Digital Downloads
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I'm doing a block to handle digital downloads via C5 & PayPal...
(I don't think the eCommerce addon does this)
The block would be used to sell anything (digital) from images to ebooks to software packages... via digital download after verified Payment via PayPal...
The block would simply provide a button to pay for the download then after payment user is emailed a download link and also given a download link to replace the button directly on the page... PayPal verification is via IPN and the download URL of the file is totally hidden from the user by using php headers & readfile() to push/stream the download to the user rather than having the user pull the download via URL.
I have a working prototype... just cleaning up a few loose ends... would anyone be interested in such a block if I put it in the marketplace..??
(I don't think the eCommerce addon does this)
The block would be used to sell anything (digital) from images to ebooks to software packages... via digital download after verified Payment via PayPal...
The block would simply provide a button to pay for the download then after payment user is emailed a download link and also given a download link to replace the button directly on the page... PayPal verification is via IPN and the download URL of the file is totally hidden from the user by using php headers & readfile() to push/stream the download to the user rather than having the user pull the download via URL.
I have a working prototype... just cleaning up a few loose ends... would anyone be interested in such a block if I put it in the marketplace..??
We have an addon for ecommerce that will do this, we've just been waiting on the release of 5.4 before we can offer it.
hmm... "buzz-kill"... I may be reading between the lines here but is this your way of telling me not to bother...??
I like the idea of having more than one of something to choose from.
But I will also mention that I've used Digivendor with C5, and it works quite well. It's not seamlessly integrated, but it doesn't have to be. So unless you guys are planning to offer your versions of this for less than around $40, or can show major advantages of using a C5 add-on, I probably will just stick with that.
But I will also mention that I've used Digivendor with C5, and it works quite well. It's not seamlessly integrated, but it doesn't have to be. So unless you guys are planning to offer your versions of this for less than around $40, or can show major advantages of using a C5 add-on, I probably will just stick with that.
> We have an addon for ecommerce that will do this, we've just been waiting on the release of 5.4 before we can offer it.
Will it use PayPal's EWP services?
-Steve
Will it use PayPal's EWP services?
-Steve
just a heads up that if you're already using the ecommerce add-on for concrete5 and have been waiting for digital downloads, you need wait no longer.
http://www.concrete5.org/marketplace/addons/digital-downloads/...
That being said, JimboJetset if you're going to submit your block to the marketplace review process and it behaves and whatnot I'm perfectly willing having both solutions available in the marketplace. Ours has a shopping cart, links that can expire on times you set, and can use any gateway you setup with ecommerce, so it's really a different scale of solution.
best
http://www.concrete5.org/marketplace/addons/digital-downloads/...
That being said, JimboJetset if you're going to submit your block to the marketplace review process and it behaves and whatnot I'm perfectly willing having both solutions available in the marketplace. Ours has a shopping cart, links that can expire on times you set, and can use any gateway you setup with ecommerce, so it's really a different scale of solution.
best
OK... frz... no probs... nice to see theres still room for the little guy...
I'm almost ready to submit.
I'm almost ready to submit.
Well the basic Digital Download block is finished...
You can see a demo here...
http://www.ziweb.co.uk/trs/index.php?cID=217...
You can see a demo here...
http://www.ziweb.co.uk/trs/index.php?cID=217...
JimboJetset,
This looks great, I'd be interested in purchasing this for a client who sells his music online.
Looks nice and simple.
This looks great, I'd be interested in purchasing this for a client who sells his music online.
Looks nice and simple.
> You can see a demo here...
No I can't. It does sound nice though. Does it use PayPal's Encrypted Web Payment Services?
-Steve
No I can't. It does sound nice though. Does it use PayPal's Encrypted Web Payment Services?
-Steve
@Shotster
The link above was old.. I just changed it... I have updated the site to use a non-shared IP so I can look into adding PayPals Encrypted web service. Unfortunately it's going to take a while for DNS to update with the new IP so the site will be unavailable for a little while..
The link above was old.. I just changed it... I have updated the site to use a non-shared IP so I can look into adding PayPals Encrypted web service. Unfortunately it's going to take a while for DNS to update with the new IP so the site will be unavailable for a little while..
Thanks, Jimbo. With integrated EWP, I might spring for such a package. Nice work.
-Steve
-Steve
Is the time and effort needed to get it to use PayPal EWP worth it you think..?? is it really that important in such a small $20 App..??
> Is the time and effort needed to get it to use PayPal EWP worth it you think..??
Yep. It's not as difficult as you seem to think.
> is it really that important in such a small $20 App..??
