Style Tab
The Style tab provides extensive control over the visual appearance of the FAQ accordion. JoomFAQs ships with 13 predefined accordion styles plus a fully customizable option.
Accordion Style
| Option | Description | Values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accordion Style | Select a predefined accordion style or create a custom one. Each style applies a distinct visual treatment to your FAQ accordion headers and body panels. | Default Bootstrap, Minimal, Modern, Corporate, Gradient, Material Design, Glass, Glassmorphism, Neumorphism, Dark, Outline, Shadow, Flat, Custom |
Default Bootstrap |
Color Overrides
These fields appear for all styles except "Default Bootstrap."
| Option | Description | Values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Color | Override the primary color for the selected accordion style. This typically affects header text, active borders, and accent elements. | Any color (color picker) | (empty -- uses style default) |
| Secondary Color | Override the secondary/background color for the selected accordion style. This typically affects header backgrounds and panel backgrounds. | Any color (color picker) | (empty -- uses style default) |
Animation and Icons
| Option | Description | Values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enable Animation | Enable smooth animations for accordion expand/collapse transitions. When disabled, items open and close instantly. | Yes, No |
Yes |
| Expand Icon | The icon displayed when an accordion item is collapsed (i.e., the indicator that it can be expanded). Uses Font Awesome icon classes. Shown for all styles except "Default Bootstrap." | Icon picker (Font Awesome) | fas fa-plus |
| Collapse Icon | The icon displayed when an accordion item is expanded (i.e., the indicator that it can be collapsed). Uses Font Awesome icon classes. Shown for all styles except "Default Bootstrap." | Icon picker (Font Awesome) | fas fa-minus |
| Icon Position | Controls whether the expand/collapse icon appears on the left or right side of the accordion header. Shown for all styles except "Default Bootstrap." | Left, Right |
Right |
| Hover Effect | Enable hover effects on accordion headers, providing visual feedback when a user mouses over a question. Shown for all styles except "Default Bootstrap." | Yes, No |
Yes |
Custom Style Options
The following fields appear only when Accordion Style is set to "Custom." They give you full control over every visual aspect of the accordion.
| Option | Description | Values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Border Width | Border width for accordion items, in pixels. | 0 to 10 (number) |
1 |
| Border Color | Border color for accordion items. | Any color (color picker) | #dee2e6 |
| Border Radius | Border radius (corner rounding) for accordion items, in pixels. | 0 to 50 (number) |
4 |
| Header Padding | CSS padding value for accordion question headers. Accepts any valid CSS padding shorthand. | Text (CSS value) | 1rem 1.25rem |
| Body Padding | CSS padding value for accordion answer body panels. Accepts any valid CSS padding shorthand. | Text (CSS value) | 1rem 1.25rem |
| Shadow Effect | Adds a box-shadow effect to accordion items for depth and visual separation. | None, Small, Medium, Large |
None |
| Title Font Size | Font size for accordion question titles. Accepts any valid CSS font-size value (e.g., 16px, 1.1rem). |
Text (CSS value) | (empty -- uses theme default) |
| Text Font Size | Font size for accordion answer body text. Accepts any valid CSS font-size value. | Text (CSS value) | (empty -- uses theme default) |
| Text Color | Text color for accordion answer content. | Any color (color picker) | (empty -- uses theme default) |
| Text Background Color | Background color for accordion answer panels. | Any color (color picker) | (empty -- uses theme default) |
| Title Color | Text color for accordion question headers. | Any color (color picker) | (empty -- uses theme default) |
| Title Background Color | Background color for accordion question headers. | Any color (color picker) | (empty -- uses theme default) |
Other Style Options
These options are available regardless of the selected accordion style.
| Option | Description | Values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choose Icon | The default icon displayed next to each FAQ question title. This icon can also be overridden per individual question. | Icon picker (Font Awesome) | fas fa-angle-down |
| Custom CSS | A code editor where you can add your own CSS rules to further customize the FAQ appearance. Uses the CodeMirror or None editor. | Free-form CSS | (empty) |
Comments Tab
The Comments tab manages settings related to user feedback on FAQ answers. When a user votes "No" on the helpfulness poll, they are prompted to leave a comment explaining why the answer was not helpful.
| Option | Description | Values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allow Captcha on Submit | Select a captcha plugin to protect the comment submission form from spam. Choosing "Do not use" disables captcha entirely. You can also select "Use Global" to follow Joomla's global captcha setting. | Do not use, Use Global, or any installed captcha plugin (e.g., reCAPTCHA) |
Use Global |
Question Tab
The Question tab controls settings for the individual question detail view (the page shown when a user clicks through to a single FAQ question).
| Option | Description | Values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back to Questions List Button | Show or hide the "Back to questions list" navigation button on the single question view. This helps users return to the full FAQ category after reading an individual answer. | Show, Hide |
Show |
SEO Tab
The SEO tab lets you configure structured data and social media meta tags for your FAQ pages. These settings help search engines understand your content and improve how your FAQ links appear when shared on social platforms.
