Digital Items are products that you are selling that are downloadable, meaning after your customer finishes purchasing they will immediately download the file directly from your web server.  To use this feature you must first upload the downloadable file to the PDshop “Downloads” folder on the server (upload using your own FTP software).  Next, you would setup a "Digital Item", a regular item but select “Digital Item” under Item Type, then simply enter the filename (ex. “yourfile.pdf”, do not reference folders, drives, or URLs, filename only).  

Now, during checkout, when someone purchases this item, after payment, they should be instructed to click the "View Order" (receipt) button.  Toward the bottom of their order summary there would be an encrypted http link that can be used to download the file.  There is an automatic expiration, once the link is clicked a timer is set for 4 hours, but PDshop also monitors how many times the user actually downloads – the download will also expire after 3 download attempts.  So, the download will expire after 3 download attempts or 4 hours, whichever comes first.

There is a "Download Availability" setting, found on the “General” setup page.  With this enabled you can have all downloads held for manual approval.  This may come in handy if you are using a weblink payment gateway or Pay by mail.  When enabled, after purchase, the download will not immediately be available; you would need to enable it after each order (navigate to the order in PDAdmin and click “Status/Notes” to enable the download).

One other notable setting related to downloadable files is the “Download Method” found on the “General” setup page.  By default the “Stream” method is enabled, this uses the server's built in ADODB file streaming object to send the download to your customer.  If you experience problems with this method, for example if your downloadable files are very large and your host restricts this resource, you may wish to change the Method to “Physical Location” to workaround.