FileDeck – Document Library, Download Manager & Client Portal

No. The frontend automatically handles large libraries: small libraries get a zero-round-trip inline search index; larger ones paginate efficiently.

Yes — each document can use an uploaded file or an external URL (Google Drive, Dropbox, SharePoint, S3, YouTube, etc.).

Yes, every document shows a running download count (visible in the admin list and optionally as a frontend column).

FileDeck uses minimal, namespaced styles designed to inherit your theme's typography, and works with any properly-coded theme.

Every layout — table, grid, gallery and folders — plus instant search, sortable columns, multi-select filters with counts, the Gutenberg block, shortcodes, native Elementor, Bricks and Divi elements, download tracking, and no cap on how many documents you can list. Pro adds full-text search inside your files, access control, version history and one-click migration from other plugins.

With Pro, yes. Full-text search reads the contents of your PDFs, Office and text files on your own server, so your documents stay on your site. Of the search features, only the optional OCR for scanned documents sends a file anywhere, and only once you switch it on.

With Pro, yes. Restrict a whole category or a single document by role, by password, to logged-in users, to named people, to a group you define once and reuse, or to everyone with an email address at a given domain. Restricted files move into a protected folder and are streamed through FileDeck rather than served from a guessable URL. Site-wide IP rules can additionally limit downloads to chosen networks.

Partly. Documents saved as drafts or set to Private stay out of your libraries. The free version does not lock the files themselves, though: a file in your uploads folder can be opened by anyone who has its exact address. Pro restricts documents by role, person, group or password and moves restricted files into a protected folder that serves them only after an access check.

Yes, with Pro. Restrict a category to a role, which covers any membership plugin that gives members a role, or admit people to a client area by membership plan (MemberPress, Paid Memberships Pro, WooCommerce Memberships, Restrict Content Pro, s2Member), by purchase (WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads) or by course (LearnDash, Tutor LMS, LifterLMS). Access ends when the membership, order or enrolment does.

Not completely: a browser that can show a file has the file, and a determined visitor can save it. The AI tier's view-only mode refuses downloads while keeping the document readable in the browser and closes the direct file link, and watermarking stamps the reader's name and the date on each PDF they get, so a leaked copy shows who it came from.

With Pro, yes. Attach files from Amazon S3 or any S3-compatible service (Cloudflare R2, Wasabi, DigitalOcean Spaces), Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, SharePoint or Box, and mirror protected files into your own bucket so downloads come from the bucket after FileDeck's access check.

Yes, and in the free version. FileDeck ships native Elementor widgets — Library, Document Embed (also listed as "PDF Viewer") and Search — plus Library and Document Embed elements for Bricks and Divi. They set the common options directly; for anything else, design the library in the Library builder and paste its shortcode into your page builder's shortcode element.

With Pro, yes — in one click, read straight from your own database, with no export files and no column mapping. Supported sources include Download Monitor, WordPress Download Manager, Document Library Lite and Pro, Shared Files, Simple Download Monitor, Simple File List, FileBird, BSK PDF Manager, Download Attachments, WP Customer Area and Advanced File Manager. The import is safe to re-run. Once you deactivate Download Monitor, WordPress Download Manager, Simple Download Monitor, Shared Files or Simple File List, the free plugin keeps their old download links, item pages and shortcodes working, and BSK PDF Manager's old shortcodes too.

Not from the directory: its wordpress.org listing has been closed since 23 July 2026 (the directory gives the reason as a security issue). If you'd rather move, FileDeck imports your entire Simple File List library in one click — files, folders and descriptions — straight from your own database.

• layout – table, grid, gallery, or folders
• columns – comma-separated: id, image, title, excerpt, content, categories, tags, date, modified, author, size, type, filename, downloads, views, preview, link (views needs Pro activity logging)
• category – limit to category slugs (comma-separated)
• per_page – documents per page
• sort_by – title, date, modified, menu_order
• sort_order – asc or desc
• link_style – button, button_icon, button_icon_only, icon, icon_text, text
• dl_text – custom text for the download button/link (default "Download")
• image_lightbox – set to 0 to stop featured images opening in a lightbox
• wrap – set to 0 to keep every document on a single truncated row
• scroll_offset – pixel offset for pagination jumps, for themes with a sticky header
• stable_columns – set to 0 to let table columns resize to whatever rows are showing (on by default: columns keep their width while visitors search)
• stable_height – set to 1 to also keep a table library at its first-page height while visitors search

Yes. In the free version, the Document Embed block, the Elementor widget and the [filedeck_embed] shortcode show a PDF on any page in the browser's own viewer, with a full-screen button and an optional download link, and each document's own page can show it too. Add page="5" to open a PDF at page 5. Pro adds a viewer served from your own site, with bookmarks, page thumbnails, links that work, find, zoom and print, that also shows protected and watermarked files; link to any page of it with #page=12 in the address.

