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Groups File Access
File downloads for authorized users
Groups File Access is a WordPress plugin that allows to provide file download links for authorized users. Access to files is restricted to users by their group membership.
- Provide file downloads for Premium Members.
- Allow registered users to download files from your site.
Features
- Restrict access to downloads to authorized user groups
- Full multisite support (WordPress network installations)
- File management area
- Upload files via FTP and bulk import
- File access notifications (customizable)
- Flexible shortcodes: [groups_can_access_file], [groups_can_not_access_file], [groups_file_info], [groups_file_url], [groups_file_link], [groups_file_visibility], [groups_file_access_service_key]
- Limited or unlimited number of downloads per user
- Key authentication file access
Access to files is restricted by group membership. To be able to download a file, a user must be a member of a group that is assigned to the file. If an access limit has been set for the file, the user must also have accessed (downloaded) the file fewer times than the file’s access limit.
If you want to restrict access to a file to users that belong to a certain group, create the group, add the desired users to the group and assign the group to the files that the group should be able to access. More than one group can be assigned to a file.
Shortcodes are used on posts or pages to render links to files, provide information about files and conditionally show content to users depending on whether they are allowed to access a file.
For example, the [groups_file_link group="Premium"] shortcode renders links to files that members of the Premium group can click to download the files.
Downloads
See the Groups File Access product page.
The GFA PDF Viewer is a free integration with PDF Viewer.
Documentation
See the Groups File Access documentation pages.
Demo
Please visit the Demo site.
access access-control capabilities capability content demo download downloads file file access file access control files group groups member members membership permission permissions
Comments
823 responses to “Groups File Access”
Hey there Kento
I bought this plugin and I can successfully hide my files from unregistered users (wohoo!)
BUT! There is one problem… I have a page with a video player (self hosted video player that I got from Origin Page Builder plugin). If I want to put videos on my page, I only have to put the video file url in that video box and everything is ok.
But if I tried to use my video file url that I uploaded in GFA, I cannot play the video.. even though I’m in the correct group.
Strange enough, some videos are playable.. and some are not. Does it have to do with sizes?
If you want to see it for yourself, give me your email, and I will give you the access to my website so you can see it for yourself
Hi Akmal,
That might be related to video type and how it’s played back (pre-loaded vs. streaming?) – yes I’d be interested to see that page, please send the link to support at itthinx dot com.
Hi Kento,
use a plugin is quite simple, but I can not find how I can show the type and size of file.
Thanks for the adviceSorry for my “english” 🙂
Hi Honza,
You can show the size using the
showattribute for example like this:[groups_file_info file_id="7" show="size"]See more on the usage of the shortcode in the Shortcodes section of the plugin’s documentation.
The plugin does not have a direct way to display the type of the file, that would have to be added manually to the info.
I sell custom virtual products using WooCommerce. The client downloads the product when it’s ready. I want to upload the product using GFA and notify the client with a link to the specific product as well as all products the client has purchased. I have Groups installed but not Groups for WooCommerce. (I’m hoping it’s not needed.) I assume I need a group for each client. Can I get away with a single downloads page, or do I need a separate page (or post) for each client? How to set up this use case? Thanks in advance for your help.
Based on what you describe I think you can handle this perfectly without the need to install anything else than Groups and GFA. I would create a group for each client as you suggest, and then you can set up a single downloads page where all files are listed for users. An example for that page would be:
[groups_non_member group="Registered"]
Please log in to access your files ...
[/groups_non_member]
[groups_member group="Registered"]
[groups_file_link group="*" description="yes"]
[/groups_member]I hope that helps you setting it up, thanks for using the plugins 🙂
Just updated and I’m getting this message on the Files page:
Fatal error: Call to undefined function mb_strlen() in /home/XXX/public_html/wp-content/plugins/groups-file-access/lib/admin/files.php on line 542
It looks like mbstring is not enabled. The instructions to enable it are on http://www.php.net/manual/en/mbstring.installation.php – if you’re using a Windows server also this answer might help.
Let me know if that helps, another option is to update the plugin so it doesn’t use these functions but the normal ones instead, although this is the first case I know of where this seems to have occurred.
