It's actually straight forward to setup JBGMusic.

Steps:

1. Create your location for your audio, (ie. I chose /images, as it is accessible to the media manager, but you can use another directory)

2. Upload your audio files with the media manager of Joomla or use your favorite FTP program such as Filezilla to upload it to the proper directory

• Please check FAQ on types of audio to use.
• Upload 2 copies/versions of your audio (.mp3, .ogg)

3. Set Show title to no.

4. Set Enabled to yes

5. Set position to a desired position (make sure position is existing in your template)

6. Choose Menu assignment where the JBGMusic module would be activated

7. Point your Audio Location to the directory of your audio

8. Enter the titles of your audio files separated by commas (include the extensions)

• Make sure you have 2 copies/versions of your audio (.mp3, .ogg)
• only enter 1 filename, preferably the .mp3 file

9. Set Loop, Autostart, Show Controls, etc. as needed.

10. Save.

11. That's it!

You may add all the audio files including the ones from different domains at the audio file section. (ie. audio1.mp3, audio2.mp3, http://www.foo.com/audio3.mp3, http://www..foo2.com/audio4.mp3). The files audio1.mp3 and audio2.mp3 will be treated as local files corresponding to the local Audio Location, while audio3.mp3 and audio4.mp3 are situated in different domains.

Note: Please do ask permission for any usage of audio from their respective owners.

There is no particular position requirement for JBGMusic, you may place it in any module position, the only requirement is that the module position should be active in your template.

You can't install two copies of any extension in Joomla! But do not fret, Joomla has a method wherein you can have two instances of the same module. Just select the module and click the Copy button in your Module Manager then change the title to your preferred title. You can do this with JBGMusic so you can have different playlist for different menu options.

Yes, with the latest version JBGMusic 1.5, your audio will be continued when you go to different pages of your site. Their is a short lag when the new page loads but it should continue where it left off from the previous page.

This is normal, as the module just simulates continuous audio by resuming from the last point of play. Joomla loads the whole page into the browser including the module. After loading the module picks up the last point and restarts the audio. The slight pause is the whole loading and restarting procedure.

JBGMusic has no set limits for the audio file, but do take note that a larger file will make your webpage longer to load. This is also true for multiple file uploads. Take this into serious consideration if your target audience does not have a fast connection.

You may use the media manager built into Joomla if you are uploading small files, but a better option would be to use an FTP program.

Practically any audio files should work with JBGMusic, having said that JBGMusic have only used it with .mp3 files, tried it with .wav but it took longer to load. So feel free to experiment and give us feedback.

As of April 9, 2012, with the latest HTML5 player version, the player has been upgraded with HTML5 code using the latest Audio tag. Unfortunately, there is now a requirement to have 2 files of the same audio (*.ogg, *.mp3) for complete cross-browser compatibility. Why the need for the 2 formats, because some browsers (ie. Firefox) does not support *.mp3 files and some browsers do not recognize *.ogg (ie. Internet Explorer 9). So for maximum compatibility, we have both files installed. I believe you can use Audacity or VLC to convert your mp3 to Ogg Vorbis (*.ogg) files.

Because some browsers (ie. Firefox) does not support *.mp3 files and some browsers do not recognize *.ogg (ie. Internet Explorer 9). This is a current issue with the new audio tag of HTML5. So for maximum compatibility, we have both files installed. The module will be the one to determine the one to use. Just make sure the files are named the same way except for the extension. To avoid case-sensitivity issues, make sure the extensions are lower-case letters.

There are a lot of ways to convert your audio from 1 format to another. The simplest I use is the versatile VLC player, it's fast, easy to use, and free to use.

Here is a step-by-step conversion tutorial using VLC.

HTML5 is chosen because it is native to the browser and no plugins are necessary. Flash is also resource intensive, however, a fallback Flash player is used for older browsers. Here is an article that will explain it better.

