Can I customize the look and feel of the download pages?

The CGI Download Manager makes use of a simple templating system to give you complete control over the look and feel of your Download Directory. To learn how to modify the look and feel of your download directory, read our online guide:

• HOW TO: Customize the Look and Feel of your Download Directory

Can I see an example files.tmpl template file?

Certainly. Here is an example of a plain template file that includes almost no HTML code.

The CGI Download Manager uses a special tag in the template file that is used by the script itself. That tag is shown below:

• <FilesContentHere>

This tag is very important and must be included in your template file. The CGI Download Manager uses this tag as the placeholder where it inserts the Download Directory HTML it generates into your template.

I'm having trouble - where can I get more help?

Assuming you followed the Installation instructions correctly, the next step would be to visit the CGI Download Manager Support Forum. Check the existing posts in the forum to see if someone already solved the same problem.

If you cannot find the help you need, please post a note with a description of the problem you are having. Be sure to include as much detail as possible. Screen shots help quite a bit, as do error logs, if applicable. We will do our best to help solve your problem.

If you are a registered user, and your problem is urgent, please put in a request for assistance at our Online Helpdesk. We will address your problem as soon as possible.

If you need installation assistance, we can install CGI Download Manager for you. Visit the purchase and pricing page for pricing for our installation service.

I don't use a stylesheet - do I need one?

No you do not. You can leave that entry blank:

• $STYLE_SHEET = "";

• files.config

if you don't have a stylesheet. If you do have a stylesheet include the file system path to the stylesheet in the configuration file, as shown in the example below:

• $STYLE_SHEET = "/home/username/www/ssi/stylesheet.css";

Is there a limit to the number of files I can store in CGI Download Manager?

There is no limit built into the software. You may run into limits imposed by the hardware on your server. But, this is very unlikely as it would take millions of files to reach physical storage limits with today's huge hard disks.

Once you approach file counts in the thousands building the file download pages may take a minute or so, depending on how fast your server is. Don't worry though, your users won't have to wait, building the HTML pages is a one time process that only Administrators need to do.

What does the "Generate HTML Pages" button do?

CGI Download Manager script uses a template file to generate HTML (or JSP, PHP, SHTML or whatever type of page you like) pages that contain the file listings. This allows maximum flexibility to webmasters in order for them to fit the CGI Download Manager's pages into their own design.

When you click the Generate HTML Pages button, the script reads through the database of file listings and dynamically regenerates the listings in the HTML pages, using the current template you defined. It also regenerates the download counts so they are up to date.

I tested a file download link on the CGI Download Manager, and then noticed that the download count didn't update.

Is this a bug?

No it isn't. CGI Download Manager is designed to only update the download counts when the Download Directoy pages are regenerated. This ensures fast, efficient operation for your users. The script does keep count, you just need to Generate the HTML pages in the Download Directory for the counts to be updated.

We could have setup CGI Download Manager to rebuild the page (or pages) each time a download occurs. But doing this will place tremendous overhead your Web Server, slowing it down tremendously when only a few folks are downloading. It could also introduce file contention and other issues. That is why we chose not to use that approach.

An add on module has been created to regenerate the pages on a regular basis. This will ensure that your file counts are always up to date, or at least very close to current. To learn more about this module, visit the Cron Rebuild Module page.

Can you customize the CGI Download Manager for us?

Yes we can. The best way to proceed if you need customization work done is to contact us with your requirements. Once we receive and review your requirements we can provide a quote and references.

Do you take on freelance web design or CGI scripting projects?

Yes we do. Our consultants are very skilled in Perl, CGI, PHP, and JSP. Please contact us with your requirements and we can provide a quote and references.