Schema.org Markup
| Option | Description | Values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enable FAQ Schema | Enable Schema.org FAQPage structured data markup. When enabled, JoomFAQs outputs JSON-LD structured data that helps search engines display rich FAQ snippets in search results. | Yes, No |
Yes |
Twitter Card Settings
| Option | Description | Values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enable Twitter Card | Enable Twitter Card meta tags for better social media sharing previews when FAQ pages are shared on Twitter/X. | Yes, No |
Yes |
| Twitter Site | Your site's Twitter/X username (e.g., @yourusername). This is used in the twitter:site meta tag to associate the card with your account. Only shown when Twitter Card is enabled. |
Text | (empty) |
| Twitter Creator | The Twitter/X username of the content creator (e.g., @author). Used in the twitter:creator meta tag. Only shown when Twitter Card is enabled. |
Text | (empty) |
Open Graph Settings
| Option | Description | Values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enable Open Graph | Enable Open Graph meta tags for better sharing previews on Facebook and other social media platforms that support Open Graph protocol. | Yes, No |
Yes |
| Facebook App ID | Your Facebook App ID (optional). Used for Facebook Insights and analytics to track how your FAQ pages are shared and interacted with on Facebook. Only shown when Open Graph is enabled. | Text | (empty) |
Permissions Tab
The Permissions tab uses Joomla's standard Access Control List (ACL) interface. It allows you to configure what each user group is allowed to do within JoomFAQs. Permissions are configured at three levels: Component, Category, and Custom Fields.
Component-Level Actions
These actions control global access to JoomFAQs features.
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Configure ACL & Options | Allows users in the group to edit the ACL and component options (this configuration screen). This is the highest-level permission -- typically reserved for Super Users and Administrators. |
| Access Administration Interface | Allows users in the group to access the JoomFAQs component options screen. |
| Manage | Allows users in the group to manage (access and work within) the JoomFAQs backend -- the questions manager, dashboard, and related screens. |
| Create | Allows users in the group to create new FAQ questions. |
| Delete | Allows users in the group to delete FAQ questions. |
| Edit | Allows users in the group to edit any FAQ question, regardless of who created it. |
| Edit State | Allows users in the group to change the published state (publish, unpublish, trash) of FAQ questions. |
| Edit Own | Allows users in the group to edit FAQ questions that they themselves created. |
| Edit Custom Field Value | Allows users in the group to edit custom field values attached to FAQ questions. |
Category-Level Actions
These actions can be configured per FAQ category to provide fine-grained control.
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Add a Question | Controls which user groups can submit new questions in a specific category. This is the permission that governs the frontend question submission form. |
| Edit (Respond) | Controls which user groups can edit questions and provide answers in a specific category. Users must be registered. |
Custom Field Group Actions
If you use Joomla custom fields with JoomFAQs, these actions control access to field groups.
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Create | Allows creating new custom field groups. |
| Delete | Allows deleting custom field groups. |
| Edit | Allows editing custom field groups. |
| Edit State | Allows changing the published state of custom field groups. |
| Edit Own | Allows editing custom field groups created by the user. |
| Edit Custom Field Value | Allows editing custom field values within a field group. |
Custom Field Actions
These actions control access to individual custom fields.
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Delete | Allows deleting individual custom fields. |
| Edit | Allows editing individual custom fields. |
| Edit State | Allows changing the published state of individual custom fields. |
| Edit Custom Field Value | Allows editing the value of individual custom fields. |
How Permissions Work
JoomFAQs follows Joomla's standard permission inheritance model:
- Not Set -- The action is not explicitly allowed or denied; it inherits from the parent group or global configuration.
- Allowed -- The action is permitted for users in this group.
- Denied -- The action is explicitly denied. A denial always takes precedence over an Allow, even if another group the user belongs to has the action set to Allowed.
Permissions cascade from higher levels to lower levels: Global Configuration > Component > Category. A setting at a lower level overrides the one above it, unless a higher level has set the action to "Denied."
Category-Level Overrides
One of the most powerful features of JoomFAQs is the ability to override many global configuration settings at the category level. This lets you give different FAQ categories their own look and behavior without affecting the rest of your site.
How It Works
When JoomFAQs renders a category page, it merges settings from multiple sources in the following order of priority (highest to lowest):
- Menu item parameters -- Settings configured on the specific menu item linking to the category.
- Category parameters -- Settings configured in the category's own options (via Components > JoomFAQs > Categories > [Edit Category]).
- Global component parameters -- The settings on this configuration screen.
If a value is set at the category level, it takes precedence over the global default. If a value is left empty or unset at the category level, the global setting is used as a fallback.
What Can Be Overridden per Category
The following types of settings can be configured at the category level through the category editing screen:
- Display options -- Show/hide question author, creation date, answer author, answer date, poll, print link, and content plugins.
- Question form options -- Show/hide the submission form, email field, character counter, captcha, notification subscription, and set min/max question length.
- List behavior -- Number of questions per page, question sort order, and question display mode (accordion, expand all, no accordion, or links).
- Subcategory display -- Show/hide subcategory descriptions, question counts, empty subcategories, and inline subcategory questions.
- Page settings -- Custom page title, show/hide page heading, and custom page class suffix.
- Notification settings -- Disable editor notification emails for specific categories.
- Permissions -- Per-category ACL for "Add a Question" and "Edit (Respond)" actions.
To configure category-level settings, go to Components > JoomFAQs > Categories, select a category, and look for the options tabs in the category editing form.