Joomla! Module for SuperSaaS Appointment Scheduling

SuperSaaS is a flexible online appointment scheduling system that works with many different businesses. This page explains how to integrate it into a Joomla based website. To be able to use it you will first need to sign up for a (free) SuperSaaS account.

Using Joomla login names for your SuperSaaS schedule

The SuperSaaS Joomla module displays a "Book now" button that automatically logs the user into a SuperSaaS schedule using his Joomla user name. If you are not using the Joomla user registration system then you should instead follow the general instructions to integrate a schedule on your site.

The button generated by the module passes the Joomla user database information along to SuperSaaS, creating the user in the SuperSaaS database or updating his information as needed. This saves users from having to create a separate login for the booking system and avoids the need to log in twice.

Installation and setup of the module in Joomla

1. Install the module. On the Joomla administrator page go to "Extensions" → "Extension Manager" and under the heading "Install from URL" enter the web address:
   • For Joomla 1.6, 1.7, 2.5 or 3.0 enter "http://assets.supersaas.com/plugins/mod_supersaas_25.zip"
   • For Joomla 1.5 enter "http://assets.supersaas.com/plugins/mod_supersaas_old.zip"
   (You can also download the module to your computer first and use "Upload File & Install")
2. Set up the module. Go to the "Extensions" → "Module Manager" screen and click the module name ("SuperSaaS login") to go to the "Module:[Edit]" screen. Set the "Enabled" button to "Yes", set the "Access Level" to "Registered" and fill out the "Parameters" section:
   • SuperSaaS account name. This is name of your account (not your e-mail address)
   • SuperSaaS password. This is the password that the administrator uses to log in to SuperSaaS
   • Schedule name or URL. You can either put the name of a schedule or you can provide a full URL if you want to add specific parameters to direct the user to a specific view
   • Button image.
     
     (See more buttons)
     If you leave this blank a standard button will be used, alternatively you can enter a URL like this one "http://assets.supersaas.com/book_now.png"
   • Custom domain. If you created a custom domain name to point to your schedule then you can enter it here to correctly point your users to it
   

If you are using more than one schedule with SuperSaaS you can create multiple buttons by making copies of the module on the "Module Manager" screen. You can then set up each copy to point to a different SuperSaaS schedule.

Change SuperSaaS account settings to work with Joomla

Your Joomla user database is leading, which means that changes in user information on your Joomla site propagate to SuperSaaS but not the other way around. Therefore it is recommended that you do not let your users change their user information on SuperSaaS because that could easily confuse them. For example, if a user were allowed to change his password on SuperSaaS he would probably not realize that his Joomla password is still the same. Make the following changes to your SuperSaaS account to avoid such inconsistencies:

• On the "Access Control" page select the button "Log in and registration managed on your site"
• On the "Access Control" page select the check box "Prevent users from updating their own information"
• On the "Layout Settings" page fill out the field "Your URL" with the page on your site where users can log in

Secondly, you need to ensure that the database fields in Joomla match those in your SuperSaaS user database. Make the following changes on the "Access Control" page:

• On the "Access Control" page deselect the check box "Use e-mail address as login name"
• Switch the "E-mail address" radio button that appears to "Optional" (or Mandatory)
• Switch all other fields to "Don't Ask" (you can switch off the "Password" field too if you have selected "Login is not handled here")

You can now try out the button on your site. As the administrator, you will still need to log in through the main SuperSaaS login page so you would want to try this out pretending to be a regular user. If you want to define "superusers" in SuperSaaS make sure they have logged in at least once using the button before changing their role on the "User Management" page.

Troubleshooting tips

• Note that the button only appears to users who are logged in to your Joomla site
• If you see an error "Email is not a valid e-mail address" then please read the previous paragraph again to confirm you have made the correct settings in your SuperSaaS account
• If you see an error "Login name is a reserved word" then make sure you are trying the process as a regular Joomla user, not while logged in as administrator
• If the button redirects the user but does not appear to actually log him in and you have used a URL in the field "Schedule name or URL" then make sure that the domain of that URL is entered in the field custom domain name

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