Free: Document Library, Document Search (a search box that opens your library), Document Download (one file as a button, link or card), Popular Documents (most downloaded, newest, recently updated or related) and Document Embed. Pro adds blocks for the client portal, front-end submissions, the document changelog and, with the AI tier, Ask this library. Each has a shortcode for classic themes and page builders.

Libraries work with a keyboard and a screen reader: labelled search and filter controls, column headings you sort with the keyboard, and a contrast check that keeps buttons readable when a library takes on your theme's colours. You can also switch on a "Request an accessible version" link on document pages, so visitors can ask for a document as an accessible PDF, in large print, as plain text or audio; requests are emailed to you and listed under Documents → Format requests.

Its scripts and styles load only on pages that show a library, embed or search box, and the front end uses no jQuery. Small libraries search from an index built into the page, with no request per keystroke; large ones fetch one page of results at a time from your server.

They stay. Your documents, categories, tags and files are kept unless you first tick "Delete all documents, categories, tags, and leads when the plugin is uninstalled" under Documents → Settings. Even then, the uploaded files stay in your Media Library.

The documentation is at getfiledeck.com/docs: getting started, each feature, and how-to guides. For questions about the free plugin, use the support forum here on WordPress.org. Pro customers can ask from the Help button in their dashboard or at getfiledeck.com/support.

FileDeck moves restricted documents' files into wp-content/uploads/filedeck-protected/ and drops in an .htaccess deny rule. Apache honours that automatically. nginx ignores .htaccess, so add one location block to your server config and reload nginx: location ^~ /wp-content/uploads/filedeck-protected/ { deny all; return 403; } Until that rule is in place, authorised downloads still work (they are streamed through FileDeck), but the raw files in that folder remain directly reachable. On Apache (and most managed WordPress hosts), no action is needed.

