Advanced Access Control - WordPress Download Manager

Overview

The WPDM Advanced Access Control add-on provides granular permission management beyond basic role restrictions. Control access by individual users, lets users access the packages from the user dashboard.

Prerequisites

WordPress Download Manager installed
Advanced Access Control add-on installed
Understanding of WordPress users and shortcodes

Benefits of Advanced Access Control

Secure File Access
Control exactly who can access specific downloads by assigning files to individual users, ensuring sensitive content stays protected. Only the selected users will be able to access the downloads.
Personalized User Experience
Users can easily find all assigned files in their dashboards My Downloads tab or on a custom downloads page created specifically for them.
Improved User Communication
Automatically notify users via email whenever they receive access to a download, keeping them informed and engaged without manual follow-up.

Access Methods

User-Level Access

Grant access to specific users:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Access Control                                               │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                              │
│ Select Individual Members:                                   │
│ Search and add specific users who can access this download   │
│                                                              │
│ Allowed Users:                                               │
│ [Search by name or email...  ]                               │
│                                                              │
│ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐    │
│ │ john@example.com ✕                                    │    │
│ │ jane@example.com ✕                                    │    │
│ │ bob@company.org ✕                                     │    │
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘    │
│ [John][Jane][Bob]                                            │
│ ○ Send email notification to selected members                │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Configure

Step 1: Install and Activate the Add-on

Before configuring any access settings, ensure that the Advanced Access Control Add-on has been properly installed and activated.

Once activated, additional access control features will become available inside the Download > Package Settings section.

Step 2: Configure Access Control

Navigate to the Downloads > Package Settings > Allow Access section from your dashboard. Scroll down until you find the Access Control section.

This section contains the advanced permissions settings for your download package.

You will notice a new option called Select Individual Members.

This feature allows you to choose specific users who will have access to the download.

Step 3: Assign Users to the Download

Inside the Select Members field:

Start typing a user’s name
A list of matching usernames will appear
Select the users you want to grant access to

You can assign access to multiple users as needed.

Optional: Send Email Notifications

If you want to notify users when they receive access to the download:

Enable the Send Email Notification option
Selected users will receive an email informing them that access has been granted

Step 4: User Access from Dashboard

Once users have been assigned access, they can access the files directly from their User Dashboard.

Location:

Dashboard > My Downloads tab

Users will see all files that have been specifically assigned to them.

Step 5: Create a Custom Downloads Page

You can also create a personalized page that displays all downloads assigned to a user using a shortcode.

[wpdm_my_downloads login=1 role="0 or 1" template="template-id" cols="2" cats=1]
or
[wpdm_my_downloads login=1]

To create a custom downloads page:

Create a new page
Enter an appropriate page title
Paste the shortcode into the page content area
Publish the page

After publishing, users will be able to access all assigned downloads from this custom page in a clean and personalized layout.