Grant public access to file

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by

Jochen Schumacher

Hello, I would like to enable public access to individual protected files in “Groups File Access”. I have not found anything about this in the documentation. Can you explain a solution for this?

Best Regards
Jochen

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3 responses to “Grant public access to file”

  1. George Avatar
    George

    Hey Jochen,

    Sure I don’t reject your idea and can check if your request can be included in a future update of the plugin.
    In the meantime, you have correctly noticed two possible options that cover your request. Especially for the second one, it’s not even necessary to download and then re-upload these special files, but instead copy them through your hosting server( via shell or cPanel/Plesk/any-other-GUI-Management-panel) and then using a tool like Media Sync, you can scan your media for these “new” files to be included. This way your files will be available in the Media section, where from you can share their public access URL.

    Kind regards,
    George

  2. Jochen Schumacher Avatar
    Jochen Schumacher

    Hello George,

    I agree, restricting access to a file is the central purpose of the plugin. However, if you think about the lifecycle and context of documents, there are multiple scenarios that require restrictions to be lifted. It may also be necessary to temporarily or permanently depublish a document that has already been published.
    My client’s reality currently requires the publication of previously restricted documents.

    I could imagine creating a “public users” user group with rights to download/read files. Files that I assign to this user group are then publicly available. This is quickly done via a multiple selection.

    The alternative would be to download all files and upload them to the WordPress media folder, and then manually replace the links from Groups FileAccess.

    In the case of my customer, this involves around 90 files. So this is a comparatively time-consuming procedure.

    Can you imagine adding this feature? It would be helpful.

    Best regards
    Jochen

  3. George Avatar
    George

    Hi Jochen,

    The main purpose of the plugin is to restrict access to files, but based on the above you are looking for a way to override that restriction which contradicts its concept. If a file needs to be publicly accessible, then it shouldn’t be restricted and on the other hand if a file is restricted then it shouldn’t be publicly accessible.
    Can you please elaborate the purpose of your request?

    Kind regards,
    George

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