# Digital products

Sell a file, such as a pattern, an ebook or a price list, and let the buyer download it.

Source: https://docs.lookoutridgeit.com/commerce/digital-products/

**Add-on**
Commerce is an add-on, so not every website has it. If it is not in
your menu, see [Add-ons](https://docs.lookoutridgeit.com/billing/add-ons/) to add it.

A digital product is a file you sell. A sewing pattern. An ebook. A set of
plans for a garden shed. The buyer pays, and the file is theirs to download.

There is no special kind of product for this. It is an ordinary product with a
file attached.

## Step 1. Make the product

1. Go to **Plugins**, then **Commerce**, and click the **Products** tab.
2. Make a one-time product, the usual way. See
   [Products and Plans](https://docs.lookoutridgeit.com/commerce/products-and-plans/#making-a-one-time-product).
3. Leave **Requires shipping** off. There is nothing to post, so checkout
   asks for no address.
4. Click **Save & publish**.

The product must be published before you can attach a file.

## Step 2. Attach the file

1. Go to **Plugins**, then **Commerce**.
2. Click the **Products** tab, then **Downloads** under it.
3. Find the product in the list.
4. Click **Upload** at the end of its row.
5. Pick the file on your computer.

A message reads "Uploaded" and the file name. The **File** column now shows
the file name, its size, and the date.

You can also copy a file and paste it onto the button, with **Cmd+V** on a Mac
or **Ctrl+V** on Windows.

![The Downloads tab, under Products in Commerce, listing products. Four numbered marks: 1 on the Upload button of a product with no file, 2 on the File column of a product that has one, showing its name, size and date, 3 on its Replace button, 4 on its Remove button.](https://docs.lookoutridgeit.com/_astro/commerce-downloads.Z90g3r1h_Zyv8vG.webp)

*The Downloads tab. One product has a file attached.*

The numbers in the picture:

1. **Upload** attaches a file.
2. The **File** column shows the file once it is on.
3. **Replace** swaps in a new version. See [Changing the file](https://docs.lookoutridgeit.com/commerce/digital-products/#changing-the-file).
4. **Remove** takes it off. See [Removing the file](https://docs.lookoutridgeit.com/commerce/digital-products/#removing-the-file).

Each product holds one file. To sell a set of files, put them in one `.zip`
file first.

## What you can upload

- Up to 100 MB per file.
- Almost any kind of file: PDF, ZIP, pictures, music, video, documents.
- Not programs. A file that installs or runs something, such as a `.exe`, is
  turned away. Put it inside a `.zip` instead.

The panel also turns away a file with no ending on its name, such as
`pattern` with no `.pdf`.

These files do not go in your Media library. They are kept in a private place,
so nobody can find them without paying.

## What the buyer gets

As soon as the payment goes through, two things happen.

The buyer gets a **Download ready** email with the link. See
[Customer emails](https://docs.lookoutridgeit.com/commerce/customer-emails/).

The file also shows in their account on your website. On the **Orders** tab,
under **Order history**, the line reads **Download** and the file name. See
[What your customers see](https://docs.lookoutridgeit.com/commerce/customer-accounts/).

The product page tells shoppers it is a digital download, ready right after
checkout. A file in a kit is delivered too.

The link only works for a buyer who is signed in to their account. Sharing the
link does nothing. A friend who clicks it gets nothing.

A buyer who signs out cannot use the link until they sign in again.

## Changing the file

Found a typo in your pattern? Upload a fixed version.

1. Go to **Products**, then **Downloads**.
2. Click **Replace** on that product's row.
3. Pick the new file.

Everyone who already bought it gets the new file from then on. That is usually
what you want for a new edition.

## Removing the file

**Warning**
**Remove** takes the file off the product. Everyone who bought it loses their
download link, not just new buyers.

If you want to stop selling it, **Unpublish** the product instead. Past buyers
keep their file.

1. Go to **Products**, then **Downloads**.
2. Click **Remove** on that product's row.
3. Your browser asks you to confirm, and names the file. Click OK.

## Refunds

A refund does not take the file back. The buyer already has it on their
computer. Their download link keeps working.

**Contact support**
Contact us if:

- an upload keeps failing and the file is under 100 MB
- a buyer paid but says the download is not on their account
- a buyer says the link will not work while they are signed in

Email [support@lookoutridgeit.com](mailto:support@lookoutridgeit.com).
[Getting support](https://docs.lookoutridgeit.com/help/getting-support/) says what to put in the message.