This plugin can connect to these external services, all only with your opt-in: Freemius — FileDeck uses Freemius to deliver plugin updates, and (for Pro customers) to activate licenses. On activation you are asked to opt in; if you decline, no data is sent and only anonymous update checks are made. If you opt in, Freemius receives basic environment data (site URL, WordPress/PHP versions, active theme/plugins) to power update delivery and diagnostics. This happens when you activate the plugin, opt in, activate a license, or check for updates. Freemius terms: https://freemius.com/terms/ — privacy policy: https://freemius.com/privacy/ FileDeck usage ping — only if you opted in to usage tracking above, and on a paid license only if you also allowed Freemius's optional "View Diagnostic Info" (never otherwise), FileDeck sends a small anonymous ping to https://in.getfiledeck.com/telemetry once a week, plus once on days 1, 3 and 8 after a new install and once 8 days after a paid plan starts, to guide the product roadmap. It contains only which ping it is (weekly, day 1, 3 or 8, or the paid plan's day 8), the plugin/PHP/WordPress versions, the plan tier, a bucketed count of published documents (e.g. "11–50"), a handful of feature flags — on, off, or not-applicable when the feature isn't in this build (search index, OCR, AI mode, subscriptions, sample library used), how far the setup wizard got (completed, skipped, dismissed, or not finished), how far the library builder was used (opened, a shortcode loaded, a page created), the dates (day only, no times) the plugin was installed, your first document was added and published, your third document was published, and a library was first shown on a published page — sample documents never count — whether your documents use categories, how the setup checklist ended, whether automatic updates and previews are on, which features that need setting up are in use (client areas, access rules, the activity log, an import), whether an import in the last week had items that failed, a bucketed count of documents whose OCR stopped on an error, and a random identifier created on your site (not derived from your address, email or account) so that several pings from one site are counted once. It never includes document contents, file names, URLs, emails, IP-based profiles, or any personal data, and uninstalling FileDeck deletes the identifier. Declining or opting out of Freemius tracking disables it completely, and developers can switch it off with the filedeck_telemetry_enabled filter. FileDeck privacy policy: https://www.getfiledeck.com/privacy/ Document viewers — when a page embeds a Word, Excel or PowerPoint file, the visitor's browser loads Microsoft's Office viewer (view.officeapps.live.com), which fetches the file from your site to display it. If you choose the Google Docs viewer under Documents → Settings → Document viewer, PDFs and Office files are shown through docs.google.com instead. Choose "Browser built-in only" and neither service is used. By default, restricted documents are not handed to either service. PDFs open in the visitor's own browser viewer unless you choose Google. Microsoft terms: https://www.microsoft.com/servicesagreement — Microsoft privacy: https://privacy.microsoft.com/privacystatement — Google terms: https://policies.google.com/terms — Google privacy: https://policies.google.com/privacy Files you link to — a document that points to a file on another website (Google Drive, Dropbox, YouTube or any other address) loads that file, or its preview, from that website when a visitor opens it. Cloud storage (Pro, optional) — if you connect a cloud provider under Documents → Cloud storage, FileDeck contacts that provider's API using credentials you supply, only to list folders and fetch files you choose. Amazon S3 (*.amazonaws.com, or the S3-compatible endpoint you configure), Dropbox (api.dropboxapi.com, OAuth via dropbox.com), Google Drive (googleapis.com, OAuth via accounts.google.com), and Microsoft OneDrive and SharePoint Online (graph.microsoft.com, OAuth via login.microsoftonline.com), and Box (api.box.com, OAuth via account.box.com; terms: https://www.box.com/legal/termsofservice). Nothing is sent to these services unless you set up a connection. Amazon S3 terms: https://aws.amazon.com/service-terms/ — Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/terms — Google: https://policies.google.com/terms — Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/servicesagreement Scanned-PDF OCR (Pro, optional) — off by default. When you enable it, FileDeck sends PDFs that have no text layer to the FileDeck OCR service (https://filedeck-ocr-production.up.railway.app, or a Service URL you set): each one you publish, or give a document as its new file, while OCR is on; and scans already in your library, or added on the Import & Export screen, when you press Send on the Search Index tab. Each file is sent with your site's address, your Freemius install ID, a signature and the file's SHA-256 hash, but not under its own name; the service uses the install ID to confirm your license with Freemius. The service extracts the text and discards the file. FileDeck privacy policy: https://www.getfiledeck.com/privacy/ Office previews (Pro, optional) — off by default. When you enable it, FileDeck sends Word, Excel and PowerPoint files to the FileDeck service at https://filedeck-ocr-production.up.railway.app (or a Service URL you set under Scanned OCR), which passes them to a FileDeck worker for conversion: each one you publish, or give a document as its new file, while this is on; and files already in your library, or added on the Import & Export screen, when you press Convert on the Office previews tab. Restricted documents are sent like public ones; view-only documents and documents with a download limit aren't sent. Each file is sent with your site's address, your Freemius install ID, a signature, the file's SHA-256 hash and its file extension, but not under its own name. The service confirms your license with Freemius, returns a PDF to your site, and discards the file. FileDeck privacy policy: https://www.getfiledeck.com/privacy/ — terms: https://www.getfiledeck.com/terms/ Malware scanning (Pro, optional) — off by default. When you enable it, FileDeck sends each file submitted through a submission form, or replaced through the front-end edit form, to the same FileDeck service (or a Service URL you set under Scanned OCR), which passes it to a FileDeck worker. It also sends the new file when you replace one that hasn't passed its scan (flagged, not scanned, or could not be scanned). Each file is sent with your site's address, your Freemius install ID, a signature and the file's SHA-256 hash, but not under its own name. The service confirms your license with Freemius, checks the file with ClamAV, returns a verdict, and discards the file. FileDeck privacy policy: https://www.getfiledeck.com/privacy/ — terms: https://www.getfiledeck.com/terms/ Bot protection & mailing lists (Pro, optional) — if you add CAPTCHA keys, the token from a completed check is verified against the service you selected: challenges.cloudflare.com for Cloudflare Turnstile (terms: https://www.cloudflare.com/website-terms/) or www.google.com for Google reCAPTCHA (terms: https://policies.google.com/terms). If you connect a mailing-list provider, captured lead names and emails are sent to the provider you chose — Mailchimp (api.mailchimp.com, https://mailchimp.com/legal/) or Brevo (api.brevo.com, https://www.brevo.com/legal/termsofuse/). Both are off until you configure them. In-dashboard help (Pro) — FileDeck's admin screens show administrators a Help button. Only when you send a question (one you type, or a suggested one you click) does your site contact FileDeck's support service (https://getswaru.com/sdk/v1/), which is run by FileDeck's developer. It sends the question, the FileDeck screen you asked from, your WordPress user ID, your site's address and the FileDeck version, and an AI model (Anthropic) writes an answer from the FileDeck documentation. Your site identifies itself by its Freemius install ID when it has one, and the service then reads that install's plan and license from Freemius, so an answer can cover your own license; otherwise your site registers once with its address. If you choose "Talk to a person", it also sends the email address and optional name you enter, so that a person can reply by email, and, only if you tick the box, your site's setup: the WordPress, PHP, theme and plugin versions, and the list of active plugins. If you mark an answer helpful or not, that is sent too. The conversation is kept by the support service for 90 days after its last message, so you can pick it up later and see when a person has replied by email. It is linked to a random reference stored with your WordPress user account, which your site sends with each question and with "Talk to a person", and again when a FileDeck screen loads or you open the panel, to show the conversation and whether a person has replied. "New conversation" ends it and deletes the reference. FileDeck privacy policy: https://www.getfiledeck.com/privacy/ The optional AI tier features (semantic search and Ask this library) are not part of this free plugin, and are not included in Pro. If you buy the AI tier and enable them, the document text you choose to index is sent to the AI provider you pick (OpenAI, Anthropic, Voyage or Fireworks AI, with your own API key), or to the AI provider connected to WordPress itself if you choose that, to create embeddings and answers. They are off by default and not active in the free version.