Downloadable products - how to create?

Background:

• A downloadable product is a digital item such as an ebook, a music file, an image or a software product.

• Downloads are handled as product attributes. So, first, you should familiarize yourself with setting up attributes.

• Download files must be loaded by FTP to your store’s  /download directory before trying to link those files to products/attributes. For greater security, you can relocate the downloads folder outside your web space.

• You may serve your downloads from a remote URL by providing that URL as the filename. You may also serve them from AWS S3 with special syntax. See download_delivery_methods/#serving-files-via-aws for details on syntax and on setting your AWS credentials.

• Other important facts about downloads are linked at the bottom of this article.

To add a Download Attribute to a product

1. Go to Option Names and create an Option Name that is either Radiobutton or Dropdown Call it something like:  Download

2. Go to Option Values Manager and add what you want to call it example: Zip File
   If you have multiple choices you could have these as the Option Names you create:

   • MS Word Zip
   • Plain Text Zip
   • etc.

3. Go to Attributes Controller and find the Product. Add the Attribute as:

   Option Name: Download
   Option Value: MS Word Zip
   Sort Order: 10
   Filename: (enter name of file you uploaded to the  /download folder)

   Option Name: Download
   Option Value: Note Pad Zip
   Sort Order: 20
   Filename: (enter name of file you uploaded to the  /download folder)

Then at the bottom of the screen, set the fields:

• Filename: - name of the zip file
• Expiry days - how many days the download should be available for
• Maximum download count: - the number of downloads that are permitted

Now when shopping, the customer can choose the format.  Depending on your downloads you will want to adjust how you configure things.

If using Radio buttons and have multiple selections, be sure to set one as a default.

To make multiple downloads on the same product

For each download item, you need an Option Name
For each Option Name, you need one or many Option Values depending on the choices needed

Let’s use an example:

If you have 5 downloads on one Product you need 5 Option Names and 1 Option Value per name:

Option Names:

Download 1 Option Type: Radiobutton,  Sort Order 10
Download 2 Option Type: Radiobutton,  Sort Order 20
Download 3 Option Type: Radiobutton,  Sort Order 30
Download 4 Option Type: Radiobutton,  Sort Order 40
Download 5 Option Type: Radiobutton,  Sort Order 50

Option Values

Now, for each Option Name you make an Option Value.

The most common reason for having multiple downloads on a product is that the download is big so it is broken into parts for easier access and safer downloading.

In such a case, you just need 1 Option Value per Option Name. This means you just have 5 downloads to go to the Product

If you have many multiple downloads, say each Product has 5 downloads you can pattern this so the names make sense when read on the screen

Example for 5 Downloads it would read:

Download 1 of 5
Download 2 of 5
Download 3 of 5
Download 4 of 5
Download 5 of 5

For 3 Downloads it would read:

Download 1 of 3
Download 2 of 3
Download 3 of 3

Make the Option Values as needed:
Option Values:
Option Name pick from dropdown Download 1
Option Value Name: of 1
Option Value Sort Order: 10

Option Name pick from dropdown Download 1
Option Value Name: of 2
Option Value Sort Order: 20

Option Name pick from dropdown Download 1
Option Value Name: of 3
Option Value Sort Order: 30

Option Name pick from dropdown Download 1
Option Value Name: of 4
Option Value Sort Order: 40

Option Name pick from dropdown Download 1
Option Value Name: of 5
Option Value Sort Order: 50

Then make a set for Download 2, 3, 4, 5

Note: when making these, only make patterns that match.

Download 3 of 1 doesn’t make sense so don’t make an Option Name: of 1 for the Option Name: Download 3

Adding to Products via Attributes Controller

Now you can make the Attribute read correctly based on how many download types it has.

Note: You may find a better pattern of text so you don’t get lost in making the Attributes.

In Attributes Controller:

Option Name: Download 1
Option Value: of 5 [Download 1]
Download filename of file already uploaded to the /download folder.
Number of Days and Downloads

Option Name: Download 2
Option Value: of 5 [Download 2]
Download filename of file already uploaded to the /download folder.
Number of Days and Downloads

Option Name: Download 3
Option Value: of 5 [Download 3]
Download filename of file already uploaded to the /download folder.
Number of Days and Downloads

Option Name: Download 4
Option Value: of 5 [Download 4]
Download filename of file already uploaded to the /download folder.
Number of Days and Downloads

Option Name: Download 5
Option Value: of 5 [Download 5]
Download filename of file already uploaded to the /download folder.
Number of Days and Downloads

Don’t worry on the Sort Order as you set the defaults when these were made.

When done adding the Downloads, click on the Update Sort order button and all will sort nicely.

Another way of looking at it:

1. Options Names Manager …

Add an Option Name: Downloads (could have called this anything)
Option Type: Radiobutton or Dropdown

2. Option Values Manager …

Add an Option Value:
Option Name: Downloads (from dropdown)
Option Value: PDF
Default Sort Order: 10

3. Attributes Controller …

Find Product …
Pick from Option Name dropdown: Downloads
Pick from Option Value dropdown: PDF [DOWNLOAD]
Enter the filename: test.zip or whatever
Enter the number of days
Enter the number of download attempts
Set as Default
Set Sort Order (if needed or after adding you can run the Update Sort Orders)

Click Insert …

If the file is already uploaded to the /download folder (and it needs to be), then you should see a green dot next to the filename …

Now just test and make sure from add to cart to checkout to download that all is working for you.

Additional Notes about Downloads and Shipping Costs

Downloads know there are no shipping costs automatically due to the fact that you added a Download filename to the Attribute.
Thus, Downloads should NOT be marked as Always Free Shipping, and should NOT be marked as Virtual Products.

File Permissions for Downloads

Files for download (ie: all the files in the “download” folder) should be marked as read-only. Setting to 644 should be sufficient.

The download/ “folder” itself is typically set to 755, which is the normal default permissions setting for folders.

If you are using download-by-redirect, then your pub/ folder needs to be read-write, typically 755, depending on the server.

Important Facts about Download Settings

1. Downloads are NOT Virtual Products so use:
   Product is Virtual: No, Shipping Address Required

2. Downloads are NOT Always Free Shipping so use:
   Always Free Shipping: No, Normal Shipping Rules

3. Downloads in an order by itself will never see the checkout_shipping page. If you do then your Product is not setup correctly for Downloads.

4. If on Linux/Unix, /pub should be writable (usually 755 depending on the host server) and Redirect should be ON
   If you cannot use Redirect ON, ask your hosting site why they cannot follow the symbolic link between the /download and /pub directories

5. If on a Windows server, /pub does NOT need to be writable/755 since you do not use this directory because symlinks typically don’t work on Windows servers, and Redirect is OFF since Redirect requires symlink support.

6. Download filenames should not use special characters, spaces, etc. Stick to letters and numbers.

7. Download files should be zipped for best results and best compatibility for most customers and most browsers.

8. Download files should be loaded to the /download directory

9. On the Admin > Catalog > Attributes Controller page, you should see a green dot next to the filename of the Download itself. Similarly, on Admin > Catalog > Downloads Manager, you should see a green dot next to the file.

Restricting Downloadable Products

There are two important restrictions you can put on downloadable products:

• How long the download will be available after purchase (Download Expiration)
• How many times a file may be downloaded (Number of Downloads Allowed)

These may both be set under Admin > Configuration > Attributes.

Combo Products

A combo product is a product with a physical and downloadable component.
Read more about downloadable combo products.

See Also:

• Downloads - why do they not activate after checkout
• Download Delivery Methods
• Moving your Download Folder
• Verifying Correctness of Downloadable Products