Cloud Fixer Documents — Administrator Guide
Version 1.1.0
Cloud Fixer Documents lets Administrators and Editors upload and manage documents. Visitors can view supported documents or download them using links placed on your website.
1. Add a document
- Log in to WordPress.
- Select Documents in the left menu.
- Click Add document.
- Complete the fields:
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Title | A clear name, such as “Membership Application.” |
| Description | Optional information about the document. This appears in category lists. |
| File | Choose the document from your computer. |
| Version | An optional label, such as “2026” or “Revision 2.” |
| Status | Choose Draft, Published, or Private. |
| Expiration | Optional date and time when access should stop. |
| Password | Optional password visitors must enter. |
| Categories | Select any relevant document categories. |
- Click Save document.
Accepted files: PDF, TXT, CSV, DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX. The maximum is 50 MB or your website’s upload limit, whichever is smaller. Older Office formats, ZIP files, and macro-enabled Office documents are not accepted.
Upload through Documents, rather than the WordPress Media Library, to use this plugin’s protected storage.
2. Choose when visitors can access it
- Draft: Saved for later; visitors cannot view or download it.
- Published: Visitors can access it, subject to its password and expiration.
- Private: Public viewing and downloading are disabled.
These restrictions also apply when an Administrator follows the public link. Save the document as Published when it is ready to share.
A published document without a password is public to anyone who has or finds its link.
3. Put a document on a page
You can use either a direct link or a shortcode.
Use a direct link
Open the document’s edit screen and copy its Stable link for downloading, or its View link when available. Paste that address into a WordPress button or text link.
Show View and Download together
Add a Shortcode block to your page and paste:
[cfd_document id="123"]Replace 123 with the ID from the shortcode shown on the document’s edit screen.
Other options:
[cfd_document id="123" label="Membership Application"][cfd_document id="123" action="download" label="Download application"][cfd_document id="123" action="view" label="View application"]Save or update the page, then test it while logged out.
4. Understand the viewer
| File type | Visitor experience |
|---|---|
| Opens in the browser’s PDF viewer, if supported. | |
| TXT / CSV | Opens a text preview with a Download original button. |
| Word / Excel / PowerPoint | Download only. |
For an Office document that needs a preview, save a PDF copy and add it as a separate document.
Some browsers are configured to download PDFs instead of displaying them. Text previews show the first 1 MiB of large files; downloading provides the complete file.
5. Organize documents into categories
- Open Documents → Categories.
- Enter a category name, such as Forms, Policies, or Manuals.
- Click Add category.
- Edit a document, select the category, and save.
To display a category on a page, copy its shortcode from the Categories screen:
[cfd_documents category="forms"]The list shows published, unexpired documents with their available actions, versions, and descriptions.
Renaming a category does not change its existing shortcode. Deleting a category keeps its documents.
6. Replace or update a document
- Open Documents → All documents.
- Click the document’s title.
- Choose a replacement file, if needed.
- Update its version, description, or other details.
- Click Save document.
The existing download and View links stay the same. You do not need to change links already placed on your pages.
The replacement permanently replaces the old stored file. Keep your own backup if you need previous versions—the Version field is a label, not a version-history system.
7. Use passwords and expiration
Passwords
- Enter a password and save to protect the document.
- Leave the password field blank when editing to keep the current password.
- Enter a new password to replace it.
- Check Remove existing password and leave the password field blank to remove protection.
Passwords cannot be viewed or recovered from the plugin. If someone forgets one, set a new password.
Password-protected documents require HTTPS. Visitors may need to enter the password again when switching from viewing to downloading.
Expiration
Enter the expiration date and time shown in your WordPress site’s timezone. Leave it blank for no expiration.
Expiration stops access but does not delete the document. Clear or extend the date and save to make it available again.
8. Remove a document
- Move to trash: Disables access and retains the file.
- Restore as draft: Brings it back without publishing it.
- Delete permanently: Removes the document and its file. This requires confirmation on a trashed document.
To temporarily withdraw a document, change its status to Draft instead.
9. Administrator-only settings
Open Documents → Settings.
- Storage health: Review any warning and use Recheck protection. If protection cannot be verified, contact your website administrator or hosting provider.
- Daily download logs: Optionally retain daily totals for 90 days.
- Delete on uninstall: Leave this unchecked unless you intentionally want documents deleted when the plugin is uninstalled.
Editors can manage documents and categories but cannot change these settings.
Download totals measure downloads started, not unique visitors or completed downloads. Preview requests do not increase the total.
Before sharing a document
- Confirm the correct file and version are uploaded.
- Check the title and description; these may be publicly visible even when the file has a password.
- Confirm the status is Published.
- Verify any password and expiration.
- Test both View and Download while logged out.
- Keep a backup of important originals.
If a document is unavailable, check its status, expiration, and storage-health notice first. If a page still shows an old list after changes, clear the website’s page cache or ask your website administrator to do so.