I don't know what the size of the app has to do with security or the volume of transactions processed. Since PayPal reserves the right to require that merchants with significant payment volume take steps to secure their transactions, why not do it from the outset.
-Steve
Yep. It's not as difficult as you seem to think.
> is it really that important in such a small $20 App..??
I don't know what the size of the app has to do with security or the volume of transactions processed. Since PayPal reserves the right to require that merchants with significant payment volume take steps to secure their transactions, why not do it from the outset.
-Steve
I have now integrated PayPal EWP into the package as an 'advanced' option...
Would definitely be interested in this!! Looks great and is exactly what I was after...was about to undertake building it myself, but if I can save myself the bother for a few $ i'm all for it.
Where's this up to? Are you submitting it to the market place?
Where's this up to? Are you submitting it to the market place?
Well the block is done... I've been working on the dashboard...
I've attached a screenshot of the dashboard for you to look at...
From the dashboardyou can track your sales on an individual basis... from each transaction you can jump to the page that generated the sale... you can email the buyer with a link to the download... you can see if the download is still valid as well as how many times it's been downloaded and you can expire or generate new download links...
I'm just tidying some loose ends... but it's often the loose ends that take most of the time..lol
I would like to put it in the marketplace... however when it's time to submit I will probably also have it for sale via my own site using the very same block I'm selling.
As for price I'm not sure... whats it worth to you.??... and all sales will be going to thehttp://www.helpforheroes.org.uk charity (just like my other blocks in the marketplace) ;)
I've attached a screenshot of the dashboard for you to look at...
From the dashboardyou can track your sales on an individual basis... from each transaction you can jump to the page that generated the sale... you can email the buyer with a link to the download... you can see if the download is still valid as well as how many times it's been downloaded and you can expire or generate new download links...
I'm just tidying some loose ends... but it's often the loose ends that take most of the time..lol
I would like to put it in the marketplace... however when it's time to submit I will probably also have it for sale via my own site using the very same block I'm selling.
As for price I'm not sure... whats it worth to you.??... and all sales will be going to thehttp://www.helpforheroes.org.uk charity (just like my other blocks in the marketplace) ;)
Cool. Does everything I could want and more...definitely save me a fair bit of coding and tearing my hair out. I've set up digital download/paypal scripts before outside of Concrete and that was nightmare enough...looks like you've gone ahead and integrated it very nicely.
I wouldn't flinch at $20/$25...any more and i'd probably attempt it myself. That said, looks like you're in the UK too...so, what's that at today's exchange rate? £30? £50?! Haha...no one wants sterling any more. I'll keep an eye on this forum topic, but just let me know when it's finished and available...i'll definitely be taking one license off you to give it a go. AND it is all for charity, so there's the additional 'feel-good' buzz... couple of friends in service at the moment in Afghanistan and Iran, so very happy to support.
I'm sure the e-commerce package with Paypal-addon would do a fantastic job of this, but it's a little beyond what I need for the current project i'm working on...its a freelance/favour type thing, and i'm trying to keep time, costs (and the late nights) to a miniumum.
I wouldn't flinch at $20/$25...any more and i'd probably attempt it myself. That said, looks like you're in the UK too...so, what's that at today's exchange rate? £30? £50?! Haha...no one wants sterling any more. I'll keep an eye on this forum topic, but just let me know when it's finished and available...i'll definitely be taking one license off you to give it a go. AND it is all for charity, so there's the additional 'feel-good' buzz... couple of friends in service at the moment in Afghanistan and Iran, so very happy to support.
I'm sure the e-commerce package with Paypal-addon would do a fantastic job of this, but it's a little beyond what I need for the current project i'm working on...its a freelance/favour type thing, and i'm trying to keep time, costs (and the late nights) to a miniumum.
ha ha ... at todays exchange rate $20 to $25 = £13 to £16
For each block I sell in the C5 marketplace for $15 I get £7.25 for my charity... so for $20-$25 per block you do the math... besides... Its a good job I don't need the money to live on which is why it's all going to charity.
...anyway... the Digital Download package is 99% complete... it's fully functional but I have a couple of hard coded single page paths that I need to sort (struggling with that at the moment) however when thats done it will be good to go.
As for price I will probably put it up for $20 in the marketplace (if they accept it)
On the todo list is:
pagination on the dashboard view, column sorting & a transaction search.
For each block I sell in the C5 marketplace for $15 I get £7.25 for my charity... so for $20-$25 per block you do the math... besides... Its a good job I don't need the money to live on which is why it's all going to charity.
