Kitgenix Document Manager

Kitgenix Document Manager is a WordPress document management and document library plugin for publishing, protecting, replacing, sharing and tracking downloadable files. It adds a managed document layer around WordPress attachments so a document can keep one stable URL while the physical file behind it changes over time. This is useful for policy documents, product manuals, technical downloads, specification sheets, price lists, application forms, certificates, reports, staff resources, membership files and other documents that need more control than a raw Media Library URL. A published document uses a stable route similar to: /kitgenix-document-manager/{slug}/ Replace the current attachment later and the document route can remain the same, so old links in pages, emails, QR codes, bookmarks and external documentation do not need to be replaced. Built by Kitgenix. Document Management Features

• Stable managed URLs independent of the current physical attachment URL.
• Public, Private and Restricted visibility modes.
• Access rules using WordPress roles, capabilities and specific user IDs.
• Time-limited signed share links for people without a WordPress account.
• Optional maximum-use limits on signed links.
• Revoke and signing-secret regeneration controls.
• Available-from, archive and expiry scheduling.
• Optional document version history.
• Restore or delete historical versions.
• Hierarchical document categories.
• Batch upload and bulk administration tools.
• Existing Media Library attachment selection.
• Frontend document-card and text-link shortcodes.
• Admin Shortcode Builder for locating documents and generating markup.
• Local aggregate document views/download analytics.
• REST metadata access subject to document permissions.
• Single HTTP byte-range support for compatible downloads/media seeking.
• Conditional ETag/Last-Modified responses for eligible public files.
• Attachment access guards for protected managed files.
• Site Health test for the dedicated document upload directory.
• Settings/category portability without exporting protected files or share secrets.
• Capped local event log for operational diagnostics.

Stable WordPress Document Links The plugin separates the logical document from the current file. Pages and users link to the document's stable endpoint; the document record then decides which attachment is current and whether the requester is allowed to receive it. This model is particularly useful for frequently revised documents. A "Product Manual" or "Terms and Conditions" link can remain consistent while administrators replace the actual PDF or Office file as revisions are released. Public, Private and Restricted Documents Each document has a visibility mode and can also carry more granular rules. Access can be evaluated using WordPress roles, a required capability, explicitly allowed user IDs or a valid signed share link. The same access decision is applied across the managed delivery endpoint and the plugin's own output paths. The code also includes guards designed to prevent protected managed attachments being casually exposed through Media REST responses or normal attachment permalinks to a visitor who does not have document access. For unauthenticated protected requests, the configured behaviour can send the visitor to login or return a forbidden response according to the site setting. Signed File Sharing A signed URL can grant temporary access to a protected document without creating a WordPress account for the recipient. Signed links can have an expiry time and an optional maximum-use count. Administrators can revoke a share link or regenerate the document's signing secret. The signature is bound to document-specific values including the current attachment and document slug, so changing the underlying file affects the validity context rather than creating a permanent backdoor to every future version. Lifecycle Scheduling Documents can have an Available from time, an Archive at time and an Expires at time. These fields allow a file to become available automatically or to stop normal access without an administrator having to remember the exact campaign/compliance deadline. The lifecycle layer can represent states such as Draft, Scheduled, Live, Restricted, Archived or Expired. An hourly WordPress cron event checks scheduled documents so state transitions can be observed even when the document is not being requested continuously. Version History When versioning is enabled, replacing a document can retain the superseded attachment as a historical version. Version records can include a label or note, and authorised users can restore an older file or delete old versions. Stores/sites that do not want historical copies can disable version retention and configure replacement behaviour accordingly. Document Library Organisation Documents are stored in a private plugin post type and can be grouped with the plugin's hierarchical document-category taxonomy. The plugin's own admin screens provide search and filters for document status, visibility and file type, together with batch upload and bulk actions. Bulk operations can change visibility, assign or clear categories, archive documents, clear lifecycle schedules or move selected documents to the trash depending on the action chosen. Frontend Shortcodes A lightweight link can be rendered with: [kitgenix_document_manager_link slug="my-document"] A card can be rendered with: [kitgenix_document_manager_document slug="my-document"] The card shortcode can also display several comma-separated document slugs and supports presentation attributes for button labels/styles, image size, alignment, target behaviour and the visibility of file metadata/description. Protected documents are not revealed by the shortcode to visitors who fail the document's access rules. Local Document Analytics The plugin records aggregate counts for views/downloads, signed-link usage and recent daily activity in WordPress metadata. It also retains the most recent access timestamp/type for administrative reporting. The analytics implementation does not create visitor profiles and does not intentionally store visitor IP addresses, user agents, referrers or tracking cookies. Older daily buckets are pruned while cumulative totals remain available. File Delivery, Range Requests and Caching Managed files are served through WordPress after access checks. The endpoint supports single byte-range requests, which can help resumable downloads and seeking in compatible browser-displayed content. Eligible public responses can use ETag and Last-Modified revalidation. Protected responses are handled with private/no-store style cache controls so a shared intermediary is not encouraged to cache restricted content. REST and Site Health A plugin REST route can return permitted document metadata by slug. Permission/access checks still apply; it is not intended as an anonymous route for enumerating protected documents. The Site Health integration checks the dedicated Document Manager uploads directory and can flag directory/writability problems that would prevent file management from working correctly. Settings Portability Administrators can export/import plugin configuration and document-category structure as JSON. This portability workflow deliberately does not package the document files themselves, signed-link secrets or analytics history. Typical Uses

