January 2024 Release

We are thrilled to unveil the latest release of our Joomla extension, "JFilters". In this update, we integrate a new component, introduce a new type of filters and add some new cool features. These features further expand the boundaries of filtering within the Joomla ecosystem.

Integration with Contacts (com_contacts)

Now you can filter your contacts the same way that you filter your articles. JFilters will allow to use categories, tags and custom fields which are assigned to your Contacts, to filter them in the front-end.

In case you never used the Contacts component, it is really handy for creating a users directory or a community web site. You can create contacts directly from your Joomla users and set additional attributes to them, using native fields (like, position and address) or extend them even further using custom fields. In the front-end, the contacts can be searched with the Smart Search and now filtered with JFilters. Plus, Contacts are designed for their namesake – to facilitate communication through a contact form.

Native Fields

Until now, JFilters generated filters from Joomla custom fields, categories, and tags. In this version, we are introducing filters derived from native fields. These are filters from row database fields like the 'Created By', the 'Created Date' or the 'Position' and the 'Country' for the contacts.

By using native fields, filtering becomes easier and more complete, as in the past, users had to use custom fields, to create filters for such fields.

Integration with 3rd party Field Plugins

So far, filters generated from the core custom fields, were working perfectly. But what about 3rd party custom fields (e.g. Tassos' "Advanced Custom Fields" or Regular Labs' "Articles Anywhere")?

The filters were showing as labels what they retrieved from the database, which in many cases was gimberish to the users (e.g. country codes instead of the country name or article ids instead of the article title).

Now, we give the developers of 3rd party field plugins (i.e. custom fields) a way, to make changes to what is shown in the filters.

Do note: The responsibility of integration lies with the plugin developers rather than within JFilters itself. However, we can provide the necessary information to anyone interested in learning how to do that.