Frequently asked questions

Can I create a credit invoice in ccInvoices?

Creating a credit invoice in ccInvoices can be done via a workaround. Just copy the invoice, and add a – in front of all amounts. The extension will give the invoice a new number, and that is all it takes in at least the Netherlands.

Can I integrate extension XYZ with ccInvoices?

At the moment ccInvoices does not have default support for processing an invoice for other Joomla! extensions like Open Source MSC, Akeeba Subscriptions and JomRES.

It is possible however, for an experienced Joomla! developer, to write a Joomla! plugin specifically for another extension to create and process an invoice in ccInvoices. We do not do custom projects at the moment. If you are looking for a Joomla! developer elance.com, freelance.nl and resources.joomla.org.

Error “TCPDF ERROR” when creating an invoice PDF

While creating a invoice PDF you might come across these errors. These are related to having an image/logo in the invoice template.

• TCPDF ERROR: Can’t open image file
• TCPDF ERROR: Unable to create output file
• TCPDF ERROR: Unable to get size of image

If you get any of these TCPDF errors while creating a invoice PDF, please try all below solutions. In most cases using images will work out of the box. On some specific server configurations images might not load and PDF generation will shown an error such as -TCPDF ERROR-. Unfortunately, Chill Creations has experienced that these issues are so specific to the server/site, that we can not assist in fixing these. A Google search of those errors shows that there are a lot of causes for these issues, most often by the server configuration (and not the software, in this case ccInvoices).

So, please do try the below solutions, but if they do not fix the issue, your best option is to remove the image or logo and instead use text to display your company name.

Solution 1: Don’t use the {logo} tag

We have removed the {logo} functionality from all views in ccInvoices 2.1.1. It will probably still work in existing sites because we have not yet removed the underlying code. But if you encounter issues, you will need to stop using the {logo} tag.

Why? The externally included {logo} tag for loading an image in a PDF invoice always caused a lot of issues on different hosting platforms. A fix for one customer would cause issues with other customers. In the end it just wasn’t reliable enough. It’s actually more stable to add a logo directly in the “Invoice PDF” template. Follow the below steps to make the switch:

• Go to Components > ccInvoices > Templates > Invoice PDF
• Find the {logo} tag and remove it
• Use the editor (TinyMCE or JCE, or any other you are using) to upload and use your logo in the template

Solution 2: Check general file permissions

The server permissions for the downloads folder are not set correctly. Set the below folder CHMOD to 755.

Before ccInvoices 2.x: /administrator/components/com_ccinvoices/assets/files

Since ccInvoices 2.x: /media/com_ccinvoices/logo/

The path to the image and the image itself should be writable. Most of the time file rights at 755 will be enough, and your hoster will advise you to use 777. We do not advice using CHMD 777 because it opens a security vulnerability to your site, if you have to, tell your hoster to make the server more secure! They can install suphp to improve this.

Solution 3: Check specific file/image permissions

Sometimes, behind the error you will see a file name, for example “TCPDF ERROR: error message /media/com_ccinvoices/logo/1234567.jpg”

In that case: first you can try to set the permissions of that (image) file differently. For example set it to CHMOD to 755 or 777 (depending on your server settings). We do not advice using CHMD 777, if you have to, tell your hoster to make the server more secure (and use suPHP)!

Solution 4: Recreate and rename the image

Sometimes, behind the error you will see a file name, for example “TCPDF ERROR: error message /media/com_ccinvoices/logo/1234567.jpg”

The image might be corrupted when it was saved (with Photoshop for example) or corrupted when it was uploaded to the server. Re-create  and rename the image, save it in another extension (.jpg or .png) and upload it again. Then replace the new version with the old version of the image.

Can I re-add the original invoice template for ccInvoices?

Yes. If you modified the invoice template, or for some other reason, want to re-add the default invoice template, you can download it and re-install it.

You can download zip file containing all default templates at the bottom of the Templates in ccInvoices manual chapter. Then open the file in a HTML or text editor, and copy it. Then go to Extensions > ccInvoices > Templates. In this view, click on the HTML or code button in your WYSIWYG editor and remove the current code. Then add the code from the default template there.

