Downloads

The Downloads module is the place to hand out files to the community: a spreadsheet, an e-book, a PDF, a template, a ZIP package. The space can be a repository (several files and folders) or one file only. Each item is free for whoever sees the space, sold through a product or included in a plan.

Files are stored in a private area. Nobody gets a permanent address: each download creates, on the spot, a link that works for 5 minutes.

#What it's for

#How it works

#Repository or one file only

When you create the space, the How the space works step asks for the mode:

In One file only mode, the Create Space window gets a fourth step, File: you pick the file, the Title comes filled with its name and the Description is optional. Upload file creates the space, the draft item and the upload in one go, and the window ends open on the item. The file starts as a free draft: nobody sees it until you publish, and you set the price later, in Price and sale. If the item or the upload fails, the space already exists: the step keeps what you filled in and only retries what was missing.

In Repository, categories are optional (the screen suggests Spreadsheets, E-books and Templates). Each item has at most one category, and a category that has items can only be removed after you move or delete those items.

#File or folder

Each item in the space is a file or a folder:

On the item's page, the list is called File or Files in this folder, and the team's bar Manage this file or Manage this folder. Edit opens Edit file or Edit folder, where you adjust the title, cover, description and category; the price lives in Price and sale.

A new item starts as a Draft (only the team and the author see it). Publish requires at least one file. Unpublishing sends the item back to draft.

#Accepted files

The upload area shows the rule in two lines, one per group:

See all formats opens the list of extensions in each group.

• There's no limit on the number of files.
• No executables and no other file type. Memberfy checks the file's content, not just the extension: an executable renamed to .pdf is refused and deleted.
• A refused file is named before it uploads: "script.exe" is not an accepted format. Accepted formats: … (the groups above) or "big.pdf" is larger than 200 MB, the limit for this file type.
• The upload goes straight from your browser to storage, and you can send several files at once by dragging them. Next to the percentage you see the speed and the time left (Sending... 42% · 3.2 MB/s · about 2 minutes left).
• Long uploads: while a file is going up, the screen warns "Don't close or reload this tab until the upload finishes." (the browser also asks before you leave). If the connection drops, you see "The upload was interrupted. Try again." with the Try again button, which restarts that file's upload.
• Files count toward the community's storage. At the plan's limit, new uploads are refused and what's already stored stays (see Plan and extensions).
• Each person can make up to 60 media uploads per hour (Downloads files and other hosted media); past that, the screen asks you to try again later.
• Replace puts another file in its place; Remove file asks for confirmation ("Whoever already downloaded it keeps their copy."). Whoever downloads later gets the new file. Removing the last file of a published item sends it back to draft.
• In a folder, the order of the files changes with Move up and Move down.

#Who uploads and who sets it up

The owner and the admin can open uploading to members in Who can post. This adds to the space's access rule: whoever doesn't see the space neither uploads nor downloads.

#Approving members' items

With Review members' items on in the space settings, an item created by a member stays In review, hidden from others, until the team decides in the moderation queue. The space's In review tab shows the queue.

• Approve publishes the item at once, if it already has a file (the author doesn't need to publish again).
• Reject asks for the reason, and the author is told.
• Editing a member's published item sends it back to review.
• The team's items don't go through the queue.

#Price and sale

Each item is created with a product linked to it, as a draft and free. On the item's page, at the top of the right column, the team sees the Sale card, which opens the product to set the price, stock and plans, and to publish. See The Sale card. This product has the Download kind and can't be deleted separately: deleting the item archives the product. See Product types.

#Who downloads

• Whoever has no access sees the item with a lock: title, cover, price and the Buy button, without the file names and without a link.
• A refund, a chargeback, the end of the access period and leaving the plan close access to new downloads. Whoever already downloaded keeps the copy they have, but having downloaded before doesn't guarantee access: only the current rule counts.
• An item that was free and becomes paid: whoever hasn't bought it and has no plan that includes it now needs to buy it, even if they downloaded it before.
• Stock (optional): if the product has stock and it runs out, the item shows as sold out and the waitlist comes in. With stock set, even an item priced at zero goes through a "get it free" confirmation to take the unit.
• The purchase confirmation e-mail for a download leads to My downloads (sign-in required), never to a file link.

