About WP One Time File Download Plugin
WP One Time File Download (WP OTFD) is a Premium WordPress Plugin that generates Unique Download Links for your files. Simple to use and customize, fully compatible with any WordPress theme and plugin. Use it as a shortcode on your website and display it as a link/form or just generate download links from the admin dashboard.
Why you should use WP One Time File Download?
WP OTFD plugin will help you to grow your audience and engage more visitors on your website. A direct link to a file can be sent via multiple channels like slack, messenger, skype etc. and the user doesn’t have to visit your website to download it. Our plugin comes with a solution: it generates Unique Download Links for each visitor and once it was used to download the file, it will not work anymore. Of course, you can set a validity period for a download link – for example, from the moment that file was downloaded, the link should be valid 10 more minutes (or whatever value you want). To find out how to use the plugin, check the 'Plugin Functionality' section.
Installation
Step 1 – Installing the WordPress
First of all, you need to install the latest version of WordPress on your server. Installing WordPress is a quite easy process, almost all hosting providers have implemented tools to automate this process. However, if you wish to install WordPress yourself, we recommend you to check this tutorial.
Step 2 – Downloading the Plugin
Next, you have to download the plugin from the CodeCanyon Downloads page. If you have not bought yet the plugin, then you can get it from here.
Step 3 – Installing the Plugin
Follow these steps to install the plugin:
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Extract the archive package
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In your WordPress dashboard (admin panel), go to Plugins
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Select the 'Add new' tab in the top panel:
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Choose the 'Upload Plugin' button and upload the wp-one-time-file-download.zip file from your extracted plugin package folder and click the 'Install Now' button
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Now, click on 'Activate button'
That's all. WP One Time File Download plugin is installed and you can start creating Unique Download Links on your website.
Creating new entries
The main great functionality WP One Time File Download plugin gives you is to create unique download links. Check the article below to see how easy is to generate the new shortcode and display the links.
First of all, you have to install the plugin on your WordPress website. Here is a quick tutorial on how to do this.
If the plugin is already installed, in the admin dashboard, on the left side menu you’ll see a new section -> WP OTFD (shortened for WP One Time File Download).
Click on it – a new page will be displayed. On the top left corner a button will be displayed – click on it to create a new shortcode.
Then, a new page will be displayed:
You have to complete the form and then click on the ‘Save’ button.
1. Title - this field is required. The shortcode title that will be displayed on Admin page
2a. File - choose the file from your media gallery that will be downloaded by accessing Unique Download Link.
2b. External File - if needed file is hosted on external server, then you simply paste external url here.
3. Filename and extension - sometimes, you'll want to hide the real filename and extension from the users. In this case, add here a new filename and extension for the downloaded file. IE: if your uploaded file is under /uploads/2018/07/20/yourfile.zip - users will download file named yourfile.zip. If you'll add in current field the value archive.zip - the downloaded file will be named archive.zip
Important: extension added in this field MUST match the file extension
4. Link validity period from the moment it was created - here you can choose how long a link should be valid after it was created. Set the equals to 0 if you want it to not expire. The value should be set in minutes. For example, 24 hours = 1440 minutes. So if you want the link to expire after 24 hours, even if it wasn't downloaded, set the value to 1440.
5. Link validity period from the moment file was downloaded - here you can choose how long a link should be valid after it was accessed and the file was first time downloaded. If set to 0 then it will expire instantly (the file will be available for download only 1 time). If set to 10 then download link will expire after 10 minutes and so on.
6. How do you want to display the link - with WP OTFD you can display the shortcode in 2 ways:
- as a regular link and file will be available for download on click
- as a form and user will receive the download link via email after form submission
7 - 10. See "Choosing form field & labels"
11. Save button - the button to save the shortcode
Click on the save and the shortcode will be created. Copy and paste it into the page/post where you need the Unique Download Link to be displayed.
For more details about displaying the form and sending the link via email, please check the next article.
Adding the Email Subject, Sender and Content
Once you’ve set up the form, you can to add the content of the email that user will receive when the form is submitted:
9-a. Email: Subject line - Here you can set the Email Subject that user will receive when the form will be submitted.
9-b. Email: From line (email address)- Here you can set the Email From Address that user will receive when the form will be submitted.
9-c. Email: From line (name)- Here you can set the Email From Name that user will receive when the form will be submitted.
9-d. Email: Content - Here you can set the Email Content that user will receive when the form will be submitted. You MUST USE {{LINK}} in the email content as it will be replaced with the Unique Download Link.
