FW Real Estate – Documentation
Joomla Installation
Installing FW Real Estate
FW Real Estate installs as a single package file: pkg_fwrealestate.zip. Upload it through the standard Joomla installer at System → Install → Extensions → Upload Package File.
The package contains two extensions that install, update and uninstall together as one unit:
- com_fwrealestate — the component: every admin screen and every front-end view.
- mod_fwre_link — a small administrator module that places FW Real Estate in the Joomla admin menu with a notification badge. The badge counts unread inbox messages plus any pending component update, so you can see at a glance from anywhere in the Joomla back end that something needs your attention.
What Installation Does
Installing the package does the following:
- Creates the database schema. On a re-install or update the same step runs again and brings the schema forward — it adds only tables and columns that are missing and touches nothing else. It never drops a table, retypes a column or rewrites data, so an upgrade and a fresh install always end in exactly the same state.
- Seeds the defaults. The inquiry-email templates and the currency list are written only where they are still unset. Any edits you have made are never overwritten.
- Registers the bundled design and, for every module add-on that is enabled, installs its matching Joomla site module so it appears under Content → Site Modules like any other Joomla module.
Every manifest is set to method="upgrade", which means re-installing the package over an existing installation is a normal update — not a clean wipe.
Where Files Live
The table below shows which paths the package writes to and which are preserved across updates:
| Path | What is in it |
|---|---|
administrator/components/com_fwrealestate/, components/com_fwrealestate/ |
The component itself — replaced on update |
media/com_fwrealestate/lib/ |
The shared engine — replaced on update |
media/com_fwrealestate/addons/ |
Your installed add-ons and designs — kept across updates |
images/fwre/ |
Property photos, agent portraits and their generated thumbnails |
Backup Advice
Before any update, back up media/com_fwrealestate/addons/ and images/fwre/ together with your database. These three items contain everything that is not replaced by the installer — your add-ons, your designs and all uploaded images.
