Day View and Timetable Layout
Applies to: JEM 4.5 beta 5 and JEM 5.0 beta 3, depending on the Joomla version used by the site.
This article explains the JEM frontend Day View and its specialised Timetable Layout. Both are used to display events for a specific day, but the timetable layout adds a visual schedule grid for time-based planning.
Purpose
The Day View displays events assigned to one selected date. It is useful for daily agendas, event programmes, venue-specific daily schedules, category-specific daily listings, and links from calendar cells.
The Timetable Layout is a specialised layout of the Day View. It displays events in a structured timetable with time and venue organisation, making it suitable for conferences, festivals, workshops, classrooms, multi-room programmes, and any event set where time slots matter.
Menu Item Types
| Menu Type | Internal View | Layout | Main Use |
|---|
| Day View |
day |
default |
Displays a list of events for one day. |
| Day Timetable |
day |
timetable |
Displays one day as a timetable with time slots and venue grouping. |
Day Selection
The selected day can be passed in the URL using the date identifier. The timetable layout also provides previous and next day navigation links.
Typical route structure:
index.php?option=com_jem&view=day&id=YYYYMMDDindex.php?option=com_jem&view=day&layout=timetable&id=YYYYMMDD
When the view is called from a category or venue context, JEM can preserve the category or venue filter in the timetable navigation.
Shared Day View Options
| Option | Default | Description |
|---|
| Days |
0 |
Defines the day offset used by the view. A value of 0 represents the current selected day. |
| Featured only |
No |
When enabled, only featured events are displayed. |
| Intro Text |
Empty |
Optional text displayed before the event output when enabled. |
| Show Intro Text |
No |
Controls whether the intro text is displayed. |
| Category switch |
Exclude |
Defines whether the listed category IDs are included or excluded. |
| Category switch categories |
Empty |
Comma-separated category IDs used by the category switch option. |
| Footer Text |
Empty |
Optional text displayed after the event output when enabled. |
| Show Footer Text |
No |
Controls whether the footer text is displayed. |
Timetable-Specific Options
| Option | Default | Values | Description |
|---|
| Timetable orientation |
horizontal |
horizontal, vertical |
Controls the visual direction of the timetable. Horizontal mode uses time as the main axis. Vertical mode is useful when venue grouping needs more emphasis. |
| Hour display |
event_hours |
event_hours, all_hours |
Controls whether the timetable only shows the relevant event time range or the full configured hour range. |
| Range start |
8 |
0 to 23 |
First hour of the timetable range when all hours are shown, or when the configured range is needed. |
| Range end |
22 |
1 to 24 |
Last hour of the timetable range. If the end is lower than or equal to the start, JEM adjusts the range to keep it valid. |
| Minimum visible hours |
8 |
1 to 24 |
Used when hour display is set to event hours. It prevents the timetable from becoming too compressed when there are only a few events. |
| Event background |
category |
category, venue, custom |
Defines how event blocks are coloured inside the timetable. |
| Custom event background colour |
#6bbf59 |
Hex colour |
Used when Event background is set to Custom. Also used as fallback when another colour source is unavailable. |
Event Background Modes
| Mode | Best For | Behaviour |
|---|
category |
Programmes where categories represent tracks, themes, event types, or departments. |
Uses the first valid category colour assigned to the event. If no category colour is available, JEM uses a fallback colour. |
venue |
Multi-room schedules, venues with colour identity, classrooms, stages, halls, or locations. |
Uses the venue colour when available. The colour is softened for the event block and venue headers are visually emphasised. |
custom |
Simple timetables where all event blocks should share the same colour. |
Uses the configured custom colour for all events. |
Frontend Behaviour
- Events are sorted by start time when rendered in the timetable.
- Each event block links to the event detail page.
- Tooltips can include the event title, time range, venue, and categories.
- The timetable provides previous and next day navigation.
- If a category or venue filter is present in the URL, the navigation keeps that context.
- The standard JEM button bar can display actions such as print or event creation depending on permissions.
- The print view is available and uses JEM print styling.
Filtering and Context
The Day View can work as a general daily agenda or inside a more specific context.
| Context | URL Parameter | Effect |
|---|
| Specific category |
catid |
Limits the day output to events from the selected category context. |
| Specific venue |
locid |
Limits the day output to events assigned to the selected venue. |
| Specific date |
id=YYYYMMDD |
Displays events for the selected date. |
| Timetable layout |
layout=timetable |
Uses the timetable rendering instead of the standard day list. |
Permissions
The Day View checks JEM permissions before showing creation actions. Users may see add-event or add-venue actions only if their Joomla/JEM permissions allow those actions.
| Permission | Effect in the View |
|---|
| Create event |
Allows the user to access event creation actions when the button bar is displayed. |
| Create venue |
Allows venue creation actions where available. |
| Event access level |
Controls whether the user can see restricted events in the frontend output. |
| Category and venue access |
Can affect whether events are visible when their category or venue is restricted. |
Responsive and Legacy Layout Behaviour
The Day View supports JEM frontend layout handling. When the global JEM layout style is set to Responsive, JEM can use responsive templates where available. The Timetable Layout also loads the timetable-specific CSS.
For customisation, use Joomla template overrides:
templates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/html/com_jem/day/default.phptemplates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/html/com_jem/day/timetable.phptemplates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/html/com_jem/day/responsive/default.php
Recommendation: Do not edit the original JEM layout files on a production site. Use template overrides so your changes are not lost during updates.
Recommended Configurations
| Scenario | Recommended Settings | Reason |
|---|
| Conference with several rooms |
Layout: Timetable; Orientation: Horizontal; Event background: Venue |
Visitors can quickly compare what happens at each venue or room during the day. |
| Festival with programme tracks |
Layout: Timetable; Event background: Category |
Category colours help distinguish music styles, stages, age groups, or activity types. |
| Simple daily agenda |
Layout: Day View; Featured only: No |
A normal list is easier to read when there are only a few events. |
| Featured programme page |
Featured only: Yes |
Only highlighted events are shown, useful for curated daily programmes. |
| Long programme day |
Hour display: All hours; Range start/end configured to the event day |
Keeps a predictable time grid even when there are gaps between events. |
Example: Conference Timetable
| Menu Item Type |
Day Timetable |
|---|
| Timetable orientation |
Horizontal |
|---|
| Hour display |
All hours |
|---|
| Range start |
9 |
|---|
| Range end |
19 |
|---|
| Event background |
Venue |
|---|
| Use case |
A daily conference programme where each room has its own colour. |
|---|
Example: Category-Based Workshop Day
| Menu Item Type |
Day Timetable |
|---|
| Timetable orientation |
Horizontal |
|---|
| Hour display |
Event hours |
|---|
| Minimum visible hours |
8 |
|---|
| Event background |
Category |
|---|
| Use case |
A workshop day where each category represents a topic or skill level. |
|---|
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Check |
|---|
| No events are displayed. |
Check the selected date, event publication status, access level, category access, venue access, and whether Featured only is enabled. |
| The timetable is too narrow or compressed. |
Increase Minimum visible hours or use All hours with a defined start and end range. |
| Colours are not as expected. |
Check the Event background mode. Category mode depends on category colours, Venue mode depends on venue colours, and Custom mode uses the configured colour. |
| Previous and next day navigation loses context. |
Verify that the menu item and generated links include the correct category, venue, and Itemid context. |
| The print view does not look correct. |
Check JEM print CSS and any template overrides affecting component output. |
Related Development Notes