#My downloads

Each member sees what they can download under Billing › My purchases › My downloads: the items bought, included in the plan or free, with where the access comes from (Purchased, In your plan, Free), the purchase date, the last download and, when there's a deadline, "Access until". The list only shows what the person can actually download, with dates in the community's time zone.

#Download from the list

In the space's list, each card has a button at the bottom to download or buy without opening the item. The rest of the card still opens the item page.

An empty folder and a free item without access have no button. A download from the card counts in the team's counters like any other.

#Listen and watch

MP3, WAV and MP4 files play on the item's own page, with the Listen (audio) or Watch (video) button, for whoever can download the file. MPEG is download only. Playing doesn't count as a download in the team's counters.

• If the video is slow to start: "The video is taking a while to start. You can download the file instead."
• If the player doesn't load: "Could not load the player. You can still download the file."

#Stamp PDFs

In Edit for the item, whoever manages an item that has at least one PDF sees the Stamp PDFs switch (off by default). When it's on, whoever downloads a PDF gets a copy with a small gray line at the bottom of the last page: "Downloaded by {e-mail} on {date and time}", in the community's time zone.

• The team and the author download without the stamp, to check the file. The original is never changed.
• A PDF over 25 MB, password-protected or corrupted comes out without the stamp, and the download works normally.
• Other file types aren't stamped.
• The stamp helps trace a leak, but doesn't prevent it: whoever has the file can share it.

#Counters for the team

On the item's page, the team sees how many downloads there were, in total and by distinct people, per item and per file, and the date of the last one. The team's own downloads aren't counted. Members don't see counters. The numbers show how many, not who.

Display. The owner and the admin choose how items appear in this space: Cards, List or Compact (default: Cards). See Display.

#Step by step

#Create the space

Role: owner or admin.

1. In Add Space, choose the Downloads module.
2. In the How the space works step, choose Repository or One file only.
3. In a repository, add the Categories (optional) and, if members will upload, turn on Review members' items.
4. Set the visibility and Who can post, and create the space.

To change the mode, the categories or the approval later, use Space settings in the Space management bar. In One file only mode, the screen shows a single management bar, the file's: Space settings and In review (when items are waiting for approval, with the count on the bar) sit in its ⋯. Switching to One file only with an item that has two or more files is refused.

#Upload a file

Role: whoever the space lets create.

1. In the space, click New file (in one-file mode, Add file) and pick the file. In a repository you can pick several.
2. The New file window shows the upload: "Each file starts as a draft, titled after the file. Open it afterwards to adjust the title, cover, description, category and price." When a single file finishes uploading, its page opens.
3. On the file's page, use Edit for the title, description, category and cover, and Price and sale for the price.
4. Click Publish.

#Create a folder

Role: whoever the space lets create. Only in Repository mode.

1. Click the arrow next to New file and choose New folder.
2. Fill in Title, Description, Category and the Cover, and click Create folder.
3. On the folder's page, drag the files in or use Choose files.
4. When they've all finished, click Publish.

#Upload many files at once

Role: the team (owner, admin, moderator and finance), when the space's Who can post lets it create. Only in Repository mode: in One file only mode the button doesn't appear.

To upload a batch of materials at once, each one becoming a file in the space:

1. At the top of the page, click the arrow next to New file and choose Upload multiple files. The window explains: "Each file becomes an item in this space, titled after the file name. You can edit each item later."
2. In Category for the items, pick the category for the whole batch (or none).
3. Leave Publish when done on (the default) so each item is published as soon as its file finishes uploading. When it's off, "Items stay as drafts, visible only to the team."
4. Drag the files into the window, or click Choose files and select several. To add more while uploading, use Add more files.