I’m not currently able to upload files for this anymore. When I go to the group-admin-files page in the dashboard I get the following message at the top of the page:
Warning: Missing argument 2 for wpdb::prepare(), called in /home/XXX/public_html/wp-content/plugins/groups-file-access/lib/admin/files.php on line 472 and defined in /home/XXX/public_html/wp-includes/wp-db.php on line 992
can you assist?
Yes, please update the GFA plugin to the latest version. This is due to a version conflict that came up when that function was changed in WordPress quite a while ago.
It would be nice to have also Group filter in the Files section to help managing a large amount of files. Thanks, Jussi
Hi, it seems a good idea, thanks
Hi,
I’d like to translate Groups File Access to my language but I didn’t find languages folder or instructions how to do it. Please tell me how to proceed.
Hi Lariza, it’s prepared for translation but needs to have the plugin text domain loaded. I’ll update the plugin to take that into account and add a language template. You will see the update in a few days when it’s released.
Thanks for using the plugin, please rate it if you haven’t done so already 🙂
Hi,
i am using wc groups and want to protect images in the wp-content dir. I will write “premium” articles including images. These images should only be accessable, if the user is a premium member. Can Groups-file-access protect these images even if a non-premium-member knows the url of the image?TYI
Yes, you can use Groups File Access for this purpose.
An example:
This show the image if the user have the correct permissions.
I have a question on Groups and Groups File Access. I tried to find the solution from documentation without success.
Let’s say I have GROUP_A as a parent group and GROUP_B as its child group. Then I have a user X that belongs to GROUP_A. I have added files through Groups File Access which are all included in GROUP_B. In a page, I am trying to list all files that belongs to GROUP_B with shortcode [groups_file_link group="GROUP_B" description="yes"]. But when user X (logged in) opens the page, the files don’t get listed.
Am I doing something wrong? Or is there something with group hierarchy I don’t understand? My idea is to list documents of different categories using child groups. And user does not have to belong all those groups but only to their parent group.
Hi Jussi, GFA doesn’t take the group hierarchy into account in its current version. But I’d be happy to add that capability, note taken and should be available with the next release. Meanwhile the following approach can yield the same result: assign GROUP_A and GROUP_B to the files; use the shortcode
[groups_file_link group="GROUP_B"]to display the files related to GROUP_B. Users in GROUP_A will also be able to access the files. The only difference is that you need to specify the parent group as well for each file (not for the shortcode).Thanks Kento for your quick reply and the solution!
I have a Download site, want to implement access Premium but until now researched several plugins that manages the link and not the user. I want to manage the file will be downloaded and not the user. I want to host the file using either the plugin or not, what I want is that only the user that will have access to premium link, and if it passes it link to another user, that user can not download the file. In short I want a plugin that preteja the file will be downloaded so that the link will not be shared. And that is only possible if the user is downloading premium if he get the premium link and try to access another pc or browser, the link is blocked. And there can help me or indicate a plugin for worpress?
Att Yo Treves
GFA requires the user who wants to download a file through the link to be authorized, i.e. even if you have the link, you still need to log in to be able to download the file. Sounds like that’s what you want?
I’ve purchased the single user licence to see if I can achieve what I want. I have a WordPress site that will be issuing course materials to delegates so I need to set up closed user groups that will enable them to log in and have access to these resources. They would not normally be WordPress users but If I need to set them up it’s not a problem but I wouldn’t want them to have access to the dashboard, just use their log in details for verification to render the page with access to the materials.
You must create wordpress users and add their to a group, or create only an user that everybody use.
Maybe this plugin can help you to restrict access to dashboard.
cheersGetting to grips with the plugin now. Is it possible to present the wordpress login on a page of the site rather than the standard WP login page. If so this will enable me to achieve my aims.
There are a few options to do that. For example, you can build upon the examples using API functions (at the bottom) as explained here Customizing the Login Form or use a plugin like Better User Shortcodes.
I have searched the docs and comments, haven’t yet found a reference to being able to categorize file downloads; I apologize if I’ve missed it, but would like to know before spending money 🙂
Here is what I want to accomplish:
I have four groups: Open, Basic, Standard, Premium – with increasing access to file downloads, including the files allowed for lesser groups.
The files themselves are organized into categories and subcategories — about 5 deep, at present.
