Use this backend screen to create a JEM venue or maintain an existing one. A venue can contain its address, GPS coordinates, timezone, public contact information, capacity, classification, type, colour, image, attachments, custom fields and metadata.
A venue is more than an address. Events can use the venue's timezone as their time reference, and venue types and colours can control how the venue is represented in lists and maps.
Navigation and Permissions
In the Joomla administrator, select Components → JEM → Venues, then select New. To edit an existing venue, select its name in the Venues list.
Creating a venue requires the applicable JEM venue-create permission. Editing an existing venue requires permission for that record. Toolbar actions are hidden when the administrator lacks the required create or edit permission, or when another user has checked out the venue.
Toolbar
| Action | Result | Availability |
|---|
| Save |
Saves the venue and keeps the edit form open. |
Requires permission to create or edit the venue. |
| Save & Close |
Saves the venue and returns to the Venues list. |
Shown in Joomla's grouped Save actions. |
| Save & New |
Saves the venue and opens a new empty venue form. |
Requires venue-create permission. |
| Save as Copy |
Creates a new venue based on the current record and generates a unique name and alias. |
Available when editing and the user can both edit and create venues. |
| Cancel / Close |
Leaves the form without saving unsaved changes. |
Displays Cancel for a new venue and Close for an existing venue. |
| Toggle Inline Help |
Shows or hides Joomla inline field help. |
Available from the toolbar. |
Save as Copy creates an independent venue. Review its name, alias, address, coordinates, contact details, image and attachments before publishing the copy.
Screen Layout
| Area | Contents |
|---|
| Main tabs |
Venue Information and Attachments. |
| Side panels |
Publishing, Custom Fields, Image, Metadata Information and Geodata. |
Recommended Venue Workflow
1. Identity
Enter name, type and public details.
2. Address
Complete street, city, country and postcode.
3. Timezone
Select the venue's real IANA timezone.
4. Coordinates
Geocode the address or enter GPS values.
5. Display
Set map, colour, image and attachments.
6. Verify
Save and check venue and map views.
Venue Information Tab
| Field | Purpose | Rules and notes |
|---|
| Venue |
The public name of the location. |
Required. |
| Alias |
The URL-safe value used by Joomla routing. |
Leave empty to generate it from the venue name. Save as Copy generates a unique value. |
| Street |
Street name and building number. |
Maximum 50 characters. It is part of the complete-address validation used for maps. |
| Post code |
Postal or ZIP code. |
Maximum 10 characters. It is required when a complete address is used to enable the map link. |
| City |
City or locality. |
Maximum 50 characters. |
| District |
Administrative district, borough or neighbourhood. |
Optional; maximum 100 characters. |
| Level |
An optional venue classification. |
Maximum 100 characters; examples include hotel stars, restaurant forks or an education stage. |
| Capacity |
The maximum number of people the physical venue can accommodate. |
Enter a non-negative whole number. Use 0 when unspecified. This is venue information and does not replace an event's registration capacity. |
| State / County |
State, province, region or county. |
Maximum 50 characters. |
| Country |
The venue's country. |
Stored as an uppercase two-letter country code. New venues inherit the default JEM country when configured. |
| Venue timezone |
The IANA timezone of the venue, for example Europe/Madrid or America/Los_Angeles. |
Leave empty to use Joomla's timezone. Events configured with Venue timezone inherit this value. |
| Get GPS coordinates |
Finds latitude and longitude from the venue name and address using OpenStreetMap. |
Enter at least a venue name or street together with city and country. Ambiguous matches can be selected from a result list. |
| Get address from GPS |
Looks up address fields from the entered latitude and longitude using OpenStreetMap. |
Requires valid coordinates. Review suggested changes before applying them. |
| Latitude |
North/south GPS coordinate. |
Valid range is -90 to 90. A zero, incomplete or invalid coordinate pair is stored as empty. |
| Longitude |
East/west GPS coordinate. |
Valid range is -180 to 180. Latitude and longitude must form a complete pair. |
| Website |
The venue's external website. |
Optional; must be a valid http:// or https:// URL and must not exceed 199 characters. |
| Email |
Public contact email for the venue. |
Optional; must be a valid email address and must not exceed 254 characters. |
| Phone |
Public telephone number. |
Optional; include the international prefix where appropriate. Maximum 50 characters. |
| Mobile |
Public mobile telephone number. |
Optional; include the international prefix where appropriate. Maximum 50 characters. |
| Colour |
A venue-specific colour used by compatible JEM venue layouts and map styling. |
Use Joomla's colour selector or leave it empty to allow type/global fallback behaviour. |
| Type |
Assigns a JEM type configured for venues. |
The type can provide a label, icon and colour to venue lists, detail pages and maps. |
| Access |
The Joomla viewing access level required to see the venue. |
This controls frontend visibility; it does not grant backend editing permission. |
| Venue Description |
The main venue text entered with Joomla's configured editor. |
Content plugins may process the text when the relevant Joomla/JEM configuration permits it. |
Venue timezone is operational data. When an event uses the venue as its time reference, changing this field changes how that event's civil date and time are converted to UTC. JEM refreshes the affected event UTC values after the venue is saved. Verify future event times after changing an established venue's timezone.
