The JEM Basic Module displays a compact list of JEM events in a Joomla module position. It is suitable for sidebars, home pages, dashboard-style areas, event highlights and simple upcoming event lists.
Overview
The Basic Module retrieves events from JEM and displays them using a selected layout. It can show upcoming, unfinished or archived events, limit the output by category or venue, control the number of events displayed, and decide whether event titles, dates, venues and links are shown.
The module is intentionally compact. If you need a more visual presentation with images or larger event cards, consider using other JEM modules such as the Banner, Teaser or Wide modules.
Important: the module respects JEM event access. If a visitor does not have access to an event, the event link may redirect to the Joomla login page instead of the event page.
Compatibility
| JEM versions |
JEM 5.0.0 beta 3 and JEM 4.5.0 beta 5 |
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| Joomla versions |
Joomla 4, Joomla 5 and Joomla 6, depending on the JEM package used |
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| Module name |
mod_jem |
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| Main purpose |
Compact event list module |
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Requirements
- JEM must be installed and configured.
- At least one published event must exist for upcoming or unfinished event lists.
- Archived events are shown only when the module display type is set to archived events.
- Category and venue filters require existing JEM categories and venues.
- Associated article links require events to have an associated Joomla article.
Where To Find It
| Joomla area |
System / Manage / Site Modules |
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| Module type |
JEM - Basic Module |
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| Frontend output |
A compact list of JEM events |
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Basic Module Settings
These are standard Joomla module settings. They control where the module appears and who can see it.
| Option | Description | Recommended Value |
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| Title |
Name of the module in the Joomla module manager. |
Upcoming Events, Next Events or similar. |
| Show Title |
Controls whether the Joomla module title is displayed. |
Show for sidebars, Hide for custom page sections. |
| Position |
The template position where the event list is displayed. |
Sidebar, footer, home page module position or dashboard area. |
| Status |
Publishes or unpublishes the module. |
Published |
| Access |
Defines which Joomla user groups can see the module. |
Public, unless the event list is intended for registered users. |
| Menu Assignment |
Defines on which menu items the module appears. |
Use selected pages for contextual event lists. |
Options Tab
Event Selection
| Option | Default | Description | Example |
|---|
| Events Display-Type |
Upcoming Events |
Selects which type of events the module displays. |
Use Upcoming Events for a standard “next events” module. |
| Events in module |
5 |
Maximum number of events shown by the module. |
Use 3 for a compact sidebar, 5 or 10 for a home page list. |
| Categories |
Empty |
Limits the output to selected JEM categories. Leave empty to include all categories. |
Select “Concerts” to show only concert events. |
| Venues |
Empty |
Limits the output to selected JEM venues. Leave empty to include all venues. |
Select one venue to show only events hosted there. |
Event Display-Type Values
| Value | Behavior | Typical Use |
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| Upcoming Events |
Shows published events that start after the configured time offset. |
Next events list. |
| Unfinished Events |
Shows published events that have not finished yet. This can include running events. |
Current and upcoming events. |
| Archived Events |
Shows archived events, ordered from newest to oldest. |
Past event history or archive blocks. |
Empty Result Handling
| Option | Default | Description | Recommendation |
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| Show “No events” |
Yes |
Shows a “No events found” message when no matching events are available. If disabled, the module returns no output. |
Enable it when users should know there are no events. Disable it when an empty module area would look better. |
Time Offset
| Option | Default | Description | Examples |
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| Time offset (in hours) |
Empty |
Moves the event selection window into the future or past. Positive values move the threshold forward. Negative values move it backward. This is used for non-archived event display types. |
168 shows events starting in one week or later. -2 can keep events visible shortly after they started or ended, depending on the display type. |
Advanced use: combine Unfinished Events with a negative time offset to keep recently finished events visible for a short grace period.
Ordering And Text Display
| Option | Default | Description | Example |
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| Display Order |
Title, Date, Venue |
Controls the order of the title, date and venue blocks in the module layout. |
Use Date, Title, Venue for a chronological event list. |
| Title |
Yes |
Shows or hides the event title. |
Disable only for very compact venue/date lists. |
| Venue-Title |
Yes |
Shows or hides the venue name. |
Enable when venue context is important. |
| Max. Title length |
30 |
Truncates long event titles after the configured number of characters. |
Use 30 for sidebars, 60 or more for wide layouts. |
| Show icon country |
No |
Shows the country flag icon of the event venue. |
Useful for international event lists. |
Display Order Values
| Value | Output Order |
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| Title, Date, Venue |
Event title first, then date, then venue. |
| Title, Venue, Date |
Event title first, then venue, then date. |
| Venue, Title, Date |
Venue first, then event title, then date. |
| Venue, Date, Title |
Venue first, then date, then event title. |
| Date, Title, Venue |
Date first, then event title, then venue. |
| Date, Venue, Title |
Date first, then venue, then event title. |
Links
| Option | Default | Description | Recommendation |
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| Link to event on |
Date |
Defines whether the event page is linked from the date, from the title, or not linked. |
Use Title for a common event-list pattern. Use Date when the title should remain plain text. |
| Link to Venue |
Yes |
Links the venue name to the JEM venue page when the venue is displayed. |
Enable when visitors may want to view venue details. |
Associated Joomla Article
| Option | Default | Description | Example |
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| Show More Information |
Yes (link) |
Shows a More information link or button when the event has an associated Joomla article. |
Use Link for compact lists, Button for stronger calls to action. |
| Show More Information Title |
No |
Shows the associated article title after the More information text. |
Enable when article titles add useful context. |
Note: the More information link appears only if the event has an associated Joomla article and the current visitor has permission to access it.