In the examples I have seen on your site, downloadable files are displayed in a paragraph format. However, I want users to see the files in a categorized list, perhaps in a table-style layout, one item per line:
Category:Subcategory
File Name | Description | File Size | File Type
File Name | Description | File Size | File Type
File Name | Description | File Size | File TypeCategory:Subcategory:Subcategory2
File Name | Description | File Size | File Type
File Name | Description | File Size | File Type
File Name | Description | File Size | File Typealternatively, a two-line-per-item display:
File Name | File Type | File Size
Description………………….File Name | File Type | File Size
Description………………….File Name | File Type | File Size
Description………………….Is this type of layout possible?
Also, I would like the user to be able to drill down to a subcategory, and show only the files in that subcategory.
Is this the right plugin to use, or should I be looking for something else? Thanks in advance.
Based on what you describe, if you would use GFA for this, I think you would need to customize some parts so that you can display things exactly the way you want it. The shortcodes it provides are quite flexible, but they wouldn’t allow you to display things exactly as you describe in the examples.
Regarding the file groups, that would be easy because you can grant access to any file to one or more groups.
Hi Kento, I’m using woocommerce to sell digital products. I would like to offer an option for my customers to purchase a membership so they can download any of the products on the website. Will the Groups plugin allow me to do this if so how?
Hi Clay,
I assume you provide digital products which you would give access through GFA to members. Given that you use WooCommerce, the way you could approach it would be to use WooCommerce Subscriptions to sell the memberships along with Groups WooCommerce which assigns paying members to a specific group. This group could then be used to grant access to the files through GFA.
If you do not require subscriptions (renewing membership through recurring payments), Groups WooCommerce alone would be sufficient as it allows you to sell membership based on a single payment for a limited or an unlimited amount of time.
Hi Kento,
I would like to the same thing that Clay. But I’m not sure to understand how we can give acess to all digital products to a customer. Firts, we need to assign members to a group, right.
But ater ? We need to add GFA shortcodes in description product ?
Or can we remplace “add to cart” button directly by files ?Regards.
Hi, for example, set up a group Premium, assign users who should be able to access files to that group; upload the files under Groups > Files and assign the files to the Premium group. Use the shortcodes to place file links – see http://www.itthinx.com/documentation/groups-file-access/shortcodes/ – and now the members have access to these files.
Instead of uploaded files, could I choose what links to display based on group membership? A person who is in the Project Admin group can see one link to a project management site, but others cannot?
I updated my site to VPS and now all my download links are broken. The file structure hasn’t changed, what might cause that do you think?
Hi Doug,
The documentation has been updated with instructions on how to update so that new paths are taken into account. See the section Moving to another Server on the Setup documentation page.
If file paths haven’t changed or you still have problems after the update, you can also create an admin account for us to have a look on the site directly (create one for support at itthinx dot com please).
I figured it out. For some reason, the plugin saves filenames to the database with hyphens rather than underscores. I changed all underscores in my files to hyphens with a batch name changer and reuploaded them to the file. Problem solved.
Also, there is a bug with the Export function. If you export then immediately import that file, it will delete all files in the folder without warning.
Thanks for the help.
Many thanks for reporting the bug Doug, you’re right, I’ve just tested it (export then import => files deleted). A really silly but important bug, I’ve just submitted the fixed version to CodeCanyon.
Regarding the changes in filenames, when you manually upload files it will modify the filenames to a uniform pattern, I think that’s what you saw there.
I’m glad you got it working now, also the suggestion for the bulk import was really welcome, I’ve been missing that myself. If you can take the time to rate the plugin, I’d appreciate it 🙂
Ahoy! Your plugin seems to be just what I need. I only have one question before I purchase it.
I see where you can be notified via email when a document is viewed, and it tells you which viewer downloaded the file. Is that information stored anywhere? I’d like to be able to generate a report every month that lists how many times each user has viewed each file.
Thank you!
John
Hi John,
It doesn’t store that information, it just sends out the notification when a file has been accessed. Close, but not exactly what you’re looking for 😉 I’m adding it to the list of suggested features though.
Cheers
Hi,
I’m having problems adding Files that are ~102MB even though it says “You can upload files up to 192 MB”. It doesn’t give me an error or provide any message. For example, when I click on “New File” and enter my description then I click on “Add”. From there it spins (assuming its uploading the file) for ~5-8 minutes then stops. I check the file list and it has not been uploaded. What do I need to do to solve this?
