Fabrik and Custom Joomla User Registration Forms

May 08, 2012 | Joomla Tutorials | Written by Tessa Mero

alt Fabrik is a wonderfully powerful and flexible Joomla extension.

In a previous tutorial we showed you how to use Fabrik to create a contact form. In this tutorial we're going to use Fabrik to create a custom user registration form.

Step 1: Get Fabrik Set Up

If you don't yet have Fabrik on your site, read this tutorial to install and configure Fabrik.
[UPDATE] Some Fabrik users reported not having the following plugin. If you don't, follow these instructions.
Go to Extensions > Plugin Manager and enable the "Fabrik Form - create Joomla user" plugin.

Step 2: Add the Form

Click on Components > Fabrik > Forms > New to begin your first form.
Enter a Label. This will be the name for your form.
Set Status to Yes.
Scroll down to the Form processing area.
Enter a table name. This is where your form entries will be stored in the database. It is best to use only lowercase letters and underscores to create this name.
Make sure that Save partially completed multi-page forms is set to No.
Click on Save and Close.
Click on the Lists tab.
Scroll down and click the Advanced drop down, and set Alter existing field types to "No".

Step 3: Add Elements

Click on the Elements tab.
Click on the -Select form- dropdown and select the form that you just created.

Click New and create several elements you'd like on your user registration form.
Important Make sure you remember to create a minimum of "Required Fields" from your core joomla user table or else it will not validate. These elements are:
- Name
- Username
- Password
- Email

Step 4: Link Your Form to Joomla Users

Click on "Forms" and click on the name of your user registration form.
Click on the "Plug-ins" tab on the right side and click "Add".
Select "juser" In "front end" On "new".

Match the core Joomla user fields to your existing fields that you created.
Remember to click "Yes" for Synchronize Users if you want to import all your current users into this new registration table. To do this, you must have all fields that are being used match your new table or else database errors will occur.

Step 5: Publish and Use the Form

Create a new menu item that links to the customized registration form.
Click Save and Close.

Congratulations! You have made your own custom user registration form!
If you'd like to add captcha to your form, you can install the Fabrik Element - Captcha which you can find from updating from Github (http://github.com/fabrik/fabrik) and Purge Cache/Discover/Install. You can then go back into the Elements section and add a new element as "Captcha".

Fill out an entry to see what happens. I will use the name "John Doe".

You can now view the User Manager in your Joomla administrator area and your new user will be there.

You have successfully finished creating a customized user registration form that links with your core Joomla users table!

Comments

#1 Philip 2012-05-09 13:56

This looked interesting but I fell at the first hurdle. Followed the earlier tutorial and installed Fabrick (all 4MB of it) but there is no "Fabrik Form - create Joomla user" plugin.... I am probably doing something really stupid....
Joomla 2.5

#2 syahzul 2012-05-09 17:42

i'm second to Philip, there's no Fabrik Form - create Joomla user in my plugin manager. is that extended plugin for fabrik?

#3 tessa 2012-05-09 17:48

Hi Philip and Syahzul, I might have forgotten this step, but have you tried going into Extensions > Discover, and finding the plugin there first? Then Installing it, and Enabling in Plugin Manager? Let me know if that works.

#4 syahzul 2012-05-09 20:25

Hi Tessa,

I've done that but still cannot find the plugin. I try extract the fabrik installer to check if I can manually install it. But I think the plugin is not included in the latest version.

#5 tessa 2012-05-09 21:31

Hi All, I just noticed the Fabrik version I included doesn't come preinstalled with the plugin. To update your Fabrik to the latest version, download this file:
github.com/.../master

And copy these directories into your root joomla directory: administrator, components, libraries, media, modules, and plugins. (Basically exclude any files and exclude the fabrik_build directory). You will then have every single plugin available for Fabrik. Refer to post #4 if you do not see the new Plugin. Make sure you overwrite all existing files in FTP.

#6 syahzul 2012-05-09 23:11

Thank you very much Tessa, now I can follow your tutorial. Keep up the good work!

#7 tessa 2012-05-09 23:16

No problem. I will have the tutorial updated to include this information. :-) If you have any more questions with Fabrik please post on the Joomla Support Forum. :D

#8 Philip 2012-05-10 07:43

Not a question on Fabrik but this tutorial-- did as you said and ended up with lots of Fabrik plugins (BTW -- there must be an easier installation!) Worked through the tutorial but at 4 the drop downs only offer {7, date time, id, -}. I am obviously doing something stupid but after half an hour checking and rechecking I cant see it.

#9 Philip 2012-05-10 07:45

Tessa -- ignore that last post -- I was stupid but have now figured it out -- I did not add a label (it did not say it was compulsory. And you don't mention it in this tutorial -- might be worth doing in case anyone else is a dumb as me. Regards

#10 tessa 2012-05-11 04:07

Hi Philip. Did you try "saving" the form, after creating it? Before using the juser plugin, it needs to recognize the form existing first. I forgot to mention this and I'm glad you brought this up.

