Download folder - Relocating
With Zen Cart it is possible to relocate the “download” folder outside your webroot folder so that thieves cannot directly link to real files on your server and download without paying or being authenticated.
To do this, you must:
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Choose a download method of either “Download by Streaming” or “Download by Redirect” from Admin > Configuration > Attribute Settings.
If you’re using a Linux server, either option is suitable.
If you’re using a Windows server running IIS, you may not be able use redirects (depending on PHP version and whether or not your server allows PHP symlinks). Instead, you will need to use Download by Streaming in order to handle secured downloads. -
Use your FTP tool to move your “download” folder outside your webroot. Perhaps drag-and-drop it to a level “above” your
public_htmlfolder. The method you choose for moving or creating this folder will depend on your hosting account and the tools available to you for moving folders.Usually the “download” folder is located inside your store area, for example:
/home/my_user_name/public_html/mystore/download
You want to move it “above” your
public_htmlfolder, something like this:/home/my_user_name/download
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Edit your two configure.php files to show the new path to your download folder:
/includes/configure.php/YOURADMIN/includes/configure.php
In Zen Cart 1.5.5 and higher:
There is no line setting DIR_FS_DOWNLOAD in these versions of Zen Cart. You must add a line to the bottom of your configure.php files that says something like
define('DIR_FS_DOWNLOAD', '/home/my_user_name/download/');
In Zen Cart 1.5.4 and lower:
You’ll need to edit the line that says this:
define('DIR_FS_DOWNLOAD', DIR_FS_CATALOG . 'download/');
to look something like this:
define('DIR_FS_DOWNLOAD', '/home/my_user_name/download/');
Specifically, you need to indicate the exact complete path for the webserver’s filesystem that points to your download folder. You could use your DIR_FS_CATALOG entry in your configure.php file as a reference, and make appropriate adjustments. Your FTP program and/or your webserver’s hosting control panel should be able to help you understand the complete path.
As an example, if your DIR_FS_CATALOG value is set as follows:
define('DIR_FS_CATALOG', '/home/jimmy/public_html/store/');
then you would want
define('DIR_FS_DOWNLOAD', '/home/jimmy/download/');