I think it will be more efficient to upload all files via FTP which is faster then specify the file location. How can I do that without trying to upload through WordPress?
Thanks!
Michel
Hi,
maybe is max_input_time problem.
One way to upload files via FTP, is creating a false file with the same name that the file you want upload (for example renaming a readme.txt file), and upload this throws Groups->Files.
After you overwrite this file with the real file using ftp (in wp-content/uploads/groups-files-access).
cheers
Thanks – another question 😀
Once I have uploaded files into groups, can I not link to them in the pages by using wp insert media?I need to list links to files on a page, where 5 links should appear under a headline
F.e.Meeting june 2013
– Program
– Slides
– etcc.Meeting may 2013
– Program
– Slides
– etcc.What is the best way to do this… ?
AnnaHi Anna,
You would rather use the
[groups_file_link]shortcode (see Shortcodes in the documentation).For the cases you mentioned, I assume you have different groups. You can either link to specific files using the
file_idparameter, or you can render links for the group using thegroupattribute specifying the group for which file links should be rendered.Cheers
I recently purchased the Groups File Access along with Groups and WooCommerce for replacing our new IT Training Video website.
The files I need to add are much larger than 8MB. Heck I have PDFs that are larger than 8MB. How can I upload larger files into WordPress from the Group File Access option?
Thanks!
Michel
Nevermind, I did an unrelated google search and found out that I needed to add something like this in my PHP.ini file:
post_max_size = 150M
Note: I would recommend putting this into your documentation for future users for how they can upload larger files.
Michel
Hi Michel,
There are two more that you should take into account:
upload_max_filesizeandmax_execution_time. For example, add these to yourphp.ini:upload_max_filesize = 192M
post_max_size = 193M
max_execution_time = 300See also this post on WordPress hosting requirements.
You’re right, it would be a good idea to add this in the documentation. Doing it right now, thanks!
Thanks for the follow-up kento.
Yeah, I had the others in my PHP.ini file except for the execution_time value, which I had added now. Thanks for the fast reply and the help.
Michel
Hi..
I’m using your plugin which I like very well.
I’m moving a lot of files from one place to this new one I’m making with Groups and Groups File Access. Is there a way to copy bunch of files into one group instead of one at a time?
Thanks,
AnnaHi,
sorry, but you only can upload files one by one.
Once uploaded, you can assign several at a time to a group using the table’s checkbox.
cheersHi Anna, the latest version 1.2.0 now has bulk import features in case you still need them.
the bulk upload feature does not work at all.
If it doesn’t work for you it’s either a conflict or an issue with your setup. Can you describe what exactly doesn’t seem to work? Can you provide debugging info or error messages?
I just want registered users to be able to see products in cart so how do i make registered users a group?
Hi,
you can use [groups_member] shortcode in your cart page. For example with woocommerce:
[groups_member group="Gold"]
[woocommerce_cart]
[/groups_member]
cheersok i got that part – and i have a group called insiders which is my gold however it has no capabilities. capabilities seem to be more backend things …then view/checkout product in cart. help
and then the options – how does that work –
Hi,
you can create a capability “isInsider”, and assign it to group “Insiders”.
and restrict all pages related to the shopping cart (cart, checkout, …) to this capability.
cheersso i created the capabiltiy but it just says description not any restriction – what am i doing wrong – thought i’d then go to options but no way to link capability and options
Hi,
you must:
1.- create the capability
2.- Assign to a group (in Groups->Groups have the buttons above the table).
3.- In Groups->Options->Capabilities must select the new capability.
4.- In a post/page, in right sidebar you can select the necessary capabilities.
cheers
totally missed the dropdown in 2. Thanks. alright now re 3 .- In Groups->Options->Capabilities must select the new capability – do access restrictions all get checked? i selected the capability insiders under capabilites but also have checks under the 4 user types in persmissions. Right or wrong?
You normally wouldn’t change the permissions on that screen unless you want any of the roles to have certain management capabilities related to Groups on the back end. The normal thing is to have them checked for the Administrator role and none checked for any of the other roles.
something still not adding up here …how do i take this off forums and get individual support
It seems your questions are more related to the Groups plugin itself. You should post your questions on the Groups plugin page unless they are directly related to GFA.
