The BOX of Joomla Extensions

JExtBOX Login to Read More

This plugin automatically hides the full text of an article when a non-logged-in user attempts to access the article. It displays optional intro text with customized notification, such as a login form.

This plugin automatically hides a primary part of the web page content and displays a customized notification, such as a log-in form, when a non-logged-in user browses the front-end web pages. The plugin supports Joomla core articles. Also, it has an integrated log-in module. After successful log-in, the integrated log-in module redirects to the current article.

Extension
plugin
Compatibility
J5, J6
Version
4.0.0
Last update
Fri, 2 Jan 2026
1'st release
Mon, 16 May 2011
Price
$10.00
JED page
ext...org /...-read-more
Live demo
Visit demo
  1. Supported CCK: Content (com_content)
  2. The primary filter: The list of categories and article IDs
  3. Additional Filters: Date (Published Up, Created, Modified), Featured Status, Content Tags
  4. Log-in options: Integrated log-in module, Joomla default log-in, Text message only, Custom URL with title, Load module by module name or module position with or without additional text message
  5. Article Visibility: Intro text only, Limited text /HTML tags, paragraphs, words, characters/ and Nothing
  6. Source of Limited text: Intro text or Whole content
  7. Size of Limited text: The number or percent of HTML tags, Paragraphs, Words, and Characters
  8. Overrides read more links.
  9. Search Engine Bots: Whether or allow search engine bots to read the full content.
  10. Adds meta-tags for Search Engine: no-archive and no-index.
  11. Removes empty <p> tags. For example, it removes an empty paragraph, which is added when inserting the read-more separator.
  12. Skip count: The maximum number of articles (requests) will be allowed full access.
  13. Cache control

Version 4.0.0. Jan 2, 2026

Compatibility Improvements

Updated codebase to follow Joomla 5 API standards

Security Enhancements

  1. Added **real bot detection** using DNS reverse lookup for improved content-protection security.
  2. Sanitized and validated article truncation operations to avoid HTML injection or malformed DOM output.
  3. Improved logout link security:
    1. Uses Joomla’s CSRF token via `Session::getFormToken()`.
    2. Prevents logout links from appearing in module contexts.

Functional Changes

  1. Improved visibility logic for unauthorized users:
    1. Optimized content-limiting system (HTML tags, paragraphs, words, characters).
    2. Added correct percent-based calculation for each limiting mode.
    3. Clearing $article->fulltext after truncation to prevent leak-through.
    4. Ensured $article->text always matches processed introtext.
  2. More robust category, ID, tag, featured-state filtering:
    1. Normalized input values.
    2. Corrected edge cases where tag lists or extra fields were empty.
  3. Removed K2 integration.
  4. Removed captcha-related functions.

Bug Fixes

  1. Fixed DOMDocument warnings by wrapping content in <body>.
  2. Fixed incorrect percent calculations when the percent exceeded 100.
  3. Fixed issues where truncated output still contained unprocessed HTML.
  4. Fixed tag filtering when the internal Joomla tag object structure changed.
  5. Fixed repeated application of the plugin by enforcing a consistent JextboxLoginToReadMore_is_affected flag.
  6. Fixed cases where the login message appeared even when the article wasn't truncated.

Code Quality

  1. Cleaned up legacy and commented-out code paths.
  2. Simplified multiple nested if/else blocks in access-checking logic.
  3. Centralized session and identity handling for maintainability.
  4. Improved naming consistency and separated filter responsibilities.

Behavior Changes

  1. Search engine bots now bypass all login and visibility restrictions using improved real-bot verification.
  2. Unauthorized users see a cleaner, standardized login prompt.
  3. Read-more override follows a predictable ruleset based on configuration + visibility outcome.

Version 3.24.0. Oct 29, 2023

  1. Joomla 5 compatibility with the B/C plugin
  2. Used a session instead of a cookie to store authorization data.

General Instruction

We recommend setting the order of this plugin to 1st in the content type because the plugin modifies the article text when preparing it for front-end display.

Search Engine Optimization

It has two parameters: "Allow Search Engine Bots" and "SEO Metatag". If you enable it, the following search engine bots can access the whole article: Googlebot, Bingbot, DuckDuckBot, Applebot, Yandexbot, Baiduspider, Ahrefsbot, Semrushbot, MJ12bot, Petalbot, CCbot, and Gptbot.

To prevent crawling, set the "SEO Metatag" parameter to "No-index". We recommend the option "No-archive" to you. Because if you select "No-archive", search engines crawl your site content, but don't show any content, such as cache, in their search results.