How to disable Bootstrap or jQuery in ccInvoices

ccNewsletter 2.x and up: In ccNewsletter 2.x+ we implemented “Chill Creations Bootstrap” to load Bootstrap and jQuery in sites that do not load them already. You can disable “Chill Creations Bootstrap” in the configuration of our extensions. Older versions: Assuming that your template folder is called mytemplate, copy: media/akeeba_strapper/strapper.ini to templates/mytemplate/media/akeeba_strapper/strapper.ini Then read the contents of strapper.ini to learn how to disable Bootstrap and/or jQuery. These settings will automatically apply to all extensions that use Akeeba Strapper, such as ccNewsletter, ccInvoices, CookieConfirm and all extensions from Akeeba.

Can I add support for Chinese or Japanese characters in the PDF?

Yes, you will need to select a different font. Because the font is so large, it is a separate download and not part of the normal ccInvoices install package.

• First install the latest version of ccInvoices.
• Then select “Droid Sans Fallback” in “Font Type” dropdown in Components > ccInvoices > Templates > Invoice PDF > PDF Settings
• Download and unzip droidsansfallback.zip
• Unzip droidsansfallback.zip, it should contain 4 items
• Via FTP, upload those 4 items to the location /administrator/components/com_ccinvoices/assets/tcpdf/fonts
• Check that the file permissions are correct

You should now be able to create Invoice PDF’s with Chinese or Japanese characters.

Can I add support for Arabic characters in the PDF?

Yes, you will need to select a different font. Because the font is so large, it is a separate download and not part of the normal ccInvoices install package.

• First install the latest version of ccInvoices.
• Then select “Dejavu Sans” in “Font Type” dropdown in Components > ccInvoices > Templates > Invoice PDF > PDF Settings
• Download and unzip dejavusans.zip.
• Unzip dejavusans.zip, it should contain 3 items
• Via FTP, upload those 3 items to the location /administrator/components/com_ccinvoices/assets/tcpdf/fonts
• Check that the file permissions are correct

You should now be able to create Invoice PDF’s with Arabic characters..

No Action Toolbar icons on site invoices overview?

If you so not see the action toolbar it is possible that your template does not support the default Joomla! User Interface Library (JUI) which required Bootstrap javascript and CSS to be loaded. It’s very irritating that template developers still do that, without providing a fallback. If they don’t use Bootstrap, they should have fallback for the Bootstrap styles in their templates, because a lot of Joomla! extensions use Bootstrap for UI elements like buttons, as a best practice.

You can add the calls to the library yourself, and hopefully it will not create conflicts with your template. If adding Bootstrap is problematic, an alternative solution is to create a template override of the ccInvoices page and adjust the buttons to use the template or your own styles (or just text).

To add Bootstrap:

• Go to Extensions > Template Manager > Templates > Your template
• Open (to edit) index.php
• In the template header add
  •  beneath JHtml::_(‘bootstrap.framework’);
  • JHtmlBootstrap::loadCss()

Stripe button is not shown in “Pay invoice” overview

If you want to use Stripe as a payment provider and also use JCH Optimize Pro, go to Extensions > Plugins > System – JCH Optimize Pro > Exclude options > Exclude all internal SCRIPT declarations and set it to YES.

How to use invoices with deferred VAT

ccInvoices has very basic support for invoices with deferred VAT.

• Add ‘none’ or ‘geen’ to your possible tax values in ccInvoices > Configuration > Tax settings in format none;0;9;21 for example.
• If you also want to hide the labels “Tax”, “Tax %” etc, you can use conditionals in ccInvoices > Templates > Invoice PDF. The format should be: {if:invoice_tax_total}Tax:{/if}
• Open the invoice where no tax should be added in ccInvoices > Invoices
• For one of the invoice items select “none” as Tax percentage, the entire invoice will then not display taxes
• You might want to add a message to the invoice note saying “VAT deferred”