Documents behind login

Hi @wilbertschaapmancom

Pods only has settings for visibility in the admin. In regards to the frontend you would need to create your own logic for this.

In case you use Pods blocks etc. you could use a helper function.

Only logged in users:

function yourCustomHelperName( $value ) {
    if ( ! is_user_logged_in() ) {
        return '';
    }
    return $value;
}

You can use this in any location where custom helpers are supported in Pods.
See: https://docs.pods.io/displaying-pods/magic-tags/#Passing_values_through_callbacks_and_filters

How are you currently displaying these fields?

Cheers, Jory

• This reply was modified 3 months, 2 weeks ago by Jory Hogeveen.

I am using a page where i created a content grid, using beaver builder content grid.
On this page the pdfs are shown.

The page is only vissable for login users.

Hi @wilbertschaapmancom

Do you mean the PDF’s themselves are posts? Or are they fields from a post?
Otherwise said: should the page not show any results at all for visitors or should it display the posts but without the PDF link?

If they are posts then you’d need to use custom PHP code or a plugin to restrict access. There are many membership/access plugins available, both free and premium.

If it’s just related to the page content (eg: custom fields) then my previous answer could help.
Alternatively, since you use the Beaver Builder: the Beaver Themer allows conditionals per module/row: https://docs.wpbeaverbuilder.com/beaver-themer/1.4/developer/conditional-logic-apis/
This might also be an option to look at.

In any case, Pods doesn’t include a built in access management UI for it’s fields or content.

Cheers, Jory

In addition to Jory’s notes on the differences between hiding a link versus hiding access to a file — it’s notable that many of WordPress’s default behaviors for files cause files to be more likely to be published than not.

Plugins meant for the purpose of securing access to files may be a better fit, such as https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/prevent-direct-access/ or https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/user-private-files/ or other similar solutions.

The key thing is that the WordPress Media Library is heavily geared towards publishing content. Plugins for private access take different approaches, such as limiting even the direct download links to a certain users for certain periods of time or hiding access from search engines.

Thank you for your tips. That was exactly my concern—the page was behind a login, but the links to the files are public.

@keraweb, how can i use the function to protect the file in my overview

<a href="[pods]{@tijdschrift_pdf}[/pods]" target="blank">
<div class="ws-tijdschriften"> 
    <div class="ws-images">[wpbb post:featured_image size="medium" display="tag" linked="no"]</div>
    <div class="ws-text">[wpbb post:title]</div>
</div>
</a>

Add a display callback function using a Code Snippets plugin, as a plugin file, or in the theme’s functions.php:

<?php
/**
 * Display a link to a file if a user is logged in.
 * The file URL will still be publicly accessible once known.
 */
function link_if_logged_in( $file_url ) {
    global $wp;

    if ( empty( $file_url ) ) {
        // If field is blank, output nothing.
        return '';
    }

    if ( ! is_user_logged_in() ) {
        // If user is logged out, link to login.
        return sprintf(
            '<a href="%s">Log in to download</a>',
            wp_login_url(
                add_query_arg( $wp->query_vars, site_url( $wp->request ) )
            )
        );
    }

    // If user is logged in, link to file.
    return sprintf(
        '<a href="%s" target="_blank">Download</a>',
        esc_url( $file_url )
    );

Authorize the function for use in templates by adding it to Pods Admin > Settings > Display callbacks allowed, e.g., esc_attr,esc_html,link_if_logged_in

Use the callback in a template:

[pods]{@tijdschrift_pdf,link_if_logged_in}[/pods]

…will display:

• Nothing if the field is blank.
• A link to /wp-login.php with a redirect back to the current page if the user is logged out.
• A link to the file with text Download, opened in a new window using _blank if the user is logged in.

The same effect / similar function including the Beaver Builder shortcodes for image and title:

[pods]{@tijdschrift_pdf,link_if_logged_in}[/pods]
<?php
/**
 * Display a link to a file if a user is logged in.
 * The file URL will still be publicly accessible once known.
 */
function link_if_logged_in( $file_url ) {
    global $wp;

    if ( empty( $file_url ) ) {
        // If field is blank, output nothing.
        return '';
    }

    $image = apply_shortcodes( '[wpbb post:featured_image size="medium" display="tag" linked="no"]' );
    $title = apply_shortcodes( '[wpbb post:title]' );

    $template = <<<'LINK'
<a href="%s" target="_blank">
    <div class="ws-tijdschriften"> 
        <div class="ws-images">%s</div>
        <div class="ws-text">%s</div>
    </div>
</a>
LINK;

    if ( ! is_user_logged_in() ) {
        // If user is logged out, link to login.
        return sprintf(
            $template,
            esc_url( wp_login_url( add_query_arg( $wp->query_vars, site_url( $wp->request ) ) ) ),
            $image,
            'Zum Herunterladen anmelden: ' . $title
        );
    }

    // If user is logged in, link to file.
    return sprintf(
        $template,
        esc_url( $file_url ),
        $image,
        'Herunterladen ' . $title
    );
}

…where usage would be:

[pods]{@tijdschrift_pdf,link_if_logged_in}[/pods]