• Product manuals and technical PDFs that receive frequent revisions.
• Policy, compliance and governance documents with expiry dates.
• Member-only or staff-only downloads.
• Customer documents restricted by WordPress account/role.
• Temporary secure sharing with an external recipient.
• Download libraries organised by document category.
• Stable links for QR codes, printed brochures and long-lived email templates.

2.0.0 (31 August 2026)

• New: Signed share links now support an optional maximum-use count (0 = unlimited), a one-click "Revoke link" action that immediately invalidates the current link, and a "Regenerate" action that rotates the signing secret so all previously issued links stop working, even if they have not yet expired. These controls are available from the Documents table, edit modal, and native document editor.
• New: Document versions can now include an optional label or note, such as "2024 policy update", when replacing a file. The Versions list now also shows who replaced each version and when.
• New: Added a unified document lifecycle state – Draft, Unavailable, Scheduled, Live, Restricted, Archived, or Expired – displayed as a badge on the Documents table.
• New: Added Status, Visibility, and File Type filters to the Documents table alongside the existing search box.
• New: Document lifecycle state is now included in the REST metadata endpoint.
• New: Added an hourly background lifecycle check that detects state transitions such as a scheduled document becoming live even when nobody visits its link, triggering the new kitgenix_document_manager_lifecycle_status_changed hook and a Log tab entry.
• New: Added an "Access preset" quick-fill control with Public, Logged-in Users, and Administrators Only options above the existing role, capability, and user-ID access fields on Add/Edit document forms and modals. Presets only pre-fill the existing fields and can still be adjusted before saving.
• New: Added "Archive now" and "Clear lifecycle schedule" bulk actions.
• New: Added confirmation prompts before bulk-setting documents to Public or bulk-archiving documents, helping prevent accidental visibility or lifecycle changes.
• New: Added a Settings → Import/Export card for transferring plugin settings and categories between sites using JSON files. Documents, uploaded files, and analytics are intentionally excluded so private content cannot accidentally be bundled into an export.
• New: Added the kitgenix_document_manager_share_link_url developer hook for filtering generated signed-share URLs.
• New: Added the kitgenix_document_manager_document_served developer hook for responding when a document is successfully delivered.
• New: Added the kitgenix_document_manager_rest_document_response developer hook for customising REST metadata responses.
• New: Added the kitgenix_document_manager_lifecycle_status_changed developer hook for responding to document lifecycle transitions.
• New: Redesigned the admin interface around the shared Kitgenix design system with a sticky topbar and grouped Documents navigation for All Documents, Categories, and Versions.
• New: Added in-page settings search with "/" and Cmd/Ctrl+K keyboard shortcuts.
• New: Added a light/dark theme toggle for the admin interface.
• New: Added quick links to the Kitgenix Hub and other Kitgenix plugins from the shared admin topbar.
• New: Added a responsive mobile menu for Kitgenix admin navigation on narrower screens.
• New: Added Image Optimizer to the Kitgenix Hub and updated the MultiStore listing to its new "MultiStore for WooCommerce" name.
• Improved: Stable document links now support HTTP Range requests for resumable downloads, PDF/video seeking, and download managers.
• Improved: Valid single-range requests now return HTTP 206 responses with the appropriate Content-Range header.
• Improved: Malformed or multi-range requests safely fall back to a full response, while out-of-bounds ranges return HTTP 416.
• Improved: Large document files continue to stream from local disk in fixed-size chunks rather than being loaded entirely into PHP memory.
• Improved: Reordered the Documents tab so the All Documents list is displayed full-width at the top, with Add Document and Batch Upload moved into stacked full-width cards below instead of the previous cramped two-column layout.
• Improved: Redesigned settings and document forms with toggle switches replacing checkboxes, clearer field labels and descriptions, and consistent card headers throughout the admin interface.
• Improved: Unified toast notifications, collapsible cards, copy-to-clipboard controls, and table search behaviour through the shared Kitgenix component library.
