Already in 2006, as no one talks about CCK for the content management system Joomla! Sigsiu.NET developed a component for Joomla! which has content construction support. Designed as a business directory (online business index) Sobi2 could already be used for every kind of directory. Therefore everything what the operator of a website wants to get listed in a directory like companies, clubs, persons, shops or products can be created.

All fields which are necessary for your directory can be created easily using the Fields Manager. There are several field types to choose from like text input fields, text areas (w/o WYSIWYG editor), check boxes, check box groups, select lists (drop down lists), simple text fields or a calendar field.

Sobi2 shows the data in two views. In an overview (Category View) all entries of the directory will be shown in such called V-Cards (similar to small business cards). Each entry has a link to its detailed description (Details View). You can define which fields should be shown in which view with a simple click in the Fields Manager. Therefore it is also possible that a field isn’t shown in any of the views. With that you can ask personal data from the authors of your entries without showing them on the site.

For a better lucidity of the directory, the entries within Sobi2 are divided into categories. For that a Category Manager is available. With the Category Manager you can create, edit and also delete categories within your directory.

For the administrator of your site there is an Entry Manager in the administration panel of Sobi2 available. With this Entry Manager you can easily create, edit or delete an entry. You can also edit those fields in the Entry Manager which are not accessible for the author of the entries in front-end.

Sobi2 sends out emails on occurrence of different events like adding, editing or renewing entries by the author or also if an entry is approved by the administrator. It is adjustable if only the author of the entry and/or also the administrator will get an email. The Joomla! user group which will get the administrator emails is freely selectable. Also a selection of several groups is possible.

Sobi2 has its own style sheet file (CSS). Nearly almost all elements of SOBI are addressable by CSS classes (or IDs) and therefore configurable. Change specifically margins, colors or fonts only by changing the CSS file. The CSS file can be edited comfortably in the Sobi2 administration panel, using an editor with syntax highlighting.

If you want to make advanced adaptations to the shown data of the entries in your directory there are separate templates available for the V-Card view and for the detailed view. With some HTML skills and using the so called template commands, you can easily create your own views.