Date And Time Formatting
| Option | Default | Description | Examples |
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| Date format |
D, j. F Y |
PHP date format used by the module. If empty, JEM component settings or language defaults may be used. |
j M Y, D, j F Y, Y-m-d |
| Time format |
Empty |
PHP time format used by the module. If empty, JEM component settings are used. |
H:i, g:i a |
Advanced Tab
| Option | Default | Description | Recommendation |
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| Alternative Layout |
default |
Selects the module layout. JEM includes several layouts for different visual styles. |
Use default for normal lists, table layouts for structured data. |
| Module Class Suffix |
Empty |
Adds a custom class suffix for template styling. |
Use only if your template or custom CSS supports it. |
| Caching |
Use Global |
Controls whether Joomla caches the module output. |
Use global caching for stable event lists. Disable while testing. |
| Cache Time |
900 |
Time in seconds before the cached module output is refreshed. |
Reduce if events are updated frequently. |
Available Layouts
| Layout | Purpose |
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default |
Compact list layout with title, date and venue blocks. |
responsive |
Responsive list layout with a calendar icon and flexible content. |
table |
Table-style layout for structured event rows. |
table-style |
Alternative table presentation with module-specific styling. |
table-advanced |
Advanced table layout with separate event, start date, start time, end date, end time and link columns. |
acymailing |
Layout intended for newsletter-style output or integrations. |
Frontend Behavior
- The module displays a limited number of events based on the configured event type.
- Upcoming and unfinished events are ordered from oldest upcoming date to newest.
- Archived events are ordered from newest archived date to oldest.
- Category and venue filters are applied before the final event list is displayed.
- Long titles are shortened according to the Max. Title length option.
- Featured events can be highlighted by the selected layout.
- Event links respect Joomla/JEM access permissions.
- Venue links are shown only when venue display and venue linking are enabled.
- Schema.org event metadata is included by the layouts.
Recommended Configurations
Use this setup for a classic sidebar or home page event list.
- Events Display-Type: Upcoming Events
- Events in module: 5
- Show “No events”: Yes
- Display Order: Title, Date, Venue
- Title: Yes
- Venue-Title: Yes
- Link to event on: Title
- Link to Venue: Yes
Use this setup when running events should remain visible.
- Events Display-Type: Unfinished Events
- Time offset: Empty or a small negative value
- Events in module: 5 or 10
- Display Order: Date, Title, Venue
- Highlight Featured: Yes
Use this setup for pages dedicated to one category or topic.
- Events Display-Type: Upcoming Events
- Categories: Select one or more JEM categories
- Venues: Empty
- Events in module: 5
- Show More Information: Link or Button
Use this setup to show events from a selected venue.
- Events Display-Type: Upcoming Events
- Venues: Select the target venue
- Venue-Title: Optional
- Link to Venue: Yes
- Display Order: Date, Title, Venue
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Possible Cause | What To Check |
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| No events are shown. |
No matching published events exist, filters are too restrictive, or Show “No events” is disabled. |
Check event status, event dates, category filters, venue filters and the Show “No events” option. |
| Past events appear in an upcoming list. |
Display type or time offset may include running or unfinished events. |
Check Events Display-Type and Time offset. |
| Venue is not shown. |
Venue display is disabled or the selected layout does not show it as expected. |
Enable Venue-Title and review the selected layout. |
| Event links go to login. |
The visitor does not have access to the event. |
Check Joomla/JEM access levels for the event, category and menu item. |
| More information link does not appear. |
The event has no associated article or the visitor cannot access it. |
Check the event article association and Joomla article access. |
| Template override is not used. |
Wrong layout selected or override path/name mismatch. |
Check the Alternative Layout option and the Joomla module override path. |
Related Development Notes
The Basic Module has received several improvements and fixes across recent JEM versions, including access-aware event output, better venue/title display combinations, featured event styling, module override handling and empty-result behavior.
