- Showing visitor’s country, flag and IP on frontpage thanks to JIP2C module
- Creating dynamic URL’s according to the visitor’s country
- Redirecting visitor to a dynamic URL
- Changing site language corresponding to the visitor’s country (You need to have JoomFish component)
- Cooperating with other Joomla extensions (See ‘For Joomla Developers’ section)
How Does It Work?
JI2C consists of a system bot (bot_iptocountry), a module to show results to the visitor and a component to insert IP data to the Joomla database. The core element, bot_iptocountry, retrieves IP data from database for Ip resolvation process and decides visitors country, then stores data in two global variables (ipToCountry_cname and ipToCountry_iso) in order to make them usable for Joomla IP To Country module (mod_iptocountry) and other Joomla elements later. JIP2C bot also stores Country Name (cname) and Country Code (iso) information in a cookie so as not to query database again and again whenever same visitor loads the page.
As for Joomla Ip To Country module, it makes use of global variables that are inherited form JIP2C bot and shows appropriate message that you indicate in the module backend. It is fully customizable from module parameters. You can change module message and flag position, and you can assign a URL for country name and/or country flag using {cname} and {ccode} parameters. For further information about using special parameters, please look at module usage notes . Before download Joomla IP To Country, you are strongly recommended to read installation notes.
Installation
Download IP To Country bot file and go to Joomla administration panel. Point Installers/Mambots and select the zip file by clicking browse button. Make sure your /mambots directory is writable. Click Upload File &Install button. If everything is alright, you will see a message explains that your module installation is successful.
JI2C bot needs to #__iptocountry database table to work properly. #_ stands for your Joomla table prefix. For instance, if you did not change table prefix when you are installing Joomla, your table prefix is "jos". You have two ways to insert #__iptocountry table to your Joomla DB. The first one, you can download com_iptocountry component below and install from Joomla administration section. This component has no backend or frontend interface (Yes, it will be ready soon) but only for inserting #__iptocountry table into your db using Joomla's query handling system. Using this way is strongly recommended if you have not problems with Joomla's different version. If you have some problems (timeout or anything else) with your Jooomla when installing Ip To Country component, you can download iptocountry.sql.zip file below and then upload it to your Joomla db using a database management script such as phpMyAdmin. If you are using the second way, please be sure your Joomla table prefix is "jos" since this sql file created taking this into account. Or you can search and replace all "jos_" statements with the appropriate ones using a proper editor (notepad, gedit or other).
If you install both bot_iptocountry and com_iptocountry, it is sufficent to cooperate with Joomfish and/or other Joomla components. But if you want to show some details to the visitor, you need to install JIP2C module.
If you have any problems, please read usage notes and feel free to contact me.
Usage Notes - Instructions
This usage notes explain Joomla Ip To Country (JIP2C) module parameters and emphasize some useful advices.
Module Message
If you write a message to this field and set "Show Mode" parameter to "Country Name and Message", the message will be shown on module frontend. You can use html codes and some special parameters in order to make your module more attractive. The special parameters that allowed are {cname} and {ccode}. {cname} is stands for "Country name" and {ccode} is stands for "Country Code" that has been defined unique for each country in ISO standarts. For example "us" is the USA's country code, "de" Germany's, "cn" China's and "tr" Turkey's. If you have Joom!Fish component and disable Joom!Fish support from bot parameters, it may be good idea to show following example message:
<a href="http://www.yoursite.com/index.php?lang={ccode}" title ="Change Language">Go to Your Site Name {cname}</a>.
If the visitor is from Turkey, the message will be like that:
Go to Your Site Name Turkey.
Country Link
If you set "Country Name Linkable" and/or "Flag Picture Linkable" parameter to "Yes", you can assign a URL for theese objects. You can use {ccode} and {cname} parameters here too.
A URL example:
http://www.wikipedia.org/{cname}
If your visitor is from Turkey, the URL will be like that:
http://www.wikipedia.org/turkey
You can also find useful information in tool tips. If you have any trouble or find a bug, please feel free to use contact form .
For Joomla Developers
If you are a Joomla developer and have a Joomla extension needs to be localized or you want to use visitor's country or language in your works, you can use Joomla Ip To Country GLOBAL variables:
- $GLOBALS['ipToCountry_cname'] : Visitor's country name
- $GLOBALS['ipToCountry_iso'] : Visitor's country code defined in ISO standards which can be found here .