• Improved: The Log tab now displays entries in a searchable, paginated table containing time, context, outcome, and a plain-English note instead of a plain text block.
• Improved: Failed document uploads and replacements now report the specific underlying cause, including missing permissions, disk or filesystem permission problems, disallowed file types, and database errors, instead of displaying one generic "upload failed" message.
• Improved: Upload and replacement failures are now recorded in the Log tab for easier diagnosis.
• Improved: Rejected signed document links now distinguish between expired links, links issued before a security-key rotation, and genuinely tampered or invalid links.
• Improved: Expired and pre-rotation links are treated as routine conditions requiring a new link, while invalid or tampered links are logged as genuine security concerns.
• Improved: Added a reference table to the Log tab explaining what each recorded category means and whether administrator action is required.
• Improved: The Support tab is now three focused cards – a donate card with a collapsible monthly-amount picker, a "what your support funds" summary, and a "get involved" panel for reviews and plugin links – replacing the previous stack of donate, trust, and community cards.
• Improved: Moved the Log tab directly before Support in the admin navigation for a more logical workflow.
• Fix: Resolved an issue where edit-document and edit-category modals could become out of sync between their visible state and the underlying hidden attribute.
• Fix: The document card shortcode no longer renders an empty or broken card when a document has no attached file.
• Fix: Resolved a markup nesting issue that could cause the Documents tab to render without its sidebar and shift the page layout to the left.
• Fix: Number inputs throughout the settings screens are no longer cramped to a fixed 50px width.
• Security: Document files are now protected from direct access through WordPress REST media endpoints such as /wp/v2/media/{id} and attachment permalinks, preventing these routes from bypassing the plugin's Private, Restricted, signed-link, and scheduling access controls.
• Security: Added a dedicated document-media guard that blocks unauthorised single-item REST requests, excludes inaccessible attachments from REST collection queries, strips file-revealing fields as defence in depth, and returns a 404 response for protected attachment permalinks.
• Security: REST and attachment-permalink protection applies to both files uploaded directly through Document Manager and files selected from the existing WordPress Media Library, without moving files or changing their existing URLs.
• Security: Added .htaccess, web.config, and an empty index.php file to the plugin's dedicated uploads directory to prevent direct web access and directory listing on Apache, IIS, and compatible web servers.
• Security: Documents continue to stream securely from local disk through the plugin rather than being proxied directly through the protected uploads directory.
• Security: Nginx installations should configure an equivalent server-level location rule because WordPress plugins cannot modify Nginx server configuration directly.
• Security: The "Allowed file extensions" setting is now intersected with the plugin's fixed, audited extension-to-MIME allowlist when settings are saved.
• Security: Administrators are now warned when unsupported file extensions are entered or removed from the configured allowlist.
• Security: Dangerous file formats, including SVG, PHP, and other executable types, remain excluded from the permitted document upload types.
• Security: Hardened stable-link Content-Disposition headers against quote, carriage-return, and line-feed characters.
• Security: Added explicit Accept-Ranges and X-Content-Type-Options headers to document responses.
• Security: REST metadata responses for Private, Restricted, or signed-link-only documents now include Cache-Control: private, no-store, preventing intermediary caches and CDNs from retaining sensitive document metadata.
• Removed: Removed the "theme button style" and "full width button" options from the document card shortcode and Frontend settings. Document card buttons now use either Outline or Solid styling.
• Dev: Renamed frontend document card CSS classes from kgx-dm-* to kitgenix-document-manager-* for consistency with other Kitgenix plugins. Sites with custom CSS targeting the previous class names will need to update their selectors.
• Dev: Refreshed the Kitgenix logo and icon asset set used across the plugin admin interface, Kitgenix Hub, and WordPress admin menu icon.