What I am trying to do is create a portion of my website where I sell image files to one group, but give those files away for free to another group. Would this plugin work for that? I have been banging my head against a wall for the entire day trying to find a good plugin for this. I have temporarily decided to use woocommerce and the groups plugin to create these different groups, but hoping that this plugin will work for the final peice of the puzzle.
Hi Mike,
Yes that would work. Assuming you have two groups, Premium and Freebies, Premium pays to get access to the images, Freebies doesn’t but can access those same images as well. You would assign the files they should be allowed to access to both groups … voilà 😉
Hi there!
Just about to get your plugins but need to know first if it is possible to assign a single file to be accesible to many groups, so I don’t have to upload a file per group… this is a mandatory requirement from our client.
What they want is to share file1.pdf to group1 and group2 but file2.pdf only to group2…
Cheers!
Hi,
yes, you can assign a file to many groups you need.
You can have for example:
fileA accesible to group1, group2, group3
fileB accesible to group3
fileC accesible to group1, group3cheers
Thank you!
Hello,
I purchased your plugin, and I’m having a serious issue:
When an authorised user downloads a pdf, he gets a “Corrupted pdf” message when he tries to open it.
Can you help?
Thanks a lot!Hi Max,
Can you provide a link and user access to the site to have a look please?
Hi Kento,
Thanks for your reply.
On what email can I send you the link and access info?Sure 🙂 Please send it to support at itthinx dot com.
Hi,
I sent you the website info the 31st of may and didn’t get a response from you. Can you tell me what’s wrong with the plugin?
Thanks!Hi Max,
Sorry I must have missed that, I just tried to log in with the details but login is rejected. I also created an account but it doesn’t give access to the documents obviously, can you please send the current password or grant access to the itthinx user?
Could you try to connect again? It should work now…
Got it, thanks. I’ve managed to get the file, but it is effectively ‘corrupted’ because of the following Warning which appears in the file that is downloaded (quoting the message without the tags):
Warning: set_time_limit() has been disabled for security reasons in /home/www/91018f06866fdd3615e609e7ed630184/web/wp-content/plugins/groups-file-access/lib/file/class-gfa-file-renderer.php on line 42After that, the actual PDF starts.
Solutions:
– As suggested e.g. here, try settingsafe_mode=offinphp.ini, or
– as a temporary quick fix, comment line 42 inwp-content/plugins/groups-file-access/lib/file/class-gfa-file-renderer.php.In any case, doing the check for safe_mode would be a good idea to add before line 42, I’ll add that and release an update.
Thanks for your patience and for reporting the issue you had, helps to make it better! 🙂
Seems to work ok now, I can see the PDF correctly.
Thank you so much!
The fix did it! It’s really nice to see this nice plugin work like it should!
Thanks again!Cool 🙂
I’ve already added the change to the development version so it’s in the next update as well.
Strange, I thought I had sent a reply… Can’t see it anymore
It works now, the fix did the trick. thanks a lot for your help!
Probably the cache, got it 😉
Can I show the file to download in limited time and after that it display
Hi,
you can control how many times you can download the files (in Groups->Files, Max# field)
But you can control the period time.
cheers
I’m hopeful your plugin can resolve my problem.
I have a public site with a Members Only section. Currently my user registration/login and content permissions (page/post access based on Roles) is handled by the Absolute Privacy Plugin. I naively thought the page/post access restriction covered all files uploaded to or linked to the page, but I recently learned that those files (PDFs, JPEGs, MSOffice docs, etc.) are accessible by anyone through their direct URLs (typed in or located by search engine).
I understand your plugin works based on Groups and not Roles so, if I add all of my registered users to a group, will your plugin enable me restrict access to the files on my restricted pages so that only logged in group members can view and/or download them? Also, will I have to re-upload the dozens of files already on the site that need to be restricted or can the restriction be added to existing Media Library files?
Hi,
yes, this plugin is based in groups, and the files are protected from access direct.
Sorry, but you need to re-uploads the files, and then assign to one group (or more), and add the users to respective group/s.