• The same accepted files and limits apply: audio and video (MP3, WAV, MP4 and MPEG) up to 4 GB each; documents and others (PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, CSV, TXT, images and ZIP) up to 200 MB each. A file with a refused type or size shows its error before uploading, without stopping the others.
• Each file shows its status (Creating the item..., the upload percentage, Publishing..., Published or Saved as draft) and, if it fails, the error. When it can be resumed, Try again picks up from the step that failed.
• Closing the window doesn't stop the upload, but closing the tab does ("Uploads keep going if you close this window, but don't close the tab until they finish."). The space page shows a progress line ("Uploading: 3 of 10 files ready") and a View uploads button that reopens the window. The item list refreshes as each one is ready.
• Afterwards, open each item to add a description, cover, price or more files, as with any file.

#Sell the item

Role: owner or admin.

1. On the item's page, click Price and sale.
2. Set the Price and, if you like, the stock and the plans that include the item, and publish the product. See Products. Publishing a priced product requires approved Business Information; a free product doesn't.
3. Whoever has no access now sees the price and Buy.

#Download

1. Open the item and click Download next to the file ("The download link is made when you click and works for 5 minutes."). Or, in the space's list, use Download at the bottom of the card (see Download from the list).
2. To review what you have, open My downloads.

#Examples

The course e-book. A Materials space (Repository, Private visibility). The file Excel from Scratch E-book is published at US$ 29. Students see the lock and Buy · US$ 29.00; whoever bought it downloads it. The file Exercise spreadsheet, with no price, is for all students.

The house manual. A Manual space in One file only mode: only the team uploads, and every member downloads the PDF. To publish a new version, the team uses Replace on the file.

Members' templates. A repository with the Templates category. The admin opens uploading to members and turns on review: a template sent by a member only shows up after the team approves it.

#Common errors and how to fix them

#Frequently asked questions

Can the file link be shared? It works for 5 minutes and is created for whoever clicked. If you want to trace where a PDF leak came from, turn on the stamp.

Can I sell a file without creating a product? No: every item has its own product, as a free draft, and the price is set on it.

Does someone who bought the item lose access if I replace the file? No. The new file applies to the next downloads; access continues.

Can I download all of a folder's files at once? Not yet: each file has its own button.

Is there an antivirus? No. Memberfy blocks executables and checks the type by the content, but doesn't scan files for viruses.

#Through the assistant

The assistant sets up the space, creates items, uploads files (by link up to 200 MB, of any type, or as base64 up to about 7 MB; audio and video over 200 MB only through the app), publishes, shows the counters and, for whoever downloads, lists the downloads and hands over the 5-minute link. See Tools · Downloads.

#E-mail notice

When you publish a download for the first time, the team sees the Notify by e-mail · N people box, checked by default: 10 minutes later, whoever has access to the space and kept the Downloads and materials category on gets an e-mail. It goes out once per item; editing or publishing again doesn't resend. See New content notices by e-mail.

#In the API

GET and PUT /api/downloads/spaces/{spaceId} (mode, categories, approval; the GET also returns fileLimits, with defaultMaxBytes, serverUploadMaxBytes and categories, the type and size rule the screen shows); GET and POST /api/downloads/items, GET, PUT and DELETE /api/downloads/items/{id}; files under /api/downloads/items/{id}/files (upload-url, which returns the type's maxBytes, confirm, reorder, {fileId}/replace and DELETE {fileId}); POST /api/downloads/files/{fileId}/download (returns the 5-minute link and stamped); GET /api/downloads/files/{fileId}/stream-url (the link to play audio and video, valid for 3 hours, with the same rules as the download and up to 240 requests per hour); GET /api/members/me/downloads; GET /api/downloads/items/{id}/stats; and the queue GET /api/moderation/downloads/pending. The community comes from the X-CommunityId header. The 1:1 product comes in the item's product field, and each file in files[] carries playable and player (audio or video).

#Related

• Products
• Plans
• Moderation
• Modules
• Member billing