For one of project I’m working on I needed plugin that enable to download different files stored on server. But I wanted to have it available in more ‘elegant’ way then link to place where file is stored.
I’ve found WP-DownloadManger by Lester ‘GaMerZ’ Chan.
It offers adding download feature to any post you wish by simple command [download=ID] (where ID need to be replace with ID number of file you have earlier uploaded). Apart from that it’s possible to group your files into categories for example if you want to have all files available via one page (yes! you can create downloads page where you can display ALL files that can be downloaded). There are also some stats available like Newest Downloads, Most Downloaded or Downloads By Category.
And all in one cool plugin :).

Yeah… I had only one irritating issue with it. I use Nice Permalinks so after activating and configuring plugin I hit Update Permalink Structure. After publishing post I’ve tried to download sample file. Hitting download button redirected me to a single post view. And that’s all. No more changes.
I’ve found info on forum that permalink structure I use (/%postname%/) causes error 404 because WP assume that /download/ is my postname while in fact is download URl. I found solution to work it around -> change Download Listing Template and Download Embedded Template so they look like this:

<p><img src="http://www.mysite.com/wp-content/plugins/downloadmanager/images/drive_go.gif" alt="Download: %FILE_NAME%" title="Download: %FILE_NAME%" style="vertical-align: middle;" />&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong><a href="http://www.mysite.com/?dl_id=%FILE_ID%" title="Download: %FILE_NAME%">%FILE_NAME%</a></strong> (%FILE_SIZE%, %FILE_HITS% hits)</p>

I have changed download-templates.php and … nothing! After few more attempts I recalled those templates also available via admin panel. Wrr…. That was the right place to make those changes!
Now it works fine and you can check it out by hitting download button below. I have uploaded there pdf file with ‘to do’ list to feel as a kid ;). I guess well known to all who use ThemeViewer to search for theme for their WordPress installations.

Download: Be a Kid Again  Be a Kid Again (24.5 KB)