All done. Click on the 'Save' button, then copy the generated shortcode and paste it into the post/page where you want to display the form.
Displaying the shortcode as regular link
If you need to display the shortcode as regular link or as an image, then you have to follow the steps described below:
6. Choose the option "As regular link"
12-a. Link title - this will be the link title that will be displayed in the frontend.
12-b. Link CSS class - if you need to add specific CSS classes to the link, please use this field.
12-c. Will the shortcode be used on posts, pages or widgets? - this option is related to caching plugins. If you're using the shortcode in pages that can be cached, then you should select "Yes" value. If you're using the shortcode in 3rd party plugins, like mailster, that is sending email via PHP and is not cached, then you should check "No". In other words, by selecting "Yes", Unique Link will be generated via Javascript, else via PHP.
All done. Click on the 'Save' button, then copy the generated shortcode and paste it into the post/page where you want to display the form.
Validity Period for a File Download Link
- Link validity period from the moment it was generated - here you can choose how long a link should be valid after it was created. Set the equals to 0 if you want it to not expire. The value should be set in minutes. For example, 24 hours = 1440 minutes. So if you want the link to expire after 24 hours, even if it wasn't downloaded, set the value to 1440.
- Link validity period from the moment file was downloaded - here you can choose how long a link should be valid after it was accessed and the file was first time downloaded. If set to 0 then it will expire instantly (the file will be available for download only 1 time). If set to 10 - the download link will expire after 10 minutes and so on.
Deleting the shortcode
To delete the ‘WP One Time File Download’ shortcode go to edit page, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the delete button. Be aware that once the entry is deleted, the links will not be available anymore.
Displaying the shortcode
Displaying the Link/Form on a Page/Post via Shortcode
There are 2 options to get the shortcode of the 'WP One Time File Download' Entry:
1. On the entries preview page
2. On the edit entry page
Downloading the file
Introduced from version 2.1, a new functionality is available when accessing the download link: you can display a page with custom content and download link.
When the download link will be accessed, the content will be displayed as following:
Generating Unique Link
Generating the Unique Link & Copy to Clipboard
Sometimes you’ll want to generate a unique download link and send it via email, slack, messenger or another instant messaging service. You can do this with ‘WP One Time FIle Download’ plugin. Go to Admin dashboard -> WP OTFD page and scroll to the needed entry. Click on the ‘Generate Unique Link’ icon:
A popup will be displayed on the bottom right side:
Click on the ‘Copy to clipboard’ button. That’s it, now you can use/send/share the link.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my theme compatible with 'WP One Time File Download' plugin?
WP One Time File Download plugin should work fine with any 3rd party theme or plugin. It’s independent, doesn’t have any dependencies and should not create any conflicts. In case you’re having any compatibility issues, please open a support ticket on Pixolette’s Support Portal
Can I display the Shortcode with any Page Builder?
Yes, the shortcode will be displayed in any page builder if you’ll place it in an HTML, text orWYSIWYG editor.
How many links I can create?
You can create as many links as you want. There is no limit for a number of entries and links created with ‘WP One Time File Download’ plugin.
Can I create multiple shortcodes for same file?
Yes, you can create as many shortcodes as you want.There is no limit for a number of shortcodes that can be created for a single file.
Can I add 2 or more shortcodes on same page?
Yes, you can display multiple shortcodes on the same page. WP One Time File Download plugin is designed to work fine with multiple shortcodes.
How can I set an expiration date for a link?
To set an expiration time for a link you have to go to admin dashboard -> WP OTFD page -> edit the shortcode. In the form, you’ll find 2 inputs:
- This represents the number of minutes for the link to be valid after it was generated. Set value to 0 if you don't want the link to expire. If your shortcode is displayed as a form, then the link will be generated when the form is submitted. If the shortcode is displayed as text, then the link will be generated when the page is loaded.
- This represents the number of minutes for the link to be valid after it was accessed/file was downloaded. If you want the file to be available for download once - then set the value to 0.
Thanks again for purchasing 'Wp One Time File Download' plugin. Have fun!
Feel free to check the Pixolette website for WordPress tips and plugins.
Demo of the plugin: http://otfd.pixolette.com
If you have any questions that are beyond of the scope of this documentation,
please feel free to email us at support@pixolette.com or open a ticket here.
Support services will only cover theme setup, trouble using any features, and bug fixes. Regretfully we can't always provide support for modifications or 3rd party plugins issues. Thanks for your understanding.
