Using and Managing Downloads


When users access your Downloads module, they're greeted by a list of main download categories, as shown in Figure 13.2.

Figure 13.2. Viewing the main download categories.


Once they click on a category, users will see a list of all downloads in that category, plus a list of any subcategories. Obviously, they can then click a subcategory to see its downloads, or click on a download directly to begin downloading it.

Clicking the name of a download immediately downloads it. Users can also click Rate Resource to give a rating of one to five stars to the download, helping other users decide how useful it really is. Users can also click a Details link to get a full-page view of the download's detail information. This is all shown in Figure 13.3.

Figure 13.3. Viewing downloads.


Other functions on this screen include the capability to sort by download title, date, rating, or popularity (based on the hit count I described earlier). To sort, simply click the appropriate A or D links, which sort ascending or descending, respectively. For example, to sort by reverse alphabetical order, you'd click the D link next to Title.

Another important function is the Report Broken Link link, which users can click to notify you that a download link isn't working. Now, in my experience, users tend to click this just to see what it does, so even if you're very careful with your download links, you'll need to know how to deal with this.

In Figure 13.4, notice the Waiting Content block in the left column. This is a special block shown only to the site's administrator, and you'll notice that the Broken Downloads line lists one broken download. Clicking the Broken Downloads link takes you to Figure 13.5, where you can check the download for yourself. You can click the download's name to try to download it on your own, and then click either the Ignore, Edit, or Delete links, as appropriate. The Ignore link removes the broken download report, meaning that either there was no problem or you've fixed the link. Edit takes you into the download's details so that you can fix the link, and Delete simply removes both the broken download report and the download link itself.

Figure 13.4. Notification of broken download link reports.


Figure 13.5. Working with broken download reports.


You can be proactive in catching bad download links by going to the Downloads administration page and selecting the Validate Downloads link, which is listed right under the Downloads logo. Clicking this link has PHP-Nuke check each of your download links (or those in a specific category) for validity. Although the check can be fairly easily fooled, it's a decent first crack at making sure all of your downloads are okay.



    PHP-Nuke Garage
    PHP-Nuke Garage
    ISBN: 0131855166
    EAN: 2147483647
    Year: 2006
    Pages: 235
    Authors: Don Jones

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