Map Icon and Colour Priority
Venue presentation depends on the view and its map configuration. In venue-based maps, JEM applies these fallbacks:
| Element | Priority | Fallback |
|---|
| Marker icon |
Venue Type icon |
The marker image configured for the venue/map view. |
| Marker colour |
Venue colour |
Venue Type colour, then the view's default marker colour. |
| Venue title or action colour |
Venue colour where the layout supports it |
The layout's normal styling. |
The assigned type does not force every view to display an icon. Each menu item, module or layout still decides whether that visual element is enabled.
Attachments Tab
Use venue attachments for access information, floor plans, parking instructions, accessibility guides, public-transport documents or other reusable files associated with the location.
Attachment display options
| Option | Values | Purpose |
|---|
| Display attachments as |
Use Global; row, full-width row, uniform row; column, full-width column or uniform column |
Overrides the global attachment layout for this venue. |
| Show file icon |
Use Global, No, normal, medium or large |
Controls attachment file-type icons. |
| Show as button |
Yes or No |
Adds button/frame styling to the attachment link. |
Fields for each attachment
- File: select a file whose extension is allowed by JEM Settings.
- Name: optional public label for the file.
- Description: optional explanation of the attachment.
- Status: Published or Unpublished.
- Access: Joomla access level required to download the file.
- Ordering: use the move buttons to arrange attachments.
- Remove: removes an existing attachment or an unsaved upload row.
Publishing Panel
| Field | Purpose |
|---|
| ID |
The read-only database identifier. A new venue receives it after the first save. |
| Status |
Published makes the venue available to permitted frontend workflows; Unpublished hides it from normal published output. |
| Created by |
The Joomla user who owns or created the venue. Administrators with permission can select another user. |
| Created |
The read-only creation timestamp. |
| Revision |
The read-only version counter incremented when the venue is saved. |
| Modified |
The read-only most recent modification timestamp. |
| Modified by |
The read-only user who last modified the venue. |
Custom Fields Panel
JEM supports up to ten venue custom fields. Their labels, input types, order and backend/frontend visibility are configured centrally under JEM Settings → Custom Fields. The panel follows that configured order, and fields disabled for backend editing are not shown.
Language Overrides can still translate custom-field labels and descriptions. The standard constants are COM_JEM_VENUE_CUSTOM_FIELD1 through COM_JEM_VENUE_CUSTOM_FIELD10, with corresponding _DESC constants. Create overrides for both Site and Administrator clients when the same translated wording is required in both locations.
Image Panel
Select or upload the venue image stored in JEM's venue image folder. The image can be used by venue detail, list, map popup and module layouts according to their configuration. Supported extensions and size limits come from JEM image settings and the server upload configuration.
When copying a venue, verify whether reusing the original image is appropriate. Removing an image from a venue does not necessarily delete the physical file immediately; JEM can remove unused files through its maintenance workflow.
Metadata Information Panel
| Option | Purpose |
|---|
| Add Venue and City |
Appends the current venue name and city to Meta Keywords. |
| Meta Keywords |
Optional comma-separated metadata associated with the venue. |
| Meta Description |
A concise venue description for search engines and integrations. |
Geodata and Map Panel
Add a map link allows compatible JEM frontend layouts to provide a map link or embedded map for the venue. It does not itself choose Google Maps or OpenStreetMap; the effective provider and presentation are controlled by the relevant JEM global, menu, module or view settings.
Location requirements
JEM accepts the map option only when the venue has one of these:
- A complete address containing Street, Post code, City and Country; or
- A valid, non-zero Latitude and Longitude pair within the geographic ranges.
New venues inherit the map checkbox from the global map-service configuration. If the map is enabled by default, complete the address or coordinates before saving.