Update:9-30-2012

• Our normal test browsers are IE9, FF15, Chrome 22 on Win 7 32-bit/64-bit, Win XP 32-bit, Ubuntu 32-bit machines
• HTML5 implementation is slightly different for each browser and may affect the module.
• The new HTML5 player will normally work on FF and Chrome with very little hitches.
• The new HTML5 player will work on IE9, however, IE9 is very finicky and will sometimes fail.
• The new HTML 5 player will work on Opera and Safari (very little tests), however, it is very slow to load.
• Please check disclaimer.

Update:10-7-2011

• Previous issues found in FF4 should now work with FF5 and newer.

Update:09-30-2011

• We have only tested JBGMusic Flash Player with Firefox 3.6, IE7, IE8, IE9 and somewhat Google Chrome. Both Firefox 3.6 and IE7 should not experience any kind of problems, Google Chrome did have problems displaying the controls, but played the audio. Just make sure that your browser has proper plugins to process your audio file (ie. quicktime).

We did not test with Opera, Safari, IE6 or IE5, but feel free to test it around and give us feedback.

Update: 06-11-2011

• Google Chrome should work fine now. Issues with Firefox 4 not resuming, this is due to the new way Firefox 4 handles cookies, all cookies (flash included) is cleared by FF4, the resume function heavily relies on flash cookies to remember it's previous position to resume audio play.

Disclaimer: We would like to point out that there are an infinite combinations of browsers, plugins, operating systems in the world and we will not guarantee that this will work all the time. Please use the module at your own risk.

The old legacy Flash player will not work with the iPad or any other device that does not support Adobe Flash. The new HTML5 will work with devices that supports HTML5, particularly the 'Audio' tag and Javascript.

Will it work with the iPad and/or iPhone, I don't know, since I don't own any of those devices. Please send me feedback if it works or not so I can get confirmation.

Unfortunately, Apple has decided to put a restriction for HTML5 Autoplay function for IOS Safari Devices including the iPhone and/or iPad. The module will still work but requires user interaction, meaning the user must click the play button. Here is the link from the Apple Developer site.

Quote from the Apple Developer site.

"In Safari on iOS (for all devices, including iPad), where the user may be on a cellular network and be charged per data unit, preload and autoplay are disabled. No data is loaded until the user initiates it. This means the JavaScript play() and load() methods are also inactive until the user initiates playback, unless the play() or load() method is triggered by user action. In other words, a user-initiated Play button works, but an onLoad="play()" event does not."

The current player that the module is using is an HTML5 compliant player. The W3C http://validator.w3.org/ defaults to XHTML 1.0 specs which does not include the new HTML5 tags, thus the errors when you validate it with XHTML 1.0 specs. If you change the DOCType to HTML5 (experimental), the module will validate. Please understand that the HTML5 is still constantly being developed and is not yet the standard, however, all modern browsers support most HTML5 specs to make it useable and functional even though, each browser implemented the spec slightly different from each other. In time, when the W3C puts the stamp on HTML5 and makes it the standard, we will see more HTML5 apps.

Normal web viewers would be less concerned about the validity and conformance of your site to W3C specs as they would the actual content of your site. If your viewers are using modern browser such as Chrome, FF 4++, and IE9++, then you won't see any problems once set up. For the older browser such as FF 3.6--, IE5, IE6, IE7, IE8, the module will fallback to the included Flash player, hopefully, they would have the Adobe Flash plugin.

You can use a custom module cl*** suffix in your template.Example:

1. In JBGMusic Module Enter "_jbgmusic" in Module Cl*** Suffix.
2. In your template add the following lines to center the module

.module_jbgmusic{
text-align:center;
}

Our code is safe, no code was included to monitor or send back information about your site.  We do not know or will know who are using our module unless you tell us when we handle support questions .  Even then, we do not keep your sites as we have no use for the information.  So why is it obfucated?  We have decided to obfuscate the code to prevent unauthorized removal of our backlink.

We hope for your understanding.

The Unique Key field is provided, if you wish to disable the back link to our website. A contribution is necessary for us to send you a Unique Key for your install.

