DownloadIt

Synopsis

Setup

The first thing you need to do is create a "keys" subdirectory off your root. This is the directory in which all key files are expected to be found. Note that this is NOT in or below your "www" directory, as that would allow anyone to access them directly. You can create this directory from the shell prompt or via an FTP client.

A key file is simply an ASCII text file that is located in your "keys" directory. The name of the file must be "USERID.key", where "USERID" is the user ID you expect the customer to enter when retrieving files. There can be no spaces in the user ID.

The first thing that must appear within a key file is the password that is associated with the user ID. It must appear on a line like this:

Password: PASS

Filename: FILE
Description: DESC
MimeType: MIME
Expires: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM
Downloaded: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM
Host: HOST

Replace "DESC" with a brief text description of the file. This is the text that the user will click on. It could just be the file name, or it can be a short sentence. Do not make this lengthy or it will not look all that great.

The MimeType line is optional. The gadget will try and guess the appropriate mime type based on the file name extension. If you provide a mime type it overrides the extension. For example, if a file is named "example.zip" and you do NOT set this option, the gadget will correctly guess "application/zip" as the mime type.

The Downloaded line is not set by you and should be left out. It will be added by the gadget when a user downloads the file. If this line is present, then the file is no longer available for download by this particular user ID.

The Host line is also not set by you. The gadget will insert this line to indicate the host name or IP address of the machine that downloaded the file.

Upon a successful download of one of the files, the Downloaded and Host lines are inserted into the key file and an email message is sent to you to indicate the transaction. Aborted downloads are considered incomplete and do not alter the key file or send you email.

For a user to access one of these files, you need to set up a login page. The form should look like this:

<form method=post action=/cgi-bin/downloadit>
<input type=hidden name=login value=guest>
<input type=hidden name=error value=ERROR>
<input type=hidden name=header value=HEADER>
<input type=hidden name=footer value=FOOTER>
Enter your User ID: <input name=userid>
Enter your Password: <input type=password name=password>
<input type=submit value=" Proceed ">
</form>

HEADER and FOOTER are the names of html files, relative to your "www" directory. If the user provides a valid user ID and password, then they will be presented with a list of files that they are allowed to download. The header is inserted above this list, the footer below.

When a user is presented with a list of files, only those that have not expired and have not already been downloaded are clickable.