It restricts all file types.cheers
Hi there – product looks great – I am looking something that will also allow us to track how many times a specific user downloads specific files
Would this plugin have this capability – or is there anyway to do this in WordPress???
Thanks! 🙂
Hi,
yes, you can show this with [groups_file_info], for example:
[groups_file_info file_id="1" show="count"/]More info Groups File Access Documentation
cheers
How secure is this program? I have a members only section for a non profit company, and need to ensure that their files remain secure… and only viewable by them when they are signed in.
It is as secure as your server is – GFA restricts access to the files and only authorized members will be able to access them. As long as your server is secured, GFA will be able to protect them.
Thanks for the great plugin.
If you want to display by uploading a PDF file, but I’d like to display inline in a browser, there is no way I would be?Hi,
you can’t do it.
More info: http://www.itthinx.com/plugins/groups-file-access/#comment-7162cheers
Seems there is a UTF-8 problem when entering file descriptions. Works on file name text field.
Hi,
thank you very much for warning. in the next update, we will fix it.cheers
File size to be uploaded has grown to 5MB, Is there a way to upload a file of 20MB?
Hi,
This should be config in your hosting. Groups File Access uses the default value.cheers
Well noted. Thank you!
Hello,
I’d like to know if it is possible to notify a group when a file deposited with it for?
and I’d like to know if the next version will download statistics?If the modules are top
cordially
Hi Romain,
currently no such option. You can do it manually with a newsletter plugin.cheers
damage, otherwise your solution is perfect. Too bad we can notify the administrator but not automatically groups
Actually the idea sounds good to me, this could certainly be added, i.e. notify group members when a new file has been made available for them, I can think of good use cases for that. Thanks for the suggestion Romain, I’ve added this to the list of feature requests to be implemented.
Hi,
first at all, congratulations for your very usefull group plugin.
I use “Groups File Access” plugin for manage some private PDF files.
The client needs that users could open these files in a new tab (target=”_blank”), not download it.
I tried with the following link but it doesn’t work:
It is possible???
Thanks in advance.
Hi Jose,
I can see the link, please use pastebin.com, this might be useful for others as well. (the code was stripped out to your comment).cheers
Antonio, gracias! thank you very much for the advice, I didn’t realise that the link would be converted… hehe…
Here is the code:
any suggestion?
Hi,
the link is correct.
The browser downloads the file because the link isn’t a pdf file, it’s a php call that get the pdf file (if the link was a pdf file directly,who knew could download it).This is why it is downloaded directly.
cheers
Sorry, just had another thought pop into my head, following on from my last question;
If I had the company then departments set up could I just designate the role of Director to a user and then assign them to a Department so that they could only see that Department? That would save having to add Director of Department 1, 2, 3 etc
Groups doesn’t use roles conceptually but group memberships. In your model, a user would be a member of a Directors group.
Wow this looks like it’s the answer to my problems. Before i go to far I just wanted to check my thinking is right.
Example: A company ABC has say 10 Departments. Each Department has a Director, Manager, Staff. Would the set-up be as follows:-
ABC = Parent
Department 1 = Child of ABC
Director of Department 1 = Child of Department 1
Manager of Department 1 = Child of Director of Department 1
Staff of Department 1 = Child of Manager of Department 1Then so on for Department 2 etc..
OR would it be that Director/Manager/Staff are all Child of Department 1
Also, would ABC be able to post content that was visible to ALL Directors of ALL Departments, or ALL Staff of ALL Departments, if so how?
I assume this question is related to Groups in terms of how to set it up, but you want to grant access to files depending on where in a hierarchy a member is? You can set up pretty much any hierarchy, just like the one you are explaining. Just note that the actual user accounts would be group members, as you would assign the user account to one or more groups.
If I click the upload button, is it possible to link large files uploaded via ftp? WordPress Standard Upload windows do that, but it’s not shonw in your screenshots, thanks.
An option to scan for new files would be great to have, this would allow you to upload files directly via FTP and then have the plugin scan for new files and include them automatically.
Hi Kento!
Just bought the groupsfileaccess plugin at codecanyon, and I have a request:
Because I need to upload huge files to use with the plugin, it’s easier to do so by FTP transfer.
Can you add the option to simply set the full file path manually ? (overriding the upload function from the admin panel?)Best regards.
