How do I let a customer download a PDF file????

[Oakes89]

Hi Guys,

Still fairly new to Xara so only really getting into some advance skills. However I'm looking to product my own website and put downloadable PDF's on there so customers can purchase the content.

How do I go about doing this? Really no clue where to start....

(Im using Designer Pro 6 software btw)

Cheers

[zaphodeist]

Make a small placeholder on the pasteboard, open Web Properties and link this placeholder to the PDF on your computer [this will save a copy of the PDF in your index_htm_files folder that XDP6 exports & publishes]



Make a text or object link on your page to the PDF using Web Properties in the "Link to Web ..." section - e.g. index_htm_files/yourfile.pdf

EDIT Just noticed the "purchase" bit! My answer of course will allow a straight forward download. In that case you'd have to upload the PDF using a third party FTP, putting it in a folder which is password protected. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable on that will answer but there are programs like Coffee Cup that will help there - http://www.coffeecup.com/password-wizard/

[nevar]

I am interested in an answer to this also. I sell sheet music on my website. But even with a password protected page, when they open the PDF file, can't they print as many copies as they want and even save it to their hard drive. I haven't found a solution. I know you can password protect the PDF document itself, but then again, when they get the password can't they print and save it? Does someone have a solution? Thanks.

[mwenz]

nevar,

There is little one can do to protect a PDF from having the protection broken. I do this all the time with client files where an employee used a password, it isn't recorded and the employee is long gone.

That said, like a lock, protection inside a PDF keeps honest people honest. But that is all. I don't know a viable solution for people selling PDFs or other files that cannot be licensed (like software, which also can have protection broken).

That said, wouldn't the purpose of sheet music be that the customer *can* print it out? With the provided PDF security (there are far better security software to protect PDFs, but are spendy), you can restrict a simple person from printing an unprotected copy to another PDF. But that's about all one can protect if a PDF is to also be usable in your case. Unless you spend some money on better protection.

Take care, Mike

[nevar]

Hi Mike:
Thanks for your reply. Yes, the person buying sheet music needs to be able to print it, but I wondered if there was a way to prevent them from saving it to their hard drive. I also wondered if there was a way to restrict how many times they could print it. But, I have bought sheet music before and copied it to sing with friends, etc. So it comes down to the honor system, especially in the music business. I have the music copyrighted, so no worries there. It sounds like the best I can do is to have some security on the PDF document that they print from, to restrict them from copying to another PDF file. Thanks for your comments.

[bjornkn]

I think you'll have big problems protecting it. Probably better to just leave it open instead of spending time and money on trying to protect it?
I quite often use a PDF printer driver, CutePDF, which lets me print directly to a PDF file instead of a printer.
No protection schemes would prevent me to print to a pdf?
Most sheet music I've seen has been copied on a simple copier anyway, I'm afraid.

[Oakes89]

Neodeist,

Cheers mate, think I've read about the third party ftp...just not looked massively into it. I'm starting the actual design of the website soon, just needed to make sure that what I needed could be done.

By a 3rd party ftp though...that like an ISP but online...sooo i used http://www.streaamline.net to upload and export an existing site to. Or am abit off?

Cheers
James

[samrc]

Take a look at this product called LinkLok http://www.vibralogix.com/linklokurl/index.php
I knew someone that had a very simple site, used this to sell crochet patterns online for about 6 years and had great luck with it.
She used http://www.vibralogix.com/linklokipn/index.php with paypal connection
Not hard to implement and you will use the Placeholder to insert a script.

[Handover]

Hi there,

If you are still interested into securing your publications there is pretty serious method to control what the end user does with the content he purchased.
For instance you can decide to tie the publication display to a single computer; meaning that the end use could only view it from one and only one computer. He/she can't move it to other device(s) without your knowledge/approval...

It sounds very very restrictive but it efficient.

Here is basically how it works :
1 you purchase a software that will lock (say) your .pdf file and puts in somewhere on a third party server (the vendor of that application you will be using)
2 your customer buys a copy of the book
3 you deliver him with an unlocking code + downloading link
4 he/she opens the book using your code. This will launch a registration process of that Ebook on the secure server.
5 anytime the user opens the book, there will be a verification against the server.

If the user uninstalls/deletes/formats his Os/drive, then the registration will be gone, even if he/she happens to have a backup copy of the file.
You will need to reissue an activation key.

I experienced such a Ebook, 3 times activation reset !!

A link

All the best.

[bjornkn]

And :
6. You're sure to never sell again to that unhappy customer that have to cope with all that protection

Seriously, I would have to really want that publication badly to accept such terms, especially #5.
And it doesn't stop those that don't want to pay anyway.