How to embed a video in Joomla - Blog on the Run

Because it is not possible to simply copy/paste the embed codes we provide into your Joomla content due to the way Joomla works we need to give Joomla a way to understand how to deal with our videos.

To do this we provide a plugin that will allow you to embed any of your Bits on the Run videos with a simple tag based syntax:

{botr}http://content.bitsontherun.com/players/Sq5986V7-xx.js{/botr}

Looks easy doesn't it? Trust me, it is! So let's install the plugin and start creating some new content.

Step 1

First of all you need to download our Joomla plugin. Save it in a location where you can easily find it again such as your desktop.

Note: We need the plugin as a zip file so don't unpack it.

Warning for Safari(Apple) users: Please disable Safari's auto-unpack feature as this will automatically unpack the zip file which we don't want. If you re-zip it again using the standard OS X archiver extra system files will be added thus "breaking" the plugin. To disable this feature in Safari go to your Safari Preferences (CMD+,) and on the General tab uncheck the "Open safe files after downloading" option.

Step 2

Now that we have the plugin, let's login to the Joomla CMS and install it. After you have logged in go to the install / uninstall option under the Extensions menu option.

Step 3

Here we are using the Upload package file option. Click the Choose file button and navigate to the .zip file you just downloaded and click ok. Next click on the Upload File & Install. Since this will upload the file to your web server it might take a few seconds depending on the speed of your internet connection.

Step 4

After the extension has been uploaded the above message should be displayed in a blue bar: Install Plugin Success. Below it is a short explanation on how to use the plugin. Don't worry about this yet though as we will go through that step by step as well.

First we have to activate the plugin, so go to the Plugin Manager which can be found under the Extensions menu.

Step 5

Look for a plugin called Content-BotR and check the checkbox before it. If you are running a relatively basic Joomla install you should be able to find it at around the same location as in the above screenshot.

After clicking the checkbox click the Enable button to activate the plugin. You are now ready to start using Bits on the Run videos in your content.

Let's give it a go!

Step 6

First we need a video we want to embed in our new content so login to your Bits on the Run account and select a videofile you wish to use from the list of mediafiles.

In the next screen select the Show preview and codes option in the bottom right of the page (1). From the next page we need the line of JavaScript embed code (2). Because we use our own tags in Joomla you need to select just the part pointing to the javascript file, the part which is shown in bold below.

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://content.bitsontherun.com/players/YGTKZIpP-496.js">

Copy (ctrl+c / Command+c) this part and go to the next step.

Step 7

Create a new article in Joomla. To embed your Bits on the Run movie you use the custom {botr}{/botr} tags. So to embed the video we just selected you enter the following line:

{botr}http://content.bitsontherun.com/players/YGTKZIpP-xxx.js{/botr}

That's it!

Publish your post and it should show your movie. Happy posting!

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