CarlosThanks for the suggestion Carlos, I’ll add this feature request, hope to get the new release out soon 🙂
I have installed and activated the Groups and Groups File Access plugins. I am able to go to the File page and upload a file, and I have verified via FTP that the files does upload… but it cannot be viewed on the “File’ Page. Any idea of why and how to remedy this. I do have the latest version of wordpress… I am using the u-design theme… and am browsing on a Mac via Firefox or Safari.
problem = slideshow plugin.
Thanks, then it’s not the filters I suppose. What slideshow plugin is conflicting please?
It is the Smart Slideshow Widget By Rubén Trujillo
Ok thanks, just tried it and there doesn’t seem to be a conflict between those two, at least not in admin sections. But after installing Smart Slideshow Widget I couldn’t drag any widgets onto the sidebar due to a Javascript error – but I tested on WordPress 3.5 while that plugin says it’s compatible up to 3.3.2 only.
I assume you mean the Groups > Files section in the back end. Are you saying after you have added a new file in that section (with the New File button on top) you cannot see it in the list of files? If that’s the case, do you have any filters set? The filter settings are ‘sticky’ – i.e. if you filter for example by Name and there is no result, then leave the page and come back, the filter will still be set.
Hi, I’ve successfully installed this plugin!
Now I need to show all links of files that user can download.
For example, something like that [groups_file_link group="ALL GROUPS"].
This should render all links to files that members has access to.Thanks,
LucaHi Luca,
For example, you would use
[groups_file_link group="Registered"]for all files that registered users can access. This will include all files in Groups > Files that have been added to the Registered group. Of course you can also do the same for different groups. You cannot use this to show files for all groups yet, you would have to place one for each of the groups. The capability to show files for all groups is going to be added, also see the call for feature requests for other features that will be available.Thanks for using the plugin 🙂
Cheers
Thanks.. When do you think that the new release will be available?
Work on the new features is in progress right now and testing has to be done, as soon as that’s over the new release will come out. No exact date yet but it should be soon.
Two questions:
– Is there any way to insert line breaks or paragraph tags into the file description?
– I’m using the shortcode to display all files a user has access to on a single page ([groups_file_link group="Premium"]). Can I sort this file list somehow? They seem to be ordered by ID with the lowest number at the bottom of the list currently. I’d love to be able to at least switch that order to have the lowest ID first, or even sort by title or filename.Thanks!
Scratch the bit about sorting the file list – I think I’ve figured that out. Would still like to have linebreaks in file descriptions though 🙂
Ah, good 🙂 Let me know if you think the other shortcode would be helpful for you, otherwise we can add an option to deactivate the filter on this one as well. An updated release is pending so it could be added then.
Being able to use filter=”none” on [groups_file_link] would be fantastic! Since – correct me if I’m wrong – wouldn’t using the [groups_file_info] shortcode require a lot more work than [groups_file_link]? As in, the latter lists all of the files available to a specific user, whereas the former you’d have to use for specific files repeatedly to list all available files, right?
Yes that’s correct, I’ve added the filter option to be included in the next release.
When you use the [groups_file_link] shortcode, it will filter these out. But you can use the [groups_file_info] short code indicating filter=”none”.
Currently the list is ordered by name in ascending order, the shortcode could use some additional options for sorting the list of files though.
HI, I am able see log file which user and how many time download any files?
You can get notifications when users access files, do you mean per-user stats on the back end or a shortcode? That’s not available in the current version (the data to do it is stored though) but I’m adding it as a good idea to the feature requests.
I have customers that are retail and wholesale customers – I do not want my retail customers to see my wholesalers prices. Will this plugin allow me to restrict access to my prices? Set up how? Sorry a newbie here.
Hi Brenda,
Did you get an answer to your question?
I am looking for the same thing!
SarahGFA is not suitable for that, it restricts access to
Groups is used to restrict access to content and pages, with its access restriction options you can restrict access to pages containing your prices to authorized users. You can also use it to restrict access to certain product pages if that’s what you’re looking for.
So can I use the members plugin by justin tadlock to create my group permissions? Or can I use the buddypress groups that I already have?