...anyway... the Digital Download package is 99% complete... it's fully functional but I have a couple of hard coded single page paths that I need to sort (struggling with that at the moment) however when thats done it will be good to go.
As for price I will probably put it up for $20 in the marketplace (if they accept it)
On the todo list is:
pagination on the dashboard view, column sorting & a transaction search.
OK... all finished... There is still a little tidying up to do.
http://www.ziweb.co.uk/trs/index.php/digital-download/...
I could do with someone (very trustworthy) to help test... they MUST have a paypal sandbox setup correctly to make & recieve payments AND emails from those sandbox accounts.
http://www.ziweb.co.uk/trs/index.php/digital-download/...
I could do with someone (very trustworthy) to help test... they MUST have a paypal sandbox setup correctly to make & recieve payments AND emails from those sandbox accounts.
Nice one! Looks great. I've got a PayPal sandbox account...i'll test it later this afternoon! I'll buy one off you right now though...just let me know how.
Just tried the block -- went through the purchase process and that all seemed to go fine, but no joy when I tried to return to your site! Getting 404 errors. The link I received in your confirmation email doesn't work either. Actually...now looks like NONE of your site will load. :( Something gone nuts or am I doing something wrong?
lol... bad timing on my part... I was looking into using the PayPal button encryption mechanism to secure transactions... this meant I needed a site with a non-shared IP... since I am my own host I simply assigned an unused IP to my site... problem is that gonna take 12 - 48 hours to populate in DNS... sorry... didn't really think that one through did I... :(
...ah! Perfect timing then. So far so good with the functionality though! Just let me know when we're back up.
Back up... :) ... but I'm playing some more so It's not reliable at present..
A quick update...
I have added a layer of security into the block...
The source for this button looks like
<form name="paypal" action="http://www.ziweb.co.uk/trs/index.php/paypalbutton/" method="post">
<input type="hidden" value="123" name="bID" />
<input type="submit" value="Buy Picture for £0.01" name="button" />
form>
Note that unlike most standard PayPal purchasing buttons, absolutely NO PayPal data is visible... this is to deter those who would steal your PayPal information for phishing and other scams. The PayPal data is built dynamically then directed straight to PayPal for added security.
I have also added pagination into transaction list on the dashboard page.
Demo:
http://www.ziweb.co.uk/trs/index.php?cID=217...
I have added a layer of security into the block...
The source for this button looks like
<form name="paypal" action="http://www.ziweb.co.uk/trs/index.php/paypalbutton/" method="post">
<input type="hidden" value="123" name="bID" />
<input type="submit" value="Buy Picture for £0.01" name="button" />
form>
Note that unlike most standard PayPal purchasing buttons, absolutely NO PayPal data is visible... this is to deter those who would steal your PayPal information for phishing and other scams. The PayPal data is built dynamically then directed straight to PayPal for added security.
I have also added pagination into transaction list on the dashboard page.
Demo:
http://www.ziweb.co.uk/trs/index.php?cID=217...
Ok...just gave it another shot. Worked great up to paypal, but the 'return to merchant' link gave me a Concrete file 'no page'. The download link in the email DID work this time though, but I'm guessing you set downloads to 3 only, because after the 3rd I got 'download limit reached' message and, unfortunately, this:
Warning: mysql_fetch_array(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL result resource in /usr/home/ziweb/domains/ziweb.co.uk/
public_html/trs/packages/jj_digital_download/single_pages/
downloadfile.php on line 99
Looks like you're getting there though! Just give me a heads up when to give it another shot!
Warning: mysql_fetch_array(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL result resource in /usr/home/ziweb/domains/ziweb.co.uk/
public_html/trs/packages/jj_digital_download/single_pages/
downloadfile.php on line 99
Looks like you're getting there though! Just give me a heads up when to give it another shot!
OK... please try again..
Ok:
Purchase through Paypal. Check!
Paypal receipt & confirmation email. Check!
Confirmation email link. Check! (and forces download instead of just showing the pic as it did last time...think this is better)
BUT, whilst 'return to mechant' worked this time around, I got this message below the image:
'ERROR: Your Transaction Did Not Complete'
File download limit seems to work though...clicked the link 3 times and on the fourth got 'invalid link or download limit reached'. Bingo!
Just that return to merchant bit then.
Purchase through Paypal. Check!
Paypal receipt & confirmation email. Check!
Confirmation email link. Check! (and forces download instead of just showing the pic as it did last time...think this is better)
BUT, whilst 'return to mechant' worked this time around, I got this message below the image:
'ERROR: Your Transaction Did Not Complete'
File download limit seems to work though...clicked the link 3 times and on the fourth got 'invalid link or download limit reached'. Bingo!