Supported Components

The latest version of the plugin was developed and tested with the core "Content" component only.

Mixing Categories and Articles Lists

It's about the following plugin parameters: "The Primary Selection of Content" and "The Additional Filters on Content". Generally, "Article Selection" takes precedence over "Category Selection". See below.

Category Selection Article Selection Result: "Login Message"
include include yes
exclude include yes
exclude exclude no
include exclude no

For example, let us consider the following case. The ID of an article is 24. It belongs to the "Uncategorized" category with a category selection type of "Exclude". The article ID is included in the "Articles" list, and the article selection type is "Include". In this case, it displays the login message.

Login Options

  1. Integrated Login Module
    Visitors are redirected back to the current article or item after successful login.
  2. Joomla! Default Login
    Link to the core login page.
  3. Text message only
    Text message below content.
  4. Custom Login URL
    Link to your custom login (registration, subscription, etc.) page.
  5. Load Module
    Loads your favorite module by its name.
  6. Load Module with Login Message
    "Text message only" + "Load Module"
  7. Load Module Position
    Load your favorite modules by their position name.
  8. Load Module Position with Login Message
    "Text message only" + "Load Position Position"

The relation between Login options and other parameters is illustrated in the following table. The login options are numbered as in the above list.

Login Options 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Encrypt Login Form   +            
Users Link   +            
Show in Popup Window   +            
Custom Login URL       +        
Module Name         + +    
Module Position             + +
Login Title + +   +        
Login Message + + + +   +   +

Article Visibility Options

  • Intro text only
    Text that is placed above the separator "Read More". In this case, you have to insert the separator in your article manually. The button for inserting the separator can be found on the toolbar of the default editor, TinyMCE.
  • Limited text
    Some parts (HTML tags, paragraphs, words, characters) of an article. If you no longer want to use the "Read More" separator on your website or have never used it, we recommend this option.
    Attention: It strips HTML tags when the options "words" or "characters" are chosen.
  • Hide text
    The entire text of an article isn't displayed.

Other Settings

Skip count
The maximum number of articles (requests) will be allowed full access. To deactivate it, insert 0.

Access Level
This plugin doesn't override the access level. Instead of access level, you have to use other things: article ID, category, featured status, and tags. The access level is very restrictive to incoming guests, readers, subscribers, and search engine bots. We therefore recommend this plugin to Joomla users. In this case, you need to set the article's access level to "Public". In other words, you don't need to change it. Because "Public" is the default value of the access level.

Cache-Control

The extension comes with its own plugin, which manages the Joomla cache for the com_content component. The plugin temporarily turns off the cache when a user browses an article or a list of articles. Thus, this extension can always hide the primary part of articles from unauthorized users.

Finally, don't disable the cache controller plugin, which is called "System - JExtBOX Login to Read More" when you use the extension.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Q. The extension is not doing what is expected.
    A. Did you enable the plugin or set the plugin order properly?
  • Q. How do I enable the plugin?
    A. First, open the page "Plugins". Then click the "Enable Plugin" button in the "Status" row.
  • Q. How to check and set the Ordering?
    A. 1. Open the "Plugin" page 2. Set the corresponding filter for articles 3. Click the Ordering button /up-down arrows/ 4. Set the order by dragging.
  • Q. What about core options such as Status, Access, and Ordering?
    A. These parameters are vital for working properly. You must set Status to Enabled, Access to Public, and Ordering = "Read related FAQ item".
  • Q. After creating a new category that requires login, the plugin doesn't show the login form when someone opens that article.
    A. You may need to configure the plugin again.
  • Q. Can the visitor be returned to the same page after login?
    A. You can use our "Integrated Login Module" to do it. In another case, such as "Load Module", it depends on your login module. For example, this is possible for the core login module of Joomla. You need the following options: 1. Login=Load Module 2. Module name="select name of the default login module /default name is Login/"
  • Q. Would Google scan the entire article?
    A. Yes. A bot registered to the "Search Engine Bots" list can crawl an article controlled by this extension. You can see bot names from the "Search Engine Optimization" section.
  • Q. How can I update to the latest version by using Joomla Updater?
    A. You should enter your payment or invoice ID into the plugin's configuration. Then, if a newer version is released, you will see a notification message about it on the dashboard or update center of your website.

JExtBOX Login to Read More is the Joomla extension.
Copyright (©) 2011 - 2026 Galaa

JExtBOX Login to Read More is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

JExtBOX Login to Read More is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If not, see www.gnu.org/licenses.

We accept PayPal.

Your purchase will be valid for 12 months. During this period, you can download purchased extensions and their upcoming newer versions free of charge.

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