One of the major benefits of using open-source software like Open Journal Systems (OJS) is the ability to extend its functionality through the use of plugins. OJS has a large community of developers who create and maintain a wide variety of plugins that can be easily installed to add new features and functionality to the system.
Some popular examples of OJS plugins include:
- Themes: These plugins allow you to change the look and feel of your OJS website. There are a variety of free and paid themes available that can be used to customize the appearance of your site to match your journal’s branding.
- Export-Import: These plugins enable you to export and import content from one OJS installation to another. This can be useful if you need to move your journal to a new server or if you want to create a backup of your journal’s content.
- Authentication: This plugin allows users to log in to the system using their existing accounts from other platforms like Google, Facebook, Twitter, and others.
- Quick Submit: This plugin allows authors to submit articles to your journal with just a few clicks, bypassing the standard OJS submission and review workflow.
- Google Analytics: This plugin allows you to integrate your OJS website with Google Analytics, giving you access to detailed statistics about your website’s traffic and user behavior.
Most of these plugins are free, and you can find them by searching the OJS plugin repository. They are also easy to install, and typically only require a few simple steps to set up. This makes it easy for journals to add new features and functionality to their OJS system without having to write complex code or pay for expensive custom development.
Manage plugin #
The plugin list is available on the OJS back-end dashboard by accessing Settings -> Website and clicking the Plugins tabs.
Although OJS provides a very simple way to install the plugin by clicking any plugin name on the Plugin Gallery tab, however, we find that it is actually not as simple as that. This step required your server to enable the shell_exec function on your PHP settings and unfortunately, many Cpanel users cannot activate it or it is disabled by the hosting provider since it will open vulnerability to the web app and be prone to abuse by other Cpanel user on the same host.
There are other reasons to know how to install the plugin with other methods :
- Some other plugins made by the third party also not available on that plugin list
- Since the plugin file resides on the PKP server, some of the plugins may be out of date when you need to upgrade the current ones.
- shell_exec or tar function is not available on your Cpanel / server.
In this article, we recap more methods for installing any plugin for your OJS system. Before we continue make sure you have access as Journal Manager on your OJS system.
So, there are 3 ways to install plugins. i.e:
- Downloading directly from the Plugin Gallery
- With “Upload A New Plugin”
- By entering the server Cpanel or FTP
By downloading directly from the Plugin Gallery #
First of all, you go to your OJS Dashboard. Then you go to Settings > Website (Plugins > “Plugin Gallery”).
In this “Plugin Gallery”, there are many plugins available for OJS. All of the plugins here are free, so choose a plugin according to your needs for your OJS site.
As an example / demo, I will download the “Custom Header Plugin”. Please see the GIF image below.
If you get a pop-up that shows “tar function is not available … ” you can take the other method for installing the plugin that will be explained below.
After you have succeeded in installing the plugin, don’t forget to activate it on the “Installed Plugins” tabs.
Upload A New Plugin #
Before starting, your plugin must be a .tar.gz extension. Otherwise, your plugin can’t be uploaded.
First of all, you go to your OJS Dashboard. Then you go to Settings > Website (Plugins > “Installed Plugins”).
then select “Upload A New Plugin”
Later asked to upload files, and upload the plugins that you want to install into your OJS Journal. For example, I uploaded the “AddThis” plugin. After that, click “Save” to confirm the upload.
And “AddThis Plugin” was successfully installed into the OJS Journal.
That’s how to install plugins via “Upload A New Plugin”
Upload the plugin using the Cpanel file manager or FTP #
If the two methods above don’t work, there is a big possibility that there is a restriction on the server. Your server seems likely to restrict some functions such as tar, does not allow for uploading some files, restricts big file size upload, and other things. This method is used for uploading any plugin or theme provided by us because many servers do not allow using the previous two methods for installing a plugin.
Before following this last method there are two things that need worth considered:
- Be sure you have to get the plugin from a legitimate and trusted for the protection of your OJS system.
- Use the plugin with the correct version of your OJS.
Follow this step to install the plugin with this method :
First, open your server then go to your OJS folder path.
If so, go to your_ojs_folder/plugins/your_plugin type.
However, if you don’t know or forget the name of the plugin type. You can check the version.xml of your plugin. You can see an example of the GIF video below.
From the video above, I got the type Import / Export plugin. So I’ll upload it into the import / export folder.
And the QuickSubmit plugin was uploaded successfully.
“But my plugin is not an “Import/Export” type. Where to look?”
It’s in the Plugins settings. Located in Settings -> Website (Plugins).
Conclusion #
So, those are 3 ways to install plugins to your OJS site.
If you’re still confused, please leave a comment below and we’ll do our best to answer any questions you may have.
Hope it is useful.