Just that return to merchant bit then.
odd... it worked for me.. just tried it... I will try it from my fathers this evening..
Hmm...ok, well try it later, and i'll do the same. Maybe fluke error there, or something to do with Chrome or something. I'll give it a go in Firefox.
Just tried again. This time, after returning to your page I get the same error message and a code this time: Error 001.
Also, afraid I didn't receive a confirmation email with the download link. Just the Paypal receipt.
Also, afraid I didn't receive a confirmation email with the download link. Just the Paypal receipt.
With a 001 you wouldn't have got an email... OK... don't do any more.. I'll have to sit & think a while..
Thanks for everything so far... it's been a real help..
Thanks for everything so far... it's been a real help..
OK.. after a near complete rewrite it seems to be behaving itself. Would you mind very much trying again please...
http://www.ziweb.co.uk/trs/index.php/digital-download/...
http://www.ziweb.co.uk/trs/index.php/digital-download/...
Haha...near complete re-write on Easter Sunday! Someone owes you some chocolate! Anyway, rock and roll...it dd the trick! email arrived, Download link worked for the 3 tries, AND the return to merchant worked. All good, and I'm only testing on an iPhone at the moment. Big thumbs up from my end...great work.
OK... added an extra layer of security such that rather than just a link to the download ... the buyer is emailed a pass key (to their paypal verified email address) that must be entered (after clicking the link) before they can download the file.
I've also added the option of using a standard button or a PayPal button (or any other image) for the user to click so the appearance is totaly customisable.
I've also added the option of using a standard button or a PayPal button (or any other image) for the user to click so the appearance is totaly customisable.
Hi Jim,
New features sound good but just tried the script...we seem to be having problems again. First part of the transaction went fine as usual...on clicking the 'return to merchant' link, I arrived at the page, but the link said 'error...delayed or failed Paypal validation or IPN' or something similar. On a page refresh this changed to the correct 'download file' link but, on clicking this, I got a blank Concrete page -- the template but no actual body content.
The confirmation email appeared and included a new pass-key, but the link to the file seemed to take me to the same blank page as the download link on the page, and there was obviously nowhere to plug in my shiny new pass-key. Back to the drawing board (again!) I guess...good luck.
New features sound good but just tried the script...we seem to be having problems again. First part of the transaction went fine as usual...on clicking the 'return to merchant' link, I arrived at the page, but the link said 'error...delayed or failed Paypal validation or IPN' or something similar. On a page refresh this changed to the correct 'download file' link but, on clicking this, I got a blank Concrete page -- the template but no actual body content.
The confirmation email appeared and included a new pass-key, but the link to the file seemed to take me to the same blank page as the download link on the page, and there was obviously nowhere to plug in my shiny new pass-key. Back to the drawing board (again!) I guess...good luck.
no... it's working fine... it's me... I've been working on the download page on the live site for the past 4 hours trying to get the theme to wrap the single page so you probably caught it at a bad moment as I uploaded, downloaded, deleted and rearranged the download page single file... sorry... seems you keep catching me like this...
As for the invalid IPN... that is the IPN validation script taking too long to validate with PayPal or too long to write the result to the database. if you have msn then pm me and we'll chat or pm me your tel no and I'll ring you.
I've also added the ability to use any image as the payment button... so in the options under Button Text you can either... leave blank for a default paypal button image or write some text such as 'Buy Now' to get a standard button or provide a url to an image to use that image as the button... this way it can be customised to suit the site.
As for the invalid IPN... that is the IPN validation script taking too long to validate with PayPal or too long to write the result to the database. if you have msn then pm me and we'll chat or pm me your tel no and I'll ring you.
I've also added the ability to use any image as the payment button... so in the options under Button Text you can either... leave blank for a default paypal button image or write some text such as 'Buy Now' to get a standard button or provide a url to an image to use that image as the button... this way it can be customised to suit the site.
The Paypal Digital Delivery block is now in the marketplace for $20... you can use it to sell any form of digital software/media without needing the eCommerce package installed.
Woohoo! this is exactly what I've been looking for!
I thought the digital downloads by concrete sounded good but I didn't want to buy the eCommerce package just to use the digi download.
This is far simpler and cheaper!
I thought the digital downloads by concrete sounded good but I didn't want to buy the eCommerce package just to use the digi download.
This is far simpler and cheaper!
Hmmm.. went looking for the add-on at the marketplace and can't seem to find it!
http://www.concrete5.org/marketplace/addons/paypal-digital-delivery/
