<chapter id="modules.main">

  <title>Phorum Modules</title>

  <section id="modules.intro">
    <title>Introduction</title>
    <para>
      Modules are (often) small extensions to Phorum-functionality without
      sacrificing performance of the Phorum-core. You can install them if
      needed for using their functionalities.<sbr/>
      For an overview of the currently available modules, please take a look
      at our <ulink url="http://trac.phorum.org/wiki/ListOfModules52">on line
      list of modules</ulink>.
    </para>
  </section>

  <section id="modules.installation">
    <title>How do I install a module?</title>
    <para>
      All modules are installed inside the subdirectory "mods" of your
      Phorum installation directory. There are two types of modules:
      single file and multi file modules.
      <itemizedlist>
        <listitem>
          Single file modules
          <para>
            Single file modules consist of a single php-file containing
            also the description and hook-names. These kind of modules
            can't have a settings-page.
          </para>
          <para>
            You install a single file module by simply dropping its
            php-file into the mods directory and enabling it in the
            administration pages.
          </para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          Multi file modules
          <para>
            Multi file modules consist of at least a directory with a
            php-file named the same as the directory and an info.txt-file.
            Additionally for a settings-page there needs to be a settings.php.
            Beside these standard-files there can be all kind of files and
            directories used for the module's functions.
          </para>
          <para>
            You install a multi-file module by copying the whole directory
            (preserving its directory structure) into the mods-directory
            and enabling it in the administration pages.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </itemizedlist>
    </para>
  </section>

</chapter>
