Construct Framework

Files That Are Safe To Edit & Those Affected When Upgrading

Generally speaking, there are very few files in Construct that you'll ever need to edit. This allows for the greatest ease of upgrading the framework while not loosing your customizations.

Files not affected by upgrades

Adding your unique look, via a custom style sheet, is all that is needed to use Construct. In more advanced cases, an extended layout override, or overrides, are used. Any custom style sheet and extended template overrides will NOT be affected by an upgrade. Generally speaking, any file that you add to the /layouts and /css directory and sub-directories are safe.

Starting with Joomla! 1.6, custom core overrides that differ from those provided by Construct, should be created by use of Joomla's native Alternative Layout Feature.

Files affected by upgrades

Files other than the ones that you add to the /layouts, /css, and /html directory and sub-directories, will be overwritten by an upgrade.

For example, some users may wish to customize Construct's core CSS. If you do so, it will be overwritten and you will loose your customization. In this case, you should leverage the cascade and create a custom declaration that overrides Construct's core style declaration.

Any files that you change should be backed up before upgrading, if you choose to upgrade. After the upgrade is complete, your backed up files can be restored into the new version of Construct, or differences merged.