downladable products and filegroups?

[mrbert]

Hi

I was considering to build a download store with OSCommerce (using a script based on Linda’s work) because I thought this was not possible with Zen Cart. (I tried searching the forum and could not find any link to downloadable product) For some reason I thought the downloads on a zencart was mainly used for a manual or documentation file that one can download for free.
So I spend quit some time getting to understand all the modifications and additions that are required for my whishes.

Yesterday I found out I was mistaken. I recognized the name and then I remembered the name of Ajeh ;) I Know she quite some knowledge on zen cart:) and really is helping many people with tips and advise.

So I am back aboard this ship and now I will try to make what I want.

I want to sell many files (about 800) size 3meg. each. ( storage and traffic is no problem in my hosting I haven >100 gig storage and >1000 gig traffic each month)
I was thinking of bundling groups of 20 in one sellable item for a few euro.
One way would be to make a large ZIP file by that will soon be a 60 meg file / product. And I read post where was suggested that downloadable file of that size can cause problems.

1) So a better wayI guess would be having one product that contains 20 separate files for upload. (filegroup) Is that possible with zencart? Is there any threat describing such a product?


2) Also for the sake of organization of the files I would like to group files in subfolders in the download folder. Can I do that with Zencart?


3) Would micropayment be an option for this site? I could not find any info on micropayments with zencart

[DragnSoul]

Hi, Just thought I would put in some info that I know. Firtsly, I run a downloadable product store and it works great under Zen Cart. But if you are to sell downloadable products, I recommend you never make the file size larger than 20MB or so as it can cause problems for your customers using dial-up (this is from my own experience). Using zip files is probably the best way to go and there is no problem downloading those. Also, due to the fact I have multiple sellers on my site, I use folders and subfolders and that is not a concern for Zen Cart. My advice to you is to have your folders and sub folders already thought out before you make them as making them on the fly may cause you problems later. Mostly the planning is the biggest hurdle you will have to get over. If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me.

Hope this helps!
Jean

[mrbert]

Hi Dragnsoul,
Thanks for your reply.
I might think of smaller files but many of the items I sell are photo's I used to seel complete CD's and now I divided every CD in subsets of 20 pics. I sell them in high resolution but building a shop with everey single photo (3-5 meg each) will be a hell of a shop and a hell of a job:S
T which I could use filegroups that would make things easier by splitting the archievs in multiple achives and sell all parts of that achaive as a goup. But I could not find such an option in Zencart. (For my purpose A very importand featurei if it would be available)
I expext most of my users to be on ADSL or cable connections so I am not too concerned about dial up.

How do you know for sure the files that are old are really downloaded with succes?

[DragnSoul]

In your downloads folder just put in your folders you want and when you create a product, just amend the link to include that subfolder. Also I have PM'ed you so I can send you more information in a zip file with a tutorial also.

[OfficerEd]

If possible, I would love to have any info you have on selling downloads (e-books) from a zen site.

Thanks,
Officer Ed
www.homeschoolcivics.com

[DragnSoul]

OfficerEd,

PM m with nay questions you have and I'll help you out.

Thanks!

[DrByte]

posting the information publicly might be a help to the community

[DragnSoul]

Everybody,

What I currently have for help is a walkthrough on how to make your products downloadable (word file that I could post here but I'm not sure on how much I'm allowed to post at once) and I found https://www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/index.php?article=71 to be very useful so that I could split up my large files into any for one product. If there are any specific questions I would be glad to answer.

[DrByte]

Zip files can be attached up to 480K per file.

[DragnSoul]

Ok I have added a zip file containing a new product type that can be installed (this is optional) and it shows how to add a downloadable prduct in the word document. I can convert it to plain text for those who require it. If you have any questions feel free to ask.