How to Install Joomla perForms Component

There’s a component from the Joomla Extension Gallery called perForms which helps you create custom forms for your Joomla powered Web sites. I’ll list below the simple steps to install perForms.

The first thing to know is that perForms is a Joomla Component, so you’ll need to download the Zip file for perForms and then use the Joomla Component Installer to get it up and running. Installing is easy:

1. fire up you admin
2. select Installers => Components
3. browse for the ZIP file (com_performs.zip)
4. select Upload File & Install

You should now see a confirmation screen letting you know the install was successful. Adding to the menu can be done for each new form you create. I don’t believe you’d need to link the actual component for anything.

*Note: there may be a bug in which the mainmenu will try and publish the component url. You can disable this error message (seen at the foot of the menu), by going to Modules => Site Modules, select perForms Module, select None in the Menu Item Link(s) menu.

*Note: there seems to be a bug in my case atleast where, if you put in the Form field under Email Form the mail does not go through.

I’m going to walk through creating a simple contact form, which includes name, email, and comment fields. Once this is walked through, creating even more complex forms with select lists, radio buttons, and checkboxes is just a logical extension of the tools.

So, to create your first simple comment form:

1. fire up your admin
2. select Components => perForms
3. select New
4. add Title
5. add text to initial screen (form page)
6. add Missing field text
7. add Thanks Text
8. select Buttons tab
9. select Yes for Include Submit Button
10. select E-Mails tab
11. select Yes for Email Form
12. add From
13. add your email to To
14. add E-mail Subject
15. select Save

Now the foundation of your form is created. What’s next is adding the input and textarea fields:

1. select Edit Items at your new form
2. select New Item
3. add Caption
4. add and/or edit Name
5. select Type : Text
6. select Check : Name
7. add Help Text (optional)
8. add Error Message
9. select Display tab
10. select Save

You’ve now added the name field. You can follow the same steps to add your email and comments fields. You’ll just need to select the appropriate options.

Your next step is to link your new form to your menu. The first thing you’ll need to do is to copy the “Link” of your new form at the perForms main screen. With the link copied proceed:

1. select Menu => mainmenu
2. select New
3. select Link – Url
4. select Next
5. add Name
6. add/paste Link
7. select Save

That’s it. You should now be able to visit your site, click the link to your new form, submit and recieve it at whatever email you had assigned.

Here’s a great tutorial from jext.info:

http://jext.info/content/view/9/20/

Post written by Ed Reckers

Founder and lead web development consultant at Red Bridge Internet : San Francisco WordPress Developers and Consultants.

19 Responses to “How to Install Joomla perForms Component”

  1. charlie

    Hi,

    I was running perForms 2.3 and upgraded to 2.4 because it will not email the form submission.

    No errors or anything. The email just never comes through.

    Can someone help?

  2. marc

    Hi,
    I found it in http://joomlacode.org/gf/project/performs but it is not joomla 1.5 native.
    Nevertheless, it has been removed from http://extensions.joomla.org I do not know why

    Any info about?

    Regards,
    Marc

  3. ed

    Marc,

    It looks like you’ve already got a post in at the Joomla! Community Forums. I don’t have any info regarding what perForms is currently up to. You’re best bet is to contact them directly at their project site.

  4. Ahmad Alfy

    What was perForms’ developer site?
    I don’t mean their link on Joomlacode. I don’t know why was it removed from JED!
    so wierd!!

  5. Ahmad Alfy

    Its http://www.performs.org.au/
    but when I go there I get the error :
    500 Internal Server Error!

  6. ed

    It looks like there’s a discussion on this in the Joomla forums:

    http://forum.joomla.org/index.php/topic,75784.msg391401.html

  7. Mayank

    JInstaller::install: There is already a folder called ‘/home/intellig/public_html/livegreen/administrator/components/com_performs/’ – Please initially check whether:
    the Extension is already installed
    the file names in the XML file are spelled correctly
    there are no XML files listed inside the extension.xml file
    all of the files (not including XML files) are correctly listed in the extension.xml file and there are no duplicate entries
    there is an empty folder listed from a previous installation attempt
    Component Install: Could not copy PHP install file.

  8. ed

    Did you check to see if there was in fact a folder there from a previous install? You should try and uninstall, and then remove the performs directories.

  9. raghavendra

    Hi,

    can any one give me the com_performs 2.5 please since i am unable to download that

  10. IceBear

    I have ver 2.5 works fine.
    I just have one issue, if I chhose checkbox or radiobutton, it dont show up …?!
    Can anybody tell me why ?

  11. srinivas

    I am having the same problem that Mayank having. Not even this component. Infact all free form components are like this. What is the best form plugin which doesn’t give me trouble.

  12. jumbo

    Greetz all.. nice little component.. has anyone got the mambot working..

    it works but will not send email with sef on..

    without using sefs.. all works great.. link url works with sefs.. but would like the mambot call to work.. form shows.. but email does not work..????

  13. ef2k

    For anyone else having trouble getting perForms to work with SEF URLs, I got mine to work by changing /components/com_performs/performs.php around line 46 to:

    $objMyForm->strAction = $PHP_SELF;

  14. Geoffrey Kasee

    Hi. Joomla Gurus, i am having a trouble with perForms installation. Even when am doing it for the first time i, get amessage:
    JInstaller::install: There is already a folder called ‘C:\wamp\www\SiteFolders\attain\administrator\components\com_performs\’. Please initially check whether:
    – the Extension is already installed
    – the file names in the XML file are spelled correctly
    – there are no XML files listed inside the extension.xml file
    – all of the files (not including XML files) are correctly listed in the extension.xml file and there are no duplicate entries
    – there is an empty folder listed from a previous installation attempt

    Component Install: Could not copy PHP install file.

    Please how can i move out of this issue.

  15. bithesh

    i tried it but error comes like this.pls help me to solve it

    Fatal error: Class ‘JCommonHTML’ not found in C:\Program Files\EasyPHP5.2.10\www\joomla1\administrator\components\com_performs\lib\myLib.php on line 541

  16. rafik

    the same problem when i click “NEW”

    Fatal error: Class ‘JcommentHTML’……… BUT ON LINE 603

    any help
    ?

  17. Kathleen

    I installed 2.5 ; however, when I went to add new I got an error message regarding: com_performs/lib/myLib.php line 603. So I uninstalled and installed the 2.4 addition but got the same error message just a different line, 541.

    Any suggestions?

  18. Mark Ricklen Abellera

    To fix this issue, just remove this line ” JCommonHTML::loadCalendar();” on line 603. then it will work perfectly…

  19. Engr. Mark Ricklen Abellera

    To fix this issue, just remove this line ” JCommonHTML::loadCalendar();” on line 603. then it will work perfectly.

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