Phoca Cart Download Options

[keep2000]

Hello everyone,

I tried to understand how downloadable products work in Phoca Cart but got a bit confused.

My goal is to build an ebook shop where each product has three ebook formats (EPUB, MOBI, AZW3). After purchasing a book, the customer should be able to download the format required for their ebook reader.

I added a product and selected Digital (Downloadable) Product as the product type. Then, I went to 'Download Options', uploaded a file, and added two more additional files. This process was a bit tricky because EPUB had the correct MIME type, but MOBI and AZW3 were detected as application/octet-stream. I set 'Ignore File Types Checking' to Yes, but apparently, this does not apply to MIME types, only to the file extension filter.

So I set application/octet-stream as the MIME type, which allowed me to upload them to the server. However, I was not able to download them. After some troubleshooting, I realized that unpublished items were created in the 'Downloads' menu item, so I published them. This allowed me to download the files, except for one, which had a character difference between the actual filename and the filename stored in #__phocacart_products.download_file.

I wanted to debug this further, so I deleted all downloads from 'Downloads'. However, when I opened the product again, the downloadable entries were still there, but I was unable to download them from the frontend, even though the files were still on the server. I removed all additional downloads but couldn't remove the main download file, as there was only a 'Select file' option. After some time, I realized that even though the 'Download file' field has a chevron, similar to a <select> element, it is actually a text input, so I was able to modify or clear the input.

After that, I deleted the files via FTP and re-uploaded them using the product's 'Download Options' tab. However, my 'Downloads' list (administrator/index.php?option=com_phocacart&view=phocacartdownloads) does not show any available downloads.

Have I missed something?

Thank you in advance.

PC 5.0 beta 99

[Jan]

Hi, are you speaking about download of file when user purchase the product (in download area) or about public downloadable files in frontend?

Jan

[keep2000]

Hi,

I’m referring to the download of files when a user purchases a product. Since this is an ebook store, customers should be able to download their purchased books in their preferred format (EPUB, MOBI, or AZW3) from their account.

[Jan]

Hi, the best way is always use e.g. ZIP for download and if there is a ZIP you can attachment more formats to this package.

So there are two options:
- add more files to one ZIP
- or use additional file feature in product edit where you can set more files.

Jan

[keep2000]

Hello.

It looks like I have mostly managed to solve this, there was some misunderstanding. I created a "Downloads" menu item for logged-in users and restricted the download option to the "Completed" order status.

When I place an order, I receive an order confirmation email, and when the order status changes to "Completed", I receive another email. In this second email, after the "Display Order" button, there is also a "Download Links" section.

I have three attached files, and in the email, all three links point to:
option=com_phocacart&view=download&Itemid=180
This works perfectly—when I log in, I can see all three files, the book title, the order ID, the status, and the download button.

I only have one question:
When I click the "Display Order" button in the email, it lists all my orders. However, when I check the details of a specific order, there is no indication that downloads are available, even though they are clearly visible in the email.
Is it possible to display the download links there as well?

[Jan]

Hi, what do you mean with "details of a specific order"?

jan