Iris installs like any Joomla extension: System → Install → Extensions, then drop the pkg_iris-3.0.xxx.zip file.
What you need
- Joomla 6.2 or later (from Iris 3.0.065; Joomla 6.1 from 3.0.055 to 3.0.064; Joomla 6.0 up to 3.0.045). On an older Joomla the installation stops with the message "Iris requires Joomla 6.2 or later. Please update Joomla first.". Sites on Joomla 4 or 5 keep the former Iris 2.1.1 plugin.
- For PDF thumbnails and the best image processing: Imagick on the server, and Ghostscript for PDF files. Without them, Iris uses GD and shows a coloured sheet instead of a PDF thumbnail.
What the package installs
One zip, five extensions, all enabled on first install:
| Extension | What it does |
|---|---|
| Iris component | The media library, the galleries, image lightening, the descriptions. |
| System - Iris plugin | The "used" badges in the Joomla media manager, the unused files report, and Iris placed in the Content menu. |
| Content - Iris plugin | Galleries shown in articles, and images enlarged on click. |
| Button - Iris plugin | The Iris - Media and Iris - Galleries editor buttons. The second places a gallery or a module in the article (from Iris 3.0.062: see the chapter Placing a gallery inside an article). |
| Iris Galleries module | One gallery, or galleries as cards, in a template position (from Iris 3.0.055). |
The installation also allows recent Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents (docx, xlsx, pptx) in the media manager. See the Iris Options chapter.
Where to find Iris
The media library is in the Content menu, right under Media: Iris Media Library. Galleries and their categories are in Components → Iris Galleries (from Iris 3.0.055; before that, Iris Galleries was also in Content). The installed version number shows at the top right of the media library, left of the Options button. It is the first thing to look at when you wonder whether an update went through.
If Iris Media Library stays in the Components menu instead of Content, the System - Iris plugin is disabled: System → Plugins, search for "Iris", enable it.
Updating
Iris updates through the Joomla update server, like the other Joomanji extensions: System → Update → Extensions. You can also drop the new zip the same way as for the installation. Your descriptions, galleries and settings are kept.
A site that had the former Iris 2.x plugin receives the full package through its usual update.
The “Joomanji updates” box (from Iris 3.0.210): at the top of the About Iris page (the button of the same name, at the top of the media library and of the galleries list), Iris lists the pending updates of every Joomanji product installed on the site, with the installed version and the version on offer. The Update all button runs them in one go. The Joomla updater does the work, exactly as from System → Update → Extensions: nothing updates on its own. The box only appears when there is an update, and only for users allowed to manage extensions.
Up to date for Iris 3.0.210. Features added after 3.0.045 show the version that brings them.