thanks Stefano
Worked perfectly, here is what i did:-
[root@sme8server ~]# mkdir -p /etc/e-smith/templates-custom/etc/php.ini
[root@sme8server ~]# echo "magic_quotes_gpc = off" > /etc/e-smith/templates-custom/etc/php.ini/11MagicQuotes
[root@sme8server ~]# expand-template /etc/php.ini
[root@sme8server ~]# signal-event ibay-modify Primary
not sure if this is the correct way to do it, but it has worked.
Not sure how many people use joomla, but version 3 is very different, got to get my teeth around it, but it looks very simular just a different way of doing things. Also seems faster.
thanks
John