I’d hate to have to install a 3rd software group system just to add in this ability. Does your plugin tie into any of the other group systems available for WordPress. (usergrups, roles, buddypress, etc)
It’s really an extension to Groups based on the framework it provides to build solutions like this one. I created Groups because I wasn’t satisfied with the way other plugins were designed and/or implemented, so it doesn’t make much sense to me to try to cover other solutions with extensions built on Groups.
I currently use your wonderful Groups and Groups for WooCommerce and want to restrict access to the downloaded products we are selling. It appears this will server my purposes just find for downloads, but I have a couple of questions.
Can this be used with external files?
Can this be used for progressive download files?
I would like to host my files on S3 and embed my audio and video players directly on the page but restrict access to the source.Thanks
Hey Jason,
It can’t be used with external files, the plugin handles downloads for files it controls on the server so for your case it wouldn’t really be an option … but the idea of it acting as a proxy to external files isn’t bad at all 🙂
I would like more information about how, specifically and technically, files and assets are secured from direct access should someone discover the source URL/location.
Does GFA handle managing that aspect?
What about access keys, unique identifiers, etc. to track and ensure intended recipients and deter sharing, etc.?
Thank you.
GFA serves files through its own handler. If you try to access a protected file without the proper credentials, you will get a 403 Forbidden. Users access files through their account, i.e. they have to be logged in to access a file.
Are the actual source locations of the files protected to keep people from identifying where the files live and directly linking/accessing?
Or would something like that be done with access rules and restrictions, allowing only localhost or the likes to access the files via the GFA handler?
These are protected, the links that allow to download files use a file identifier passed to a URL parameter.
I am looking to understand /how/ they are protected?
Are they protected via .htaccess (for Apache) by the web server?
What about users of Nginx, for example?
How are the absolute, static links to the file/folder protected?
What I am getting at is, … is there documentation explaining how to protect the contents of the secured directory and its files for Nginx, Apcache, etc.?
Thanks again!
For Apache an .htaccess file is created that contains
deny from all, where GFA uses its own handler to decide whether the request for a file should be granted or not.I’m not really Nginx proficient, but the equivalent for the .htaccess should do it.
Thanks for mentioning this by the way, I think this should be added to the documentation (taken note to do that).
When I use description=”yes” in the shortcode the bullet shows up on the line above the file information. When I do not use description=”yes” the bullet lines up fine.
Probably some CSS rules can help you there. Screenshot?
What I need to do should be simple, but it won’t work.
I have a library of user guides for business telephone systems.
I want to assign users to groups based on their system type and display only the relevant guides on the user guide page. There will be about 50 different groups to start with and I will be adding to it on an ongoing basis and I don’t want to have to update the shortcodes on the download page every time I add a group.
The idea is to have the user go to a single page and only see the documents that are relevant to them without having to know what make, model and version of system they have.
What I need the shortcodes to do for me is something like this:
[groups_non_member group="{any/all groups}"]
Please log in
You must be a registered member to access the files available for download.
[/groups_non_member][groups_member group="{any/all groups}"]
Downloads:
[groups_file_link group="{any/all groups}" description="yes"]
[/groups_member]I don’t know if I am explaining this very well but it is very frustrating not to be able to figure out how to do something that should be so simple.
Hi I am creating a membership site for my appointment setters/sales consultants.
I want to create per-recorded webinars loaded in their marketing resources page so they can drive traffic to these links for different services, seo, mobile, text marketing etc. After the customer watches the video if they want to purchase the service then they can click the buy button, and the sales person gets the commission.
I am confused on how to do that.
I did watch the video on banners.
Please help!
Thx
ArmandoHow is this related to GFA?
How would I construct a shortcode to show ALL files the user has access to? This would allow a user to go to a page and access any of the files they are allowed. The example codes limit the listing to individual file IDs or groups.
Yes, currently you would have to put a shortcode for each group on a page. A good addition would be to allow a * wildcard that allows to render links for all groups the user belongs to. Added this feature request to be included with the next release.
Great, thanks
I want to give individual clients/users access to design files that I would upload. Would I need to create a group for every client? Is there a better way to handle this?
Creating a group for each client would be the appropriate way to do this. Let’s say ACME Corp is a client of yours and two people in their organization need to have access to the files. Create a group for that client, create a user account for each of them and assign them to that group.
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