PH Cloud – User Guide

Overview

PH Cloud is a unified platform that provides:

  1. DAV Server
  2. DAV Web Client
  3. IMAP/SMTP Email Web Client

You may use any or all of these features depending on your personal or organizational needs.

Each Joomla! user receives access to a single DAV server endpoint, but can create multiple email and DAV client accounts, allowing centralized access to emails, files, calendars, and contacts from various providers.

1. Installation & Updates

1.1 Initial Installation

  1. Install the PH Cloud extension via Joomla! Extensions Manager.
  2. Ensure the related plugin is enabled.

1.2 Updating

Method A — Install New Version Over Old (Recommended)

  1. Download the latest ZIP from the vendor site.
  2. Go to Extensions → Manage → Install.
  3. Upload the ZIP file.
  4. Joomla! will detect it as an upgrade.
Do NOT uninstall the old version — this deletes all data.

Method B — Joomla! Remote Update

  1. Add your Download ID in PH Cloud Options.
  2. Go to Extensions → Update.
  3. Click Find Updates.
  4. Update if a new version appears.

If Something Breaks After Update

Joomla! may occasionally fail to copy all files.

Reinstall the ZIP manually using Method A.

1.3 Uninstallation

  1. Go to Extensions → Manage → Manage.
  2. Search for PH Cloud.
  3. Select the Package entry only.
  4. Click Uninstall.

This removes all PH Cloud data.

2. Configuration

2.1 Categories

A default category is created automatically.

You may create additional categories as needed.

2.2 General Settings

SettingDescription
Contacts CategoryCategory where each user’s address book is stored.
Auto Save ContactsAutomatically save recipients to Address Book when sending mail.
Accounts CategoryCategory where new user accounts are stored.
Accounts AccessJoomla! ACL level for default accounts.
Under iFrameEnables integration with other extensions.
Show TimeDisplay date/time in frontend.
Class StylingAdjust email table styling to match your template.

2.3 Permissions (ACL)

Configure Joomla! ACL to control who can access PH Cloud.

Registered users typically need additional permissions enabled.

3. Accounts Management

3.1 Accounts List View

Users can:

  1. Create accounts
  2. Edit accounts
  3. Delete accounts
  4. Set a default account

Each account may connect to:

  1. Local PH Cloud DAV server
  2. Remote DAV servers
  3. IMAP/SMTP email servers

3.2 Editing an Account

General Tab

  1. Account name
  2. Access level
  3. Default account selection

Email Configuration Tab

Enter IMAP/SMTP details from your email provider.

DAV Client Configuration Tab

Leave empty to use local server, or enter remote DAV credentials.

Publishing Tab

Admins may change category or assigned user.

4. Integration With Other Extensions

PH Cloud supports embedding via:

?tmpl=component

This allows embedding inside:

  1. Articles
  2. Modules
  3. Other extensions
  4. iFrames

Example iFrame URL:

https://yourdomain.com/mails?tmpl=component

5. Technical Requirements

Required

  1. PHP PDO (MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQLite)
  2. Session support
  3. Socket support

Recommended

  1. iconv
  2. OpenSSL
  3. mbstring
  4. FileInfo
  5. Mcrypt
  6. Zip
  7. Pspell

Required PEAR Packages

  1. Mail_Mime ≥ 1.8.9
  2. Mail_mimeDecode ≥ 1.5.5
  3. Net_SMTP
  4. Net_IDNA2 ≥ 0.1.1
  5. Auth_SASL ≥ 1.0.6
  6. Net_Sieve ≥ 1.3.2
  7. Crypt_GPG ≥ 1.2.0
  8. Net_LDAP2 ≥ 2.0.12
  9. kolab/Net_LDAP3 (dev-master)

php.ini Recommendations

  1. memory_limit > 16MB
  2. file_uploads = On
  3. session.auto_start = Off
  4. magic_quotes_runtime = Off
  5. magic_quotes_sybase = Off
  6. mbstring.func_overload = Off

6. Email Client

6.1 Email List View

Features include:

