How does the download count system work ?

[S2Rick]

I have some files that are available to level 0. (free) and some that are free if you are not a member at all.

My other membership levels allow for more files to be downloaded.

Level 1, 3 downloads, level 2, 12 downloads etc.

I am using custom capabilities so that the files they can download are different depending on what they paid for.
Personal use or commercial use.

I am concerned that if they join a level and they download the level 0 files that are free, or the free files for those not a member, that those will be counted against them.

How can I ensure that certain files are not added to their download count, no matter what level they may be on?

How does the download count system work across membership levels and custom capabilities?

S2member is impressive. I will be getting the pro version once I see that I actually have customers. Thanks for making such fantastic work available free!!!

Rick

[Cristián Lávaque]

Thanks for the kudos, Rick!

About your question, the files that are available to all don't need to be protected by s2Member. I'll ask Jason about how the download counts work, if depending on the Level of the user or of the file.

[S2Rick]

Thanks for asking Jason. I am very curious at how it works. I'm hoping at the very least, that level 0 files are never counted.

[Jason Caldwell]

Thanks for the excellent question.

s2Member keeps a count of all protected files downloaded from your site, on a per-Member basis. You can control how many protected files are downloaded by Members at different Levels, but s2Member's counter is collective ( i.e. based on all protected files ), not just those downloaded at a specific Level.

In other words, if a Level #1 Member logs in and downloads a file that is also available at Level #0, it DOES count against them, because it WAS a protected file. I realize this is not flexible enough for the scenario you've described, so I'll see what we can do to improve the control over this in a future release.

Important to note. If a Free Subscriber at Level #0 upgrades later to paid Membership, s2Member will reset that Member's download counter during upgrade automatically, so that the new paying Member starts fresh at zero again ( because now they are paying you ).

Until s2Member can support what you're suggesting, you could use Advanced Download Restrictions, as described in your Dashboard. Using Advanced Download Restrictions ( i.e. with a Download Key ), is a way to allow a file to be downloaded without a file download being counted against them.

[Cristián Lávaque]

Thanks for explaining that.

Until s2Member can support what you're suggesting, you could use Advanced Download Restrictions, as described in your Dashboard. Using Advanced Download Restrictions ( i.e. with a Download Key ), is a way to allow a file to be downloaded without a file download being counted against them.

So he could put the link to the protected file with the download key in the URL, in a page restricted at Level 0. Is that what you meant?

[Jason Caldwell]

So he could put the link to the protected file with the download key in the URL, in a page restricted at Level 0. Is that what you meant?

Very welcome. Yes, that's correct. Or perhaps use Advanced PHP Conditionals to incorporate Download Keys into URLs that should be free to Members at or above Level #1.

Code: Select all

<?php
if(current_user_can("access_s2member_level1"))
{
   // Build link with a Download Key, so this particular download does not count against them.
} else {
  // build link without a Download Key, so the Download does count.
}
?>

[S2Rick]

Thank you both! I will do the work around for now.

Perhaps a way to implement this is to have a protected directory called 'free'.

Any files in the free directory are treated as any other protected files, except they are not counted.