Simple Download Manager for WP Document Revisions

FAQ

Why on earth do I need this plugin along with WPDR?

Good question, hehe :). — “WP Document Revision” (WPDR) already does all the heavy lifting for you, and in reality is your actual download manager! This add-on plugin here (a.k.a. “WP Document Revisions Simple Downloads”) does minor adjustments and additions for more comfort, even easier (admin) usage and provides specific “Downloads” specific wording/ translations. The add-on fully leverages the existing hooks & filters of its base plugin as well as from WordPress itself. So, in reality it does not make any (permanent) modifications. With this approach we avoid performance issues and load things only where and when needed. — Also, the add-on adds 3 nice little widgets which may help to improve your site/ download manager on the front end.

Alternatives for inserting downloads/ documents?

To insert download files (URLs) into posts, pages, other post types, sidebars or templates just use any of the following alternatives:

1) The easiest one: WordPress’ built-in “Insert Link” feature which is there in both editors, “Visual” and “Text”. — see screenshot 1, plus screenshot 2…

2) 2 base shortcodes of WPDR: [documents] and [document_revisions] — see Wiki for more info (scroll down a bit…)

3) 4 available widgets: 1 from WPDR, plus 3 from this add-on plugin.

4) Any third-party plugin or widget that does support custom post types by WordPress. I highly recommend one of these: Display Posts Shortcode – display a listing of posts or post types using the [display-posts] shortcode // Count Shortcode – simple count posts or post types

5) For developers: shortcodes can also be used with their template tag equivalent: <?php do_shortcode( '[your_shortcode ...]' ); ?>

What’s going on, “Downloads” or “Documents”?

You decide, which wording or which translations will be loaded! In my opinion it’s better to use purpose-specific and consistent wording throughout both plugins which will avoid confusions in day to day usage with your team.

The add-on DOESN’T modifiy the actual post type that’s used as the base. This post type is by WPDR and has the ID “document”, therefore some admin urls and such still reflect this ID. But in the end this just doesn’t matter :).

Is this plugin Multisite compatible?

Of course it is! 🙂 Works really fine in Multisite environment.

In Multisite, can I “network activate” this plugin?

Yes, you can! Activating on a per-site basis is also possible. — I recommend activating on a per-site basis in combination with “WP Document Revisions” plugin.

Where are the Hooks & Filters documented?

Currently as Gist on GitHub.

Final note: I DON’T recommend to add customization code snippets to your main theme’s/ child theme’s functions.php file! Please use a functionality plugin or an MU-plugin instead! This way you can also use this better for Multisite environments. In general you are then more independent from theme/child theme changes etc. If you don’t know how to create such a plugin yourself just use one of my recommended ‘Code Snippets’ plugins. Read & bookmark these Sites:

• “Code Snippets” plugin by Shea Bunge – also network wide!
• PHP Code Snippets (Insert PHP) plugin by webcraftic
• “What is a functionality plugin and how to create one?” – blog post by WPCandy
• “Creating a custom functions plugin for end users” – blog post by Justin Tadlock

All the custom & branding stuff code above can also be found as a Gist on Github: https://gist.github.com/4395899 (you can also add your questions/ feedback there 🙂

More info on Translations?

• English – default, always included
• German (de_DE): Deutsch – immer dabei! 🙂
• For custom and update-safe language files please upload them to /wp-content/languages/wpdr-simple-downloads/ (just create this folder) – This enables you to use fully custom translations that won’t be overridden on plugin updates. Also, complete custom English wording is possible with that as well, just use a language file like wpdr-simple-downloads-en_US.mo/.po to achieve that (for creating one see the following tools).

Easy WordPress.org plugin translation platform with GlotPress platform: Translate “WP Document Revisions Simple Downloads”…

Note: All my plugins are internationalized/ translateable by default. This is very important for all users worldwide. So please contribute your language to the plugin to make it even more useful. For translating and validating I recommend the awesome “Poedit Editor”, which works fine on Windows, macOS and Linux.