OpenStreetMap geocoding from the main form
- Complete Venue or Street together with City and Country.
- Select Get GPS coordinates.
- If OpenStreetMap returns several possible matches, choose the correct location.
- Review any suggested address differences and apply them only when appropriate.
- Check the resulting Latitude and Longitude, then save.
For reverse geocoding, enter valid coordinates and select Get address from GPS. JEM presents address suggestions before replacing the venue fields.
Interactive geodata map
When the Google Places map is available, the Geodata panel also supports the legacy interactive workflow:
- Search using the current venue data or type an address.
- Move the map marker when the automatic position is not precise.
- Use Copy all Data, Copy address, Copy Venue or Copy coordinates to transfer selected values into the saved form.
A configured Google API key may be required for reliable Google Places operation. The OpenStreetMap buttons remain the preferred key-free address/coordinate workflow.
Always verify geocoding results. Similar venue names and incomplete addresses can resolve to the wrong building, city or country. Coordinates are operational data used by venue maps, event maps, directions and integrations.
Practical Examples
- Enter the venue name, complete postal address and country.
- Select the real IANA timezone, for example
America/New_York.
- Select Get GPS coordinates, choose the correct result and verify the marker position.
- Enable the map link, add contact details and save.
- When creating an event there, select Venue timezone as the event time reference.
- Create or edit a JEM type that applies to Venues and give it an icon and colour.
- Assign that type to the venue.
- Leave Venue Colour empty to inherit the type colour, or choose a venue colour to override it.
- Save and verify the Venues Map and any venue-list map popup used by the site.
- Describe entrances, lifts and accessible facilities in Venue Description.
- Add a public transport URL and contact phone.
- Upload a floor plan or accessibility guide in Attachments.
- Set an appropriate attachment access level and verify the venue detail page while logged out.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | What to check |
|---|
| The venue cannot be saved |
Confirm that Venue is present. Validate the website and email formats, field lengths, capacity, timezone and map-location requirements. |
| JEM requests an address or coordinates |
The map link is enabled. Supply Street, Post code, City and Country, or a valid non-zero Latitude/Longitude pair; otherwise disable the map link. |
| Geocoding returns the wrong place |
Add the country, city, street or venue name, then select the correct result. Verify coordinates independently before saving. |
| OpenStreetMap cannot be contacted |
Check the administrator's internet access and browser network restrictions, then retry later. Coordinates can also be entered manually. |
| The Google geodata map does not load |
Check the Google API key, enabled Google APIs, billing/domain restrictions and browser console. The OpenStreetMap geocoding buttons do not require that Google key. |
| The venue appears at 0,0 or is missing from a map |
Enter both coordinates. JEM intentionally treats incomplete coordinates and the 0,0 Null Island pair as empty. |
| Events at this venue show an unexpected time |
Check the venue timezone and the event's time reference. An empty venue timezone falls back to Joomla's timezone. |
| The venue type icon is not displayed |
Confirm that the type applies to Venues, has a valid icon class and is assigned to the venue. Then verify that the selected view or module enables type markers/icons. |
| The attachment cannot be uploaded |
Check JEM's allowed attachment extensions, PHP upload limits, file permissions and the administrator's access. |
| A custom field is missing |
Check its venue assignment, backend visibility and ordering under JEM Settings → Custom Fields. |
Technical Notes
- Venues are stored in
#__jem_venues; attachments use the venue object key venue{id}.
- Country values are normalized to uppercase, and invalid or incomplete coordinate pairs are normalized to
NULL.
- The map flag is validated on both model and table paths so a venue cannot expose a map without a complete address or valid coordinates.
- Website validation accepts only HTTP and HTTPS schemes and supports internationalized domain validation when the PHP internationalization extension is available.
- Venue timezone values are validated against known IANA timezone identifiers.
- After a venue timezone is stored, JEM refreshes UTC values for events that depend on that venue timezone.
- Custom fields are validated and sanitized through JEM's centralized venue custom-field configuration.
- The form uses Joomla session-token validation, record checkout and JEM create/edit permission checks.
Related Documentation
- Venues — manage, filter, publish and maintain venue records.
- Add Event — assign a venue and choose Joomla, Venue or Custom event timezone.
- Venue Detail — frontend output for one venue.
- Venues List — list and map-popup behaviour.
- Venues Map — map providers, markers, filters and icon priorities.
- Language Overrides — translate venue custom-field labels and descriptions.
Related GitHub Issues