#11 tessa 2012-05-12 04:39

Hi Philip, I'm hoping you give a status update and let me know if you got everything working correctly. I want to see everyone succeed with this extension. :-)

#12 Philip 2012-05-12 08:51

I did do a follow up post admitting my stupidity — I had not filled in the Label field — expecting it to do it itself (like the alias in other Joomla stuff) Once I had done that the names appeared and i easily got registration form to work. Now I need to figure out how to add the captcha.. Thanks for all your help.

#13 tessa 2012-05-18 06:36

No problem Philip! One thing that I added later in this tutorial is the Alter existing field types. It needs to be set to "No" in the List > Advanced section. As for Captcha, I will probably add that another time. It's on my to-do list! Thank you for reminding me. :-)

#14 elbowman 2012-06-01 22:52

Tessa, I've followed the instructions to download the latest Fabrik update from github. I downloaded it. FTP'ed it to my server and extracted it on the server. I then Refreshed the Cache and all my plugins show 3.0.5.2. However, I still don't have the 'Create Joomla User' plugin in my list. Ideas? I'm running Joomla 2/5 and using Fabrik 3.

#15 jmmy 2012-06-03 03:29

Thanks for your tutorial. I followed it and could save the user but the added information such as birthday could not be save!? When i click on forms and view data of the form i created it displayed blank rows! Please advice. Thanks again

#16 elbowman 2012-06-06 21:45

Figured it out. Nevermind.

#17 tessa 2012-06-14 05:00

Hi Jimmy,

If you can post on the Joomla forums: ostraining.com/support-foruum

I will be happy to troubleshoot with you until it is working flawlessly. :-)

Elbowman, I'm glad you got it figured out, care to share what you did for others who are in the same boat as you? Thanks!

#18 Elbowman 2012-06-14 16:40

Actually, I only got a portion of the problem resolved. Tessa,
What I got figured out was how to properly download and install the Fabrik files from the github.com server, to obtain the registration form plug-in. I was able to perform the work in your initial Fabrik training, building a simple form with fields for input.
However, I've not been able to successfully create a registration form. I'm getting a raft of errors when I click the form from my menu. Like these...
Unknown column '' in 'field list' SQL=INSERT INTO buds_registrati on SET `` = '4' , `email` = 'xxxxxxxx'5203f bc7077a35117e61 53d6d3950320:sv pkNATsLB6xEW6Uc 7y1fcVbN8jSYWb7 ' ,

An error occured while Synchronizing users. Please verify that all fields are correctly set in your Fabrik LIST and selected in the form's juser plugin

I haven't had a chance to focus on it to determine a resolution. If you have any tips I'm open to suggestions, Tessa.

#19 Sunk 2012-06-26 20:43

Same boat. Tried the troubleshooting steps and still no form listed for creating a Joomla user.

#20 tessa 2012-07-08 19:16

Hi Elbowman and Sunk, can you post it on the discussion board your exact issues so I can work with you immediately? I don't check these comments very often since there are so many tutorials.

#21 tessa 2012-07-08 19:19

ADDING CAPTCHA TO USER REGISTRATION FORM: 1. Update Fabrik files from github/fabrik/fabrik.
2. Extensions Manager > Discover > Purge Cache > Discover
3. Search for Fabrik Element - Captcha.
4. Install
5. Plugin Manager > Search for Fabrik Element- Captcha, Enable.
6. Open User registration form element list, add new element, captcha, fill in repatcha details.
7. You now have captcha on your form!

#22 Victor Lélis 2012-07-12 15:11

I don´t why, but in my joomla, after follow the steps in answer #5, I had a lot of Fabrik stuff in my plugins list, but no Fabrik Form - create joomla user =(

#23 Victor Lélis 2012-07-12 15:14

got it working! Just run Discover function and was there, waiting to be intalled!

#24 tessa 2012-07-16 23:51

Hi Victor, I'm glad you got it figured out. If you have any questions about Fabrik, please post it on the Joomla forums with the word Fabrik in your topic's question. :-)

#25 Hugh Messenger 2012-07-28 08:15

Hi,

First off, thanks to Tessa for producing these tutorials. I'm one of the developers of Fabrik, and it's good to see people giving it a go.

Just to let you know, as of the next release (3.0.7) we will be making all the non-core plugins available as downloadable, separately installable ZIP's, so you won't have to go through the rather cumbersome github / discover process. 3.0.7 should be released within the next few days.

-- hugh

#26 BigStef 2012-07-29 21:03

Hi, and thaks for that great tutorial. One point : I can't underdstand why you say "Scroll down and click the Advanced drop down, and set Alter existing field types to "No"." on point 2 as I can't add field anymore to this form when it is checked so. Also seen this problem with anither guy here : fabrikar.com/.../...
Could precise anything about that ? Thanks a lot by advance...