  1. Sort by subject, date, size, sender
  2. Pagination (default 20)
  3. Search (subject, sender, body, etc.)
  4. Auto-refresh every 5 minutes
  5. Compose / reply / forward
  6. Move to trash / delete
  7. Mark seen/unseen
  8. Flag/unflag
  9. Move between folders
  10. Download email (.eml)

6.2 Compose / Edit Email

Features:

  1. Signature auto-insert
  2. Quoted message for replies/forwards
  3. Insert Joomla! article text
  4. Select contacts from address book
  5. Save to Drafts automatically

7. Contacts Management

7.1 Contacts List

  1. Create / edit / delete contacts
  2. Sort and search

7.2 Contact Fields

  1. Name
  2. Address Book
  3. Nickname
  4. Image
  5. Email
  6. Phone
  7. Address
  8. Notes
  9. Birthday
  10. Website
  11. Organization

Preferred contact methods supported.

7.3 Address Books

  1. Create new address books
  2. Edit or delete existing ones
  3. Sync with external devices

8. Contact Synchronization (CardDAV)

8.1 Android

Use any CardDAV client with:

http://example.org/phcloud/carddav.php

Login with Joomla! username/password.

8.2 iOS

Settings → Mail → Contacts → Calendars → Add Account → Other → Add CardDAV Account

Server:

http://example.org/phcloud/carddav.php

If SSL fails:

  1. Disable SSL
  2. Set port to 80

8.3 macOS

Same as iOS, using:

http://example.org/phcloud/carddav.php/principals/username/

Older macOS versions require manual plist editing.

8.4 Thunderbird

Requires:

  1. Thunderbird
  2. SOGo Connector
  3. Lightning Add-on

Add Remote Address Book:

http://example.org/phcloud/carddav.php

9. Calendar Management

9.1 Views

  1. Agenda
  2. Day
  3. Week
  4. Month
  5. List

9.2 Creating Calendars

  1. Open Calendars view
  2. Click New Calendar
  3. Enter name and color

9.3 CalDAV Sync

Primary CalDAV URL:

http://example.org/phcloud/caldav.php

Supports:

  1. iOS
  2. macOS
  3. Thunderbird Lightning
  4. Other CalDAV clients

9.4 Creating Events

  1. Title
  2. Calendar selection
  3. Date/time
  4. Location
  5. Description
  6. Repeat rules (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, advanced patterns)

9.5 Deleting Events

Delete individually or in bulk from list view.

10. Files (Web Interface)

10.1 File Operations

  1. View
  2. Download
  3. Version history
  4. Delete

10.2 Navigation

  1. Click folders to open
  2. Use breadcrumb navigation
  3. Use browser back button

10.3 Uploading & Creating

  1. Upload files
  2. Create folders

10.4 Selecting Files

  1. Select single or multiple items
  2. Bulk delete

11. WebDAV Access

11.1 WebDAV URL

http://example.org/phcloud/webdav.php

Use Joomla! username/password.

11.2 Linux

Nautilus

davs://example.org/phcloud/webdav.php

KDE Dolphin

webdav://example.org/phcloud/webdav.php

Command Line (davfs2)

  1. Install davfs2
  2. Add credentials
  3. Add mount entry to /etc/fstab
  4. Mount via mount ~/phcloud

11.3 macOS Finder

Go → Connect to Server:

http://example.org/phcloud/webdav.php

11.4 Windows

Command Line

net use Z: https://example.org/phcloud/webdav.php /user:youruser yourpassword

Windows Explorer

Map Network Drive → Enter:

https://example.org/phcloud/webdav.php

Notes

  1. Basic Authentication must be enabled in registry
  2. Self-signed certificates require manual trust import

11.5 Cyberduck

  1. Server: example.org
  2. Port: 80 or 443
  3. Path: phcloud/webdav.php

12. Known Issues & Solutions

Linux davfs2 lock issues

use_locks 0

Certificate warnings

Add certificate to /etc/davfs2/certs/ and configure servercert.

Windows HTTPS issues

  1. SNI limitations
  2. TLS version restrictions
  3. File size limits (FileSizeLimitInBytes)
  4. Office WebDAV issues (see KB2123563)
  5. Self-signed certificate trust import required