Free Downloads can integrate with these email services:

• GetResponse
• MailChimp
• Aweber
• MailPoet
• Sendy
• ConvertKit

The post Free Downloads Compatibility With Email Services first appeared on Easy Digital Downloads.

Starting with Free Downloads 2.0.0, we now support the creation of true custom free download links through two methods. The preferred method is through our new [edd_free_download] shortcode, which takes a single argument, download_id.

For example, if you wanted to create a Free Downloads button for a download with the ID “123” that displayed an image rather than the normal EDD purchase button, you would enter the following:

[edd_free_download download_id="123"]YOUR IMAGE HERE[/edd_free_download]

Similarly, you can create the same link manually by entering the following (be sure to change the ID to your free download/product’s ID):

<a href="#edd-free-download-modal" class="edd-free-download" data-download-id="123"><img src="IMAGE URL HERE"></a>

Custom Templates

We now offer the ability to customize the Free Downloads modal in much the same way that you can customize other EDD templates. In the
edd-free-downloads/templates folder you will find two files, one which controls the modal dialog, and one which controls the mobile window.

Simply copy these to the edd_templates directory in your theme (you may need to create it), and change to your liking! Remember that the fields still need to have the same names for them to work with Free Downloads!

You can read more here on moving and using template files.
https://docs.easydigitaldownloads.com/article/1216-moving-edd-templates-to-your-theme

The post Free Downloads – Advanced Usage first appeared on Easy Digital Downloads.

Yes! Since version 2.0.0, the email form can be skipped by enabling the Bypass If Logged In and/or Direct Download options.

Are downloads tracked if the email form is skipped?

It depends on whether the person is logged in or out. If they are logged in and they skip the email form because you have Bypass If Logged In enabled, the download will be tracked. But if they are logged out and skip the download form because you have Direct Download enabled, the download will not be tracked. This is because payment records can not be created in Easy Digital Downloads unless there is an email address that the record can be assigned to. Since the person is logged out and we weren’t able to capture their email address, we can’t create a payment record for them. Because of that, the download is not tracked in that scenario. This is the only scenario where downloads are not tracked when using Free Downloads.

Can I use Free Downloads with my email service?

Yes, you can! See this doc for more information: https://easydigitaldownloads.com/docs/free-downloads-compatibility-with-email-services/.

Can I require that email addresses be verified before sending the download link?

Yes, there is an option that can be enabled to require that customers click a verification link in an email sent to them before they are provided with access to the download files.

Can I disable emails for Free Downloads?

Yes, there is an option in “Processing Settings” in the Free Downloads settings area to disable both Purchase Confirmation Emails as well as Admin Sales Notification Emails.

Can I redirect the user to a custom confirmation page after they download?

Yes. You can do this by using the On Complete Handler setting in the Free Downloads settings. Set it to Custom Redirect and you can enter the URL you would like to automatically direct them to after they download.

Can I keep the customer on the same page after they download?

Yes. You can do this by using the On Complete Handler setting in the Free Downloads settings. Set it to Auto Download and the customer will remain on the same page after their download completes.

Will Free Downloads work on a mobile device?

Yes. Within the Processing Settings, you have full control over how Free Downloads are served to your customers when they’re using a mobile device.

The post Free Downloads – FAQ first appeared on Easy Digital Downloads.

Once the Free Downloads extension is installed and activated, a new section will be added to the Downloads → Settings → Marketing tab entitled “Free Downloads”.

No specific configuration is required for the extension to work, though many configuration options are available. 

General Settings

The Button Label and Modal Button Label fields affect the button displayed in the download list and the subsequent button in the data collection modal, respectively. They default to “Download Now” but can be configured to your liking.

Bypass if logged in immediately downloads file without a popup modal:

Display close button (top-right corner):

You can also opt to display a close button on the modal (without one, the modal can still be closed by clicking on the background), and to bypass the modal and auto-download if a user is already logged in.

Additionally, you have the choice to display an area for the user to agree to your Privacy Policy before downloading the file. 

Fields Settings

By default, Free Downloads only collects the email address of users in order to create purchase records for downloads. Checking the Collect Name checkbox will enable the collection of first and last names of users. If a user is logged in, all three fields will be automatically pre-filled using the information in their user profile. You can also enable creating new user accounts by checking the User Registration checkbox.

The Show Notes Field option adds two more settings fields which allow you to define a title and message to be displayed to the user in the Free Downloads modal. These can be used to add free-form text of your choosing, such as a disclaimer or personal message to your users.

Processing Settings

If desired, you can require email verification before a user is presented with a download. You have the ability to edit the message that’s visible to users and the email subject and body content under Downloads > Email > Free Downloads Verification.

By default, Free Downloads will redirect the user to the Purchase Confirmation page upon submission of the modal form. It may not be ideal for all users, so we have included options for redirecting to a custom page, or simply auto-downloading the selected file and remaining on the current page. If the On-Complete Handler option is set to Custom Redirect, a new field will appear allowing you to define the page you want to redirect users to.

The Mobile On-Complete Handler option defaults to Use Main On-Complete Handler which will follow the behavior you applied above. You can override this option by selecting Display Purchase Confirmation, Auto Download, or Custom Redirect. If you select Auto Download from the dropdown, a new option titled Apple On-Complete Handler will appear. 

Because Apple does not allow automatic downloads, you must set the desired behavior for users on Apple devices. The default is Use Main On-Complete Handler, but from the dropdown you can also select Display Purchase Confirmation or Custom Redirect. Selecting Custom Redirect will populate an additional field where you can enter the desired URL for Apple users.

If needed, you have the ability to disable both Purchase Confirmation and Admin Sales Notification emails. 

Since version 2.0.0, we also have an option called Direct Download which, when checked, will add a direct download link to the modal window. Enabling this option in the backend will add a new setting to allow configuration of the download link, as well as displaying whether or not your system is able to automatically compress download files. If not, you’ll have to define specific archive files for any product which contains more than one downloadable file. The Direct Download options effectively allows users to “opt-out” of filling in the data in the download modal and immediately download the file.

Cache Settings

The Cache Settings allow you to define how file caching will be handled for Free Downloads. Free Downloads caches files which are stored remotely while compressing them if Direct Download or Auto Download are enabled. If you prefer not to use this feature, checking the Disable Cache box will disable it entirely and the Purge Cache option will be removed.

Integrate Free Downloads with Email Services to grow your Email List:

Free Downloads can integrate with several email services, and you can see more on that in the video below.

The post Free Downloads – Basic Usage first appeared on Easy Digital Downloads.