Quick Start

Fast path: EasySocial first, backup second, Compat third, cache fourth, then actually click the pages that used to fatal.

Prerequisites

Install EasySocial from StackIdeas before you upload Compat. Confirm Joomla 4.4 or newer with PHP 8.1 or newer. Log in as a Super User. Download the current package from https://recreatinganew.com. Take a full site and database backup because install-time patches change EasySocial files on disk.

Install and enable

Open System → Install → Extensions and upload the Compat ZIP. Enable System - RCA EasySocial Compat if Joomla did not enable it automatically. Read install messages carefully. Successful patch lines mean those EasySocial files updated and .rca-orig backups were written. Warnings about changed or missing targets mean patches did not fully apply. Write those warnings down before you close the page.

Set story photo paste

Open System → Plugins → System - RCA EasySocial Compat. Set Enable story photo paste to Yes if you want clipboard paste in the story composer, or No if you do not. Save.

Clear cache and verify

Clear Joomla cache under System → Clear Cache and clear opcode or CDN cache you control. Hard-refresh the frontend. Load pages that used to fail. Publish one article, edit it twice, and confirm the activity stream shows one row that updates instead of duplicates. Test emoji search and optional paste in the story composer.

Retire Photo Paste

If you still run the old standalone EasySocial Photo Paste plugin, remove it after Compat 1.2.4 or newer works. Photo paste now lives inside Compat. Do not run both.