#27 Robin 2012-08-03 04:47

Hello Tessa,

Thanks for the tutorial, was very helpful.

Can you take it a step further by showing me how all the custom fields can be editable when the user clicks on the Edit Profile link.

At the moment only the core Joomla fields - name, username, password and email are available for the user to edit.

None of the custom fields are visible.

To make a custom registration form really useful, the user needs to be able to edit all the fields.

Hope you can provide this information.

Regards,
Robin

#28 Angelfire 2012-08-06 13:33

Tessa, I downloaded all files from your github, and replace all directories, but still I cant see "Fabrik Form - create Joomla user" plugin. I really dont know what happen. Thanks

#29 Morris 2012-08-07 15:59

Hi Tessa,

What is the exact version of the Fabrik files I need to follow this tutorial, I just downloaded the ones in your links and I couldn't find the plugin needed.

I just realized that your links point to the latest version and maybe the plugin it's not there anymore.

#30 Abu Hurayra 2012-08-17 19:07

This don't work for joomla 1.5 right ?

No fabrik plugin in my joomla 1.5

#31 Biki 2012-08-26 17:09

Thank you. i followed this tutorial and comment then i have successfully created a registration form. Unfortunately after register using this form login is not working. Then i check user manager and saw new user lebel is "Public" when i made it registered from joomla backend then it's working. So, What is error here. I don't understand, please help.

#32 Rob / Fabrik 2012-09-17 23:46

Check that you have all the Fabrik - element plugins published.

If you intend to use sync on edit, then you should create an element to store the user_id and assign that in the juser plugins 'User ID field'

Finally I would suggest not setting the lists alter field types to 'no', this would only be of use if your list was pointing at a core Joomla database table.

#33 sundas 2012-09-26 09:53

thank you for this great tutorial.. and one thing i found out that when u install fabrik the only plugin that does not install is juser. although it is still in the package. so extract the package and install that plugin after u have intalled the package.. works fine. the only trouble i m having is my form is ready but when i register it says you cannot access the private areas of the website. can anyone help me.urgent.

#34 sundas 2012-09-26 15:42

ignore my last comment.. i found solution.. at step 4 when you match allthe core fields u set default user group to "registered" not public

#35 Guest 2012-10-19 08:02

Awesome tutorial! Thank you so much ^.^ I can finally tie my c# program in without a hitch!

#36 Rob Vesco 2012-11-09 21:30

I am having a problem with getting the plug in juser to show up. I have followed all the links here and done the updates. i am using jommla 2.5 and fabrik 3.0 cna anyone help?

#37 Sam 2012-12-27 11:29

When using your tutorial, only those four fields are saving :

Name
Username
Password
Email

I have other several fields I've added to the form, but those fields aren't saving into the users table. Is that normal?

#38 Sam 2012-12-27 12:20

Nevermind, got it working. The key here is to not use the core joomla users table.. I created a table called user_data, and it's working now :)

#39 Shane hamdan 2012-12-28 08:40

Any ideas on how i can autogenerate the username?

#40 K Fisher 2013-02-04 16:31

Very many thanks for all your efforts. I wish Id found this before I went through the mill trying to create my own. Only bit I cant do now is make a link to the form I created as a new user registration form.

Have emailed the fabrik team, but certainly appreciate any thoughts. I assumed Id just create a menu link without userID=-1 and make accessible to public users but no job so far.

:/

#41 Auship 2013-05-14 09:20

Is there a Fabrik plugin for Community Builder?

Add comment

Start Online Training

Members get access to all our video training. That's 1,142 training sessions in Joomla, Drupal, WordPress and Coding.

Manage All Your Joomla Sites

With Admincredible you can update and manage all your Joomla sites. If you have 5 or 500 sites, Admincredible will make your life easier! Visit Admincredible.com.

Latest Blog Posts and Tutorials

Blog Categories

Latest Comments

How to Add Video or Audio to a Joomla Article
Comment by t1m1976
You don't need an extension to play YouTube videos. Simply copy the "embedded" script ...
JPrc Cronjobs Provides Cron for Joomla
Comment by Gosling Cools
If want to run on your 'local' website. Can you leave out www.domain.com/index/php?
10 Options for Multi-Vendor Shopping Carts
Comment by Dinesh
I just tried Magento before a year of time for one of my website and currently I was in ...
400 Joomla and Drupal Classes
Comment by shah kash
Hi Steve I'am beginner in drupal I make a simple quiz using webform and radio button but ...
10 Drupal Commercial Theme Companies
Comment by Christopher V
Grateful to see ThemeBrain in your list. We also have our themes price updated, not ...

The License for Our Tutorials

All of our tutorials are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license. This means:

You can re-use these tutorials.
You can modify these tutorials.
You must link back to our original tutorial.
You can't use these tutorials commercially.

Click here to read the full license.

Joomla Tutorials and Blog Posts