Currently, this is not automated, so after your contribution you must send us an email with your name/email (for confirmation) and your domain name (www.domain.com) and the module name where you will use the module and we will email you back the unique key. You may use the Contact Us form or email us direct at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

You may use the Paypal link we have in our Homepage.

The Unique Key is tied to the domain site that you submitted. It will not work for any other domain sites.

A contribution must be made to remove the backlink.

Currently, this is not automated, so after your contribution you must send us an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with the name/email used in the Paypal contribution (for confirmation) and your domain name (www.domain.com) and the module name where you will use the module and we will email you back the unique key. Each contribution is for a single domain siteonly.

Please use the Paypal link we have in our Home page for the donation.

We do not wish to dictate upon your generosity, your donation helps us maintain the site and continue the development. Please donate what you feel the project has helped you.

Update: We recently had to place a minimum donation amount as we had donations being eaten up by Paypal charges.

To use JBGMusic plugin in your content, go to your Plugin Manager and look for Content - JBGMusic.

Double click on the Content - JBGMusic plugin.

1. Point the Audio Location to the location of your audio files.
2. Set the default values for Loop Music, Show Controls, Autostart audio
3. Enable the JBGMusic plugin
4. Save

In your content just add "{"jbgmusic audiofile|[noloop/loop]|[autostart/dontstart]|[showcontrol/hidecontrol]"}" (Note: the quotation marks are not included, it is just there so the line will not be processed. See example below)

To add audio just insert a "{"jbgmusic audiofile.mp3|[noloop/loop]|[autostart/dontstart]|[showcontrol/hidecontrol]"}" to your content. (Note: the quotation marks are not included, it is just there so the line will not be processed. See example below)

• [noloop/loop] - sets whether the audio file will play in a loop
• [autostart/dontstart] - set whether the audio file will autostart or not
• [showcontrol/hidecontrol] - set whether the plugin will display the media controls

No, the parameters [noloop/loop]|[autostart/dontstart]|[showcontrol/hidecontrol] are options to give control to the plugin. There is no particular order that needs to be followed. You may use one, two, all or none of the parameters. If you don't use any particular option, the default option set in the Plugin Manager will be used, this gives the plugin versatility in use. Although the name of the audio file is case sensitive, the parameters are not, so AutoStart is the same as autostart or autoStart.

You may have as many instances of JBGMusic in your content, for example, you may have an audio file as background music and another as your narration.

But take note having multiple files to load will make your webpage load slower. So take this into consideration when planning out your content.

At this time, all JBGMusic instances will play (if set to autostart) when it has loaded.

For the JBGMusic module, here are some points to check:

• Check the audio location, see if it is a valid location.
• Check if you have proper permissions set in your Joomla install.
• In J!1.5 Native, remove the leading '/' in your audio location
• In J!1.5 Legacy, you have to add the leading '/' in your audio location.
• In J!1.0, you have to add the leading '/' in your audio location.
• Check if you have entered the correct audio filename, no leading and trailing spaces.
• Audio files are case sensitive.
• Extensions should be lower-case letters
• Two (2) copies of audio files should be present (.mp3, .ogg)
• Check if you have Flash installed (for Flash player)
• Check if module is enabled.
• Check if module position is enabled in your template.
• Check if JBGMusic is enabled for the particular menu.
• In some templates, somehow, JBGMusic would not publish in a submenu.
• Check if your host computer has the appropriate codecs for the audio file.
• Check if JBGMusic is not set to autostart.
• Check if your browser has proper plugin to play your audio (ie.flash plugin)

For the JBGMusic plugin, here are some points to check:

• Check the audio location, see if it is a valid location.
• Check if you have the proper permissions set in your Joomla install.
• In J!1.5 Native, remove the leading '/' in your audio location
• In J!1.5 Legacy, you have to add the leading '/' in your audio location.
• In J!1.0, you have to add the leading '/' in your audio location.
• Check if you have entered the correct audio filename, no leading and trailing spaces.
• Audio files are case sensitive.
• Check if plugin is enabled.
• Check if your host computer has the appropriate codecs for the audio file.
• Check if JBGMusic is not set to autostart.
• Check if your browser has proper plugin to play your audio (ie. flash plugin)

If all else fails, do contact us, maybe we can help you resolve your problem.

We have only tested JBGMusic with Firefox 3.6, IE7, IE8, IE9 and somewhat Google Chrome. Both Firefox 3.6 and IE7 should not experience any kind of problems, Google Chrome did have problems displaying the controls, but played the audio. Just make sure that your browser has proper plugins to process your audio file (ie. quicktime).

We did not test with Opera, Safari, IE6 or IE5, but feel free to test it around and give us feedback.

Disclaimer: We would like to point out that there are an infinite combinations of browsers, plugins, operating systems in the world and we will not guarantee that this will work all the time. Please use the module at your own risk.

Update:10-7-2011 - Previous issues found in FF4 should now work with FF5 and newer.

Update: 06-11-2011 - Google Chrome should work fine now. Issues with Firefox 4 not resuming, this is due to the new way Firefox 4 handles cookies, all cookies (flash included) is cleared by FF4, the resume function heavily relies on flash cookies to remember it's previous position to resume audio play.

The Unique Key field is provided, if you wish to disable the back link to our website. A contribution is necessary for us to send you a Unique Key for your install.

Currently, this is not automated, so after your contribution you must send us an email with your name/email (for confirmation) and your domain name (www.domain.com) and the module name where you will use the module and we will email you back the unique key.

You may use the Paypal link we have in our Homepage.

Currently, this is not automated, so after your contribution you must send us an email with your name/email (for confirmation) and your domain name (www.domain.com) and the module name where you will use the module and we will email you back the unique key.

You may use the Paypal link we have in our Homepage.

The Unique Key is tied to the domain that you submitted. It will not work for any other domains.

A contribution must be made to remove the backlink.

Currently, this is not automated, so after your contribution you must send us an email with your name/email (for confirmation) and your domain name (www.domain.com) and the module name where you will use the module and we will email you back the unique key. You may use the Contact Us form or email us direct at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Please use the Paypal link we have in our Home page for the donation.

We do not wish to dictate upon your generosity, your donation helps us maintain the site and continue the development. Please donate what you feel the project has helped you.

Update: We recently had to place a minimum donation amount as we had donations being eaten up by Paypal charges.

1. I get a 'Notice: Constant JPATH_BASE is already defined ...' error.

- Make sure PHP Settings reflect 'output buffering' as false and 'display errors' are false either in your php.ini file or for WAMP set it in the Settings.

2. I get a 'Loading..' error, and I don't hear sound.

- Check for case-sensitivity issues.

- make sure your Joomla install has full access to your TMP directory

- make sure the audio file is not corrupted.

- if you are using a localhost testsite, make sure your hosts file contains the ff: lines

127.0.0.1 localhost

-remove any forward slash ('/') in front and end of Audio Location (ie '/images' is wrong, 'images/' is wrong, 'images' is right)

-make sure extensions (.mp3,.ogg) are in lower-case letters.

3. I have no access to my TMP direcotry.

- you can create a new directory and point the TEMP DIRECTORY parameter to point to the new directory.

4.Playlist will not reset when I come back to the site.

- the module is designed to hold the playlist for a minimum number of hours to effect the autoresume function.

5.I don't hear a sound on my HTML5 player

-make sure you have 2 versions of your audio (*.ogg) and (*.mp3).

-Firefox does not support (mp3) on HTML5

-Internet Explorer does not support (ogg) on HTML5
-make sure extensions (.mp3,.ogg) are in lower-case letters.

If we have helped you in our small way, we appreciate any kind of contribution or by clicking on our sponsor's link. To buy us a cup of coffee you may use the donate button on our webpage, which should take you to our Paypal's donation page.

Thank you.