Pretty Protected Downloads manual

Below you will find the following manuals for "Pretty Protected Downloads":

• Installing Pretty Protected Downloads with the download
• Configuration of Pretty Protected Downloads
• Update Pretty Protected Downloads
• Uninstall Pretty Protected Downloads

Installing Pretty Protected Downloads with the download

These steps download Pretty Protected Downloads and install it in Joomla by uploading the file.

1. Download the Pretty Protected Downloads plugin from GitHub (free, no account needed):
   
   Download Pretty Protected Downloads
   
   Under Assets, click the ZIP file plg_fields_prettyprotecteddownloads-1.2.0.zip (1). A newer version has a higher version number in its name. The file is downloaded. Do not unzip it, and remember where you saved it.
   
   
2. Open the back-end (administrator) of Joomla, usually at https://<yourdomain>/administrator/. Enter your Username (1) and Password (2) of a Super User account and click Log in (3).
   
   
3. In the menu on the left, click System (1).
   
   
4. In the block Install, click Extensions (1).
   
   
5. The tab Upload Package File (1) is open. Drag the ZIP file into the frame (2), or click the green button Or browse for file (3), select the file and click Open.
   
   
6. The plugin is installed right away. The message "Installation of the plugin was successful." appears (1).
   
   
7. You can now set up the plugin. See Configuration of Pretty Protected Downloads.

Configuration of Pretty Protected Downloads

These steps set up the plugin after you installed it with the manual above. The plugin is enabled as soon as it is installed. The example makes a field called Downloads and offers two PDF files with an article.

1. Log in to the back-end (administrator) of Joomla with a Super User account. You usually find it at https://<yourdomain>/administrator/. Then click System in the menu on the left, as in steps 2 and 3 of the first manual.
2. In the block Manage, click Plugins (1).
   
   
3. Type Pretty Protected in the search field (1) and press Enter. Click Fields - Pretty Protected Downloads (2).
   
   
4. Click the tab Storage (1) and choose where the files are stored:
   • Storage Location (2): choose Outside the web root (recommended). The files then have no web address at all. If your hosting gives you no writable folder outside the website, choose Inside the web root, closed with .htaccess. An .htaccess file is only read by Apache and LiteSpeed; on other web servers you have to block the folder yourself.
   • Folder (3): the full server path of a folder next to the folder of your website, for example /home/account/protected-downloads when your site is in /home/account/public_html. The folder is created on the first upload when it does not exist yet.
   • Keep Unused Uploads For (days) (4): how long a file that was uploaded but never saved with its article is kept.
   Click Save and then look at the Status (5). It shows the folder as last saved: whether it is writable, whether it lies inside or outside the web root, and the largest upload the server allows.
   
   
5. Click the tab Uploads (1):
   • Allowed File Types (2): the extensions editors may upload, separated by commas. Scripts, web pages and SVG images are never accepted.
   • Maximum File Size (MB) (3): the largest file that may be uploaded. The upload limit of the server applies as well.
   • Allow Code Inside Zip Archives (4): No by default. Only set it to Yes if you want to offer ZIP files that contain code, such as an extension package.
   
   
   
6. Click the tab Downloads (1). At Download Button Lifetime (minutes) (2) you set how long a download button keeps working after the page was loaded. A visitor who waits longer is asked to reload the page. Click Save & Close.
   
   
7. Now create the field. In the menu on the left, click Content and then Fields. Click New (1).
   
   
8. Fill in the field:
   • Title (1): the name of the field, for example Downloads.
   • Type (2): choose Pretty Protected Downloads. The page reloads and shows the options of this field type.
   • Display (3): Buttons shows a row of download buttons, Cards a grid of cards with title and description, and List a compact list. With Cards the options Card Classes and Card Title Level appear as well.
   • Show File Type and Size (4): shows for example "PDF, 1.2 MB" with each download.
   • Button Classes (5): extra CSS classes for every download button of this field, for example btn-sm w-100.
   • Status (6): leave this on Published.
   • Access (7): who may download the files. This comes on top of the access of the article and the category. Choose Registered, for example, to show the files to logged-in users only, even on a public article.
   With Category you limit the field to articles in certain categories. Click Save & Close.
   
   
9. Open the article the files belong to, or create a new article: click Content, then Articles and New. Enter the Title (1). The field is on the tab Fields (2), with a green plus button (3). Save a new article once with Save (4) before you add files.
   
   
10. Click the tab Fields (1) and then the green plus button of the field. Fill in the fields of the file:
    • File (2): click Choose file and select the file. It is uploaded right away; below the button you see the allowed file types and the maximum size.
    • Button Text (3): the text on the download button.
    • Title (4) and Description (5): the title and the description of the file. The display Cards shows both.
    • Icon Classes (6): the class of a Font Awesome icon on the button, for example fa-solid fa-file-pdf.
    • Button Style (7): the CSS classes of the button. Leave it empty for btn-primary.
    • With the green plus button (8) you add another file, and with the red minus button (9) you remove this file. A removed file is deleted from the server as soon as you save the article.
    
    
    
11. Click Save (1) to save the article and keep it open, or Save & Close (2) when you are done. The files only show on the website after the article has been saved.
    
    
12. The result on the website (1). Visitors who may see the article and the field download the file with the button. The file has no web address of its own: every download goes through Joomla, which checks the access first.
    
    

You can find examples here: https://extensions.tlwebdesign.nl/en/pretty-protected-downloads

Update Pretty Protected Downloads

When a new version is available, Joomla shows it in the back-end, just like updates of other extensions. Important: always make a backup of your website before updating!

1. Log in to the back-end (administrator) of Joomla with a Super User account.
2. On the Home Dashboard, in the block Notifications, click Updates are available! (1). You can also click System and then, in the block Update, Extensions.
   
   
3. Tick the box in front of Pretty Protected Downloads (1) and click Update (2). In this example the plugin goes from version 1.1.0 to 1.2.0.
   
   
4. The message "Updating plugin was successful." appears (1).
   
   
5. Check on your website that Pretty Protected Downloads still works properly.

Uninstall Pretty Protected Downloads

If you no longer want to use Pretty Protected Downloads, you can uninstall it.

1. Log in to the back-end (administrator) of Joomla with a Super User account. You usually find it at https://<yourdomain>/administrator/. Then click System in the menu on the left, as in steps 2 and 3 of the first manual.
2. In the block Manage, click Extensions (1).
   
   
3. Type Pretty Protected Downloads in the search field (1) and click the magnifying glass (2).
   
   
4. Tick the box in front of Pretty Protected Downloads (1), click Actions (2) and then Uninstall (3).
   
   
5. Joomla asks whether you are sure. Click Yes (1).
   
   
6. The extension is removed. A message confirms that uninstalling